The Italian Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives in the Interpretation of Mussolini and Fascism

(Paperback)

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What was Italian fascism Was it the ideology and experience of the trenches brought to political authority Or did it express the hopes and ideals of an emerging middle class which had done well out of World War I To what extent was fascism a boys' ideology And to what degree did Mussolini lead - and to what extent follow - public opinion A study of the "myth of fascism", this work offers a detailed critique of the way in which the history of fascism has been given meaning both in Italy and the outside world, from 1919 to 1997. Bosworth provides an account of history writing about Benito Mussolini and his regime. Beginning in the 1990s, with the political, cultural and historiographical crisis of the loss of the "first republic", he then returns to the inter-war period to review fascist, conservative, liberal and Marxist understandings of fascism, examining not only the more traditional sources but also film, "memory", and other arenas in which memory is crafted.

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It is immensely learned yet also witty, wise and humane. A marvellous book. Dr Patrick Finney, University of Wales Lampeter, U fills a yawning gap. Professor R A H Robinson, University of Birmingham Bosworth brilliantly analyses an expanisve and exhaustive bibliography with extraordinary lucidity. Choice Written with great verve and humour, it constitutes a very lively tour through some of the most important historical works on the period Written in such an easy-to-read and engaging style should make it accessible to and popular with students. History Journal

Author Bio

Richard Bosworth is one of the world's leading authorities on modern Italian history. He has been a Visiting Fellow at a number of institutions, including the Italian Academy at Columbia University, St. Johns and Clare Hall (Cambridge), Balliol and All Souls Colleges (Oxford), the Humanities Research Centre (Canberra) and the University of Trento in Italy. He is Emeritus Professor of History at both the University of Western Australia and Reading University in the UK and in 2011 was elected Senior Research Fellow at Jesus College, Oxford.