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Mussolini (Paperback)

by Nicholas Farrell (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
RRP: £15.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 560 pages
  • Publisher: Phoenix (6 May 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1842121235
  • ISBN-13: 978-1842121238
  • Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.8 x 4.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 175,215 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #36 in  Books > Biography > Political > Countries & Regions > Italy
    #58 in  Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Italy

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Product Description

Review
'This interestingly dissenting book explains why he was so popular and why some, perhaps many Italians, still think of ll Duce with nostalgia' Peter Lewis, Daily Mail 'The question of whether Italians had to pay too much in terms of loss of liberty has been answered by Farrell in a passionate and thought-provoking way...this highly spirited, opinionated and rather remarkable book' Andrew Roberts, Daily Telegraph 'Fascinating. His account of Mussolini's last days - his betrayal and his pitiful death - is masterly and surprisingly moving....In many ways a fine, thought- provoking book' Glasgow Herald

Taki, The Spectator
I've read lots of books on old Benito, but this one is by far the best... unputdownable

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Mussolini under Scrutiny, 14 Jun 2004
Nicholas Farrell's 'new life' on Mussolini is indeed a refreshingly 'new' appraisal of the man, his achievements and his failures. Farrell presents Mussolini as a dictator/politician who avoided most of the excesses of dictatorship and was as a result immensely popular with the Italian people for his achievements until the last few years when fatally he dragged Italy into the war. Farrell's theory is that if, like Franco, Mussolini had kept out of the war, he would have survived, like Franco, and history would have viewed him in a much kinder light.
The book is packed with details that interest and inform, for the most part it is written in a way that compels you to turn the pages and at its best reads like a thriller, for example the chapter on The Duce's betrayal by his closest colleagues entitled 'The Last Supper'. Farrell's excellent analysis of fascism as 'The Third Way' between socialism and capitalism reveals just why it had such popular appeal in the turmoil after the first world war.
The book is bound to provoke as it shows more sympathy to the dictator than is 'politically correct' but Farrell sets out the case why logically and consistently and forces us to re-examine our viewpoint and that demonstrates the book's merits.
For myself, I agree with Churchill's analysis that Mussolini's fatal character flaw was displayed in joining forces with Hitler and also with Farrell's comments that fascism probably would have ossified and become a spent force (cf Franco's Spain).
A thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking read!!
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, 10 Jul 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Mussolini: A New Life (Hardcover)
like most people of my generation ( I am war veteran) i had a dim impression of benito mussolini. to me he was of the same noxious ilk as adolf hitler, josef stalin and fidel castro. he was a dictator who had no truck with the freedoms we fought to protect. i was not taken in by his funny voice or famous love of animals. to me italian soldiers were not to be feared as the germans because they did not want to fight and always had a happy smile and wanted to surrender. all those with whom i spoke said mussolini was a bad man who had no place in a country such as theirs where people wanted to make merry not make war. after the war i came to know and love italia as it is called by the locals. i never mastered the tongue but no matter because there was pasta and wine and much banter and laughter of the sort rarely heard in my quiet street. having read nicholas farrell's fine book in now see i was wrong. at the start mussolini was no thug but a man who invented a compromise between the loathsome extremities of right and left. only later did he fall victim to the barbarism we know as fascism. i do not know if nicholas farrell is right as i cannot claim to be an expert on the war but it certainly made me think. it takes a brave writer like nicholas farrell to come up with such a theory as this. many people will say he is not right to defend mussolini with reservations. i say that is freedom itself. i take issue with the writer on his parables regarding the connection between religion, food and football that he calls the Vital Triangle but otherwise throughly enjoyed this book. I will now have to think about the war again and why we fought the Italians. I hope the writer tackles more wars in his next book as he has a flair for it.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a great read, 2 Sep 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Mussolini: A New Life (Hardcover)
my grandfather came from italy in 1933 and set up an ice cream shop in hastings. he did not like mussolini and told my father he would have joined the resistance if he stayed in italy. my father also criticised mussolini and brought me up to thank my lucky stars i was born in england and not italy. the ice cream shop was sold many years ago and i do not even care for ice cream. what has this to do with mr farrell's book ? a lot because mr farrell shows my ideas on mussolini are too simple. mussolini was a fascist and did not care for democracy. as such he deserves to be attacked. that is not the same thing as being a nazi as mr farrell says so elegantly. italian fascism was bona fide for a time in the conditions then prevailing. mussolini's time passed and italy should have reverted to type. instead mussolini steered it towards the hateful hitler and that was his nemesis. mr farrell is no closet sympathiser. what he is is more balanced than other historians becasue he gives us the good as well as the bad.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Revisionist hagiography
This is a very readable book and certainly it kep my attention. The overall tone of the book is revisionist and portrayal of Mussolini is at the least deferential, and at worst... Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2004 by John Harpur

3.0 out of 5 stars Vague on political tactics, strays into hagiography
This isn't a bad read by any means. It is well written and it held my attention - despite the occasional hagiographical allusions. Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2004 by John Harpur

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
At last a book that finally tells the truth about Mussolini and fascism. The vast majority of Italians loved the man and enjoyed living under the 'Third Way'. Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Mussolini Under Scrutiny
Nicholas Farrell's 'new life' on Mussolini is indeed a refreshingly 'new' appraisal of the man, his achievements and his failures. Read more
Published on 8 May 2004 by editorbjs

4.0 out of 5 stars Mussolini Under Scrutiny
Nicholas Farrell's 'new life' on Mussolini is indeed a refreshingly 'new' appraisal of the man, his achievements and his failures. Read more
Published on 8 May 2004 by editorbjs

5.0 out of 5 stars A different perspective
Farrell's Mussolini brings a very different perspective to this extrordinary man who turned evil but not completly. Read more
Published on 1 May 2004 by Christopher Morgan

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly researched and uniquely written
Farrell's Mussolini is a big tome and immensely readable. His researchunearths a side of the dictator not realised before especially his earlydays. Read more
Published on 21 April 2004 by Christopher Morgan

5.0 out of 5 stars engrossing and interesting
Mr Farrell has certainly opened my eyes and suggested I was wrong to dismiss Mussolini as the posturing oaf of popular myth. Read more
Published on 9 Jul 2003

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