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Mussolini | 
 enlarge | Author: Mack-smith
Publisher: Random House USA Inc
Category: Book
List Price: £11.99
Buy Used: £6.23
You Save: £5.76 (48%)
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Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 379619
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Vintage Books Ed
Pages: 464
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 1
ISBN: 0394716582
Dewey Decimal Number: 945.0910924
EAN: 9780394716589
ASIN: 0394716582
Publication Date: October 15, 1999
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships from US; Please allow 14-24 business days for your book to arrive in the UK. Reliable customer service and no-hassle return policy.
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Fascinating and enjoyable read November 18, 2008
PhilosopherKing (London)
This is an excellent biography of Mussolini.
Mussolini is depicted as a rather tragic figure. A man of undoubtedly high intelligence and vast energy he began life as something of an idealist (on the left of politics) but weakness of character led him to become an opportunist, a charlatan and even a buffoon. A man of violence (though not on the same scale as Hitler and Stalin) Mussolini had already stabbed a fellow pupil at school. As a young teacher he was involved in a sexual scandal.
While an evil man, I don't think that Mussolini was as rotten to his core as Hitler and Stalin and while lacking the ruthlessness and political adroitness of Hitler (at least until 1941/42 anyway) he was in some ways a much more humane (relatively speaking) and cultured man. Weakness of character drove him to make irrevocable decisions that he must have regretted and he will always be associated with the atrocities committed by Hitler.
Having said that though it is not true that he had been a good leader up until say 1935 or 1936 as some apologists claim. Most of his policies on industrialisation., agricuture and many other areas were badly conceived and compare unfavourably with the achievements of Italy's liberal governments (since Italy's unification in the nineteenth century) who had themselves been notoriously corrupt, incompetent and inefficient.
Brilliant! April 14, 2008
Chris Warne (Harrow, UK)
A fabulous book on the Duce. Detailed, comprehensive, and very interesting. This is how historical biographies should be written.
An insight into the man behind the facade of Italian Fascism February 2, 2002
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
Mack Smith's biography is a thorough account of Mussolini's life. Factually it is excellent in depicting life in Fascist Italy backed up with lots of evidence and statistics. However 'Mussolini' truly excels in Mack Smith's analytical interpretations of the events in Mussolini's life, offering the depth and knowlegde which makes this book a 'must have' for anybody studying Fascist Italy.
Compulsory for student and beginner alike February 25, 1999
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
This book is a must for all students studying fascism. It gives an in-depth analysis of the man who founded fascism and provides an insight into his life. Mack-Smith's expertise on the subject gives powerful quotes for essays and his accessible style allows the whole ability range to understand it. But it is not only for the student, since that same style allows anyone who is interested in the past century to understand someone who was much misunderstood. Someone who began life as an extreme Marxist, became a much less radical Conservative, before turning his hand to ultra-nationalist fascism is clearly an interesting person. By reading this book you will understand the man who was behind the ideal of the twentieth century: fascism.
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