Mussolini

Bosworth, R.J.B.

ISBN 10 : 0340981733 ISBN 13 : 9780340981733

Editeur : Hodder Arnold, 2010

Synopsis

Mussolini The new edition of this award-winning biography contains fresh insights into one of history's most intriguing figures. By emphasizing the impact of political and social upheaval in shaping Mussolini's image, Bosworth skillfully juxtaposes his subject's renowned brutality against his inner compassion. Mussolini never fails to grip. Full description

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

Impressively researched, splendidly written, sound in judgement, rich in insight and humane in spirit - in every respect a superb study of Mussolini and his Fascist regime. (Ian Kershaw, author of Hitler: Hubris (1889-1936))

*Winner of the Premier's Prize & the Non Fiction Prize in the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards 2002*
This is a major literary accomplishment, as well as an extraordinary biography of a perplexing and paradoxical personality and an internationally significant contribution to an understanding of Mussolini's role in history. It is a massive work of substance, of historical research and analysis, and yet is readily accessible to the lay reader. The work may well enter the lore of works that become a yardstick by which other biographies are measured. (Judges' Comments, Western Australian Premier's Boo 2003-06-13)

The first major biography of Benito Mussolini to appear since the end of the Cold War, Bosworth's new study avoids the parochialism, ethnic stereotyping, and ideological partisanship that have defined so much of the previous work on the leader of Italian Fascism. The resulting portrait of the Duce is a subtle and complex one that captures the multiple strengths, flaws, and contradictions of his personality and of a remarkable political career that spanned the most traumatic moments of the twentieth century. Bosworth's distinctive approach, which carefully assesses the interplay between Mussolini's intentions and the structural realities of Italian society in the shaping of events, not only provides insightful comparisons with his more notorious Axis partner, Adolf Hitler, but also offers a comprehensive view of the Fascist regime as a whole. His biography rests upon a sweeping command of a vast propagandistic and secondary literature as well as a wide array of archival sources drawn from four countries. Such a solid scholarly apparatus will impress specialists, while a more general audience will be captivated by the book's engaging and accessible writing style. (Anthony Cardoza, Chair of History, Loyola Universi 2003-06-13)

Bosworth's Mussolini challenges most of the recent interpretations of the Italian leader ... [He] demolishes the image of the Duce strutting across the European stage in charge of his own destiny. Charisma, a lust for power, and boundless ambition carried Mussolini far from his origins in Dovia and Predappio but left him in the end a physical wreck at the mercy of forces he could not control and men with wills that were much stronger than his own. Italy, as they say, was collateral damage. (Alexander De Grand, Professor of History, North Ca 2003-06-13)

Without concealing or trying to palliate Mussolini's cynicism, brutality and moral cowardice, and admitting his ultimate failure, R.J.B. Bosworth offers a measured assessment, not without sympathy and even at times with admiration. He seems to me to have come closer to a true understanding of Mussolini than any previous English-language biographer. His book is excellent - persuasive and highly intelligent. It is lucid, elegant and a pleasure to read. (Allan Massie, The Daily Telegraph, March 16, 2002 2003-06-13)

Richard Bosworth has produced a solid, judicious and very readable account of the Duce's life, based on extensive archival research and a well-nigh exhaustive knowledge of the secondary literature. (Noel Malcolm, The Sunday Telegraph, 3 March 2002 2003-06-13)

Excellent as Bosworth's account of the social and international dimension is, he still has to pass the ultimate test of biography: a convincing account of the subject's personality. Here he fares especially well, for Mussolini is a hard psychological nut to crack. The author wins one over with his many witty asides and insights (and there are not many scholarly biographies where that happens) and there is ample evidence of a subtle and humorous mind at work. (Frank McLynn, The Independent on Sunday, 21 April 2003-06-13)

It is the best biography in English to date. (The Spectator, 18 May 2002 2003-06-13)

...highly readable... (BBC History Magazine, June 2002 2003-06-13)

This portrait of Mussolini reveals the author's appreciation of the complex ingredients of Il Duce's legacy. Bosworth's biography easily supersedes Denis Mack Smith's 1982 Mussolini as the definitive study of the Italian dictator. (Library Journal 2003-06-13)

Présentation de l'éditeur :

Mussolini loved trees so much that he quizzed his bureaucracy about storm damage to the environment. He kept the works of Socrates and Plato on his desk. He regularly wrote to his daughter, if only to report family pleasure at victories by the national football team. Yet nearly a million people went early to their graves as the result of his dictatorship.

Why and how did Mussolini come to power? Why is he often regarded as a figure of fun, while his contemporaries, Hitler and Stalin, are seen as totalitarian tyrants? Did he really revolutionise Italy?

With extraordinary skill and vividness, Richard Bosworth's biography paints a picture of brutality and failure, yet combined with an understanding of Mussolini the man. The remarkable story of the ambitious intellectual from the provinces who built a fascist empire but ended in disgrace, shot ignominiously by his own people, never fails to grip.

He seems to me to have come closer to a true understanding of Mussolini than any previous English-language biographer. His book is excellent - persuasive and highly intelligent. It is lucid, elegant and a pleasure to read.' Allan Massie, The Daily Telegraph

'It is the best biography in English to date.' The Spectator

'highly readable' BBC History Magazine

'a fresh, intelligent and judicious re-examination of Mussolini and the Fascist period.' The New York Times Sunday Book Review

About the author: 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, Clare Hall (Cambridge), Balliol (Oxford), and the Humanities Research Centre (ANU, Canberra).

About the author: 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, Clare Hall (Cambridge), Balliol (Oxford), and the Humanities Research Centre (ANU, Canberra).

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Hodder Arnold
• Date d'édition: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0340981733
• ISBN 13: 9780340981733
• Reliure: Livre broché
• Nombre de pages: 544