Mussolini and Italian Fascism

Mussolini and Italian Fascism

Giuseppe Finaldi

Mussolini and Italian Fascism plots the life of a man and a nation seeking to find a role in a continent wracked by poverty, resentment, conflict and war yet awash with contradictory hopes for earthly utopia and a better future. Tracing the rise and ultimately grisly fall of the Italian dictator, Finaldi explores:

         The reasons why fascism developed such a strong following in Italy at this time

         The First World War and its impact on Italy

         The complex connection between Catholicism and Fascism

         The causes and consequences of the war in Ethiopia

         The twists and reversals that characterised the bond between Hitler and Mussolini

         The gap between the regimes military ethos and the countrys performance in the Second World War

With a rich collection of Documents, Whos Who, Chronology, Glossary and a Guide to Further Reading, this study is a perfect way for students to get a grip on the experience of Italian Fascism and will, through its fresh reading of a crucial facet of Europes 20th century, also merit the attention of those already familiar with the subject.

Giuseppe Finaldi is a lecturer in History at the University of Western Australia. He has worked extensively on Italian social and cultural history in the 19th and 20th centuries.