Mussolini (Volumes 1 and 2)

Author: [Australia] Bosworth, by Li Hongqiang, translated
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Although Mussolini had a tough exterior and a brutal reputation, he was actually a coward and indecisive. On one hand, he was exploring an unpredictable future he couldn’t control; on the other, he tried to find an acceptable present, hoping to avoid too great a failure and just endure one more day. Unlike previous biographies of Mussolini, this book doesn’t portray him as a demon or set a predetermined tone—listing the crimes of the fascist government throughout, attacking Mussolini’s cruelty, tyranny, and savagery. The author himself says he tried to view Mussolini with "a sense of pity," portraying him as a bully, a coward, and a failure. Before writing, Richard Bosworth conducted extensive archival research, nearly exhausting all secondary literature. Through his detailed account of Mussolini’s life based on these sources, readers can gain a more authentic understanding of him. The author is convinced that Mussolini was different from the ruthless Adolf Hitler and that he shared little in common with many others. He was extremely vain and arrogant, loved to boast, and had astonishing machismo, but also cowardly, incompetent, and indecisive—all of which made him an interesting and amusing figure, unlike Hitler, who was terrifying and a horrifying totalitarian dictator. Also, unlike Hitler, Mussolini didn’t act according to a single creed, which was his only one. Although Mussolini declared he would build a "totalitarian state," he was actually an "empty-suit Caesar," just a facade. To a large extent, Mussolini never truly achieved autocratic rule. He first became a ambitious and hopeful countryman, then a "man of his own kind" in his region, later gained dazzling but fragile honor, and finally ended in a tragic and well-deserved death. Richard Bosworth’s Mussolini is not only detailed and fair but also insightful, highly readable, and written with excellent craftsmanship and a light, humorous touch. It is widely recognized as the best English biography of Mussolini currently published.