Originally published by Howard Fertig, Inc., under the title The Fascist Revolution: Toward a General Theory of Fascism, copyright Ã1999 by George L. Mosse.

This 1989 book is a detailed study of the social origins of the fascist reaction in Tuscany, which played a key role in the rise of Italian fascism to power. Tuscan fascism was second to none in its violence, organisational strength, intransigence and missionary zeal. The central question is who supported fascism, and why. To what extent did Tuscany, a major agricultural region, conform to national patterns? What are the implications of the pattern of support for fascism in Tuscany for the wider interpretation of the movement? Dr Snowden offers a thematic approach, discussing in turn agrarian fascism, industrial and urban activity, and relations between the black-shirts and state officials. Thus the significance of the fascist militancy of particular social groups and classes can be assessed for the period between the mass strikes in 1919 and the end of labour militancy marked by the beginning of the fascist dictatorship.

As the first mass movement of the radical right to assume power in the wake of World War I, Italian Fascism became the model and inspiration for violent anti-democratic and anti-socialist forces that swept Europe between 1919 and 1945. In this volume Marla S. Stone provides an essential introduction to the rise and fall of Benito Mussolini's Fascist dictatorship. Drawing on the most recent historical scholarship, Stone explores the multifaceted nature of Fascist rule, which drew strength not only from its terror apparatus but also from popular support for its social programs. More than 35 primary sources, including speeches, decrees, memoirs, telegrams, songs, and artwork, demonstrate how Fascism shaped all aspects of Italian life. More than a dozen Italian documents are translated into English for the first time. Photographs, maps, document headnotes, a chronology, questions for consideration, and a selected bibliography provide pedagogical support.

Mussolini's march on Rome; Hitler's speeches before waves of goose-stepping storm troopers; the horrors of the Holocaust; burning crosses and neo-Nazi skinhead hooligans. Few words are as evocative, and even fewer ideologies as pernicious, as fascism. And yet, the world continues to witness the success of political parties in countries such as Italy, France, Austria, Russia, and elsewhere resembling in various ways historical fascism. Why, despite its past, are people still attracted to fascism? Will it ever again be a major political force in the world? Where in the world is it most likely to erupt next? In Fascism: Past, Present, and Future, renowned historian Walter Laqueur illuminates the fascist phenomenon, from the emergence of Hitler and Mussolini, to Vladimir Zhirinovsky and his cohorts, to fascism's not so distant future. Laqueur describes how fascism's early achievements--the rise of Germany and Italy as leading powers in Europe, a reputation for being concerned about the fate of common people, the creation of more leisure for workers--won many converts. But what successes early fascist parties can claim, Laqueur points out, are certainly overwhelmed by its disasters: Hitler may have built the Autobahnen, but he also launched the war that destroyed them. Nevertheless, despite the Axis defeat, fascism was not forgotten: Laqueur tellingly uncovers contemporary adaptations of fascist tactics and strategies in the French ultra-nationalist Le Pen, the rise of skinheads and right-wing extremism, and Holocaust denial. He shows how single issues--such as immigrants and, more remarkably, the environment--have proven fruitful rallying points for neo-fascist protest movements. But he also reveals that European fascism has failed to attract broad and sustained support. Indeed, while skinhead bands like the "Klansman" and magazines such as "Zyklon B" grab headlines, fascism bereft of military force and war is at most fascism on the defense, promising to save Europe from an invasion of foreigners without offering a concrete future. Laqueur warns, however, that an increase in "clerical" fascism--such as the confluence of fascism and radical, Islamic fundamentalism--may come to dominate in parts of the Middle East and North Africa. The reason has little to do with religion: "Underneath the 'Holy Rage' is frustration and old-fashioned class struggle." Fascism was always a movement of protest and discontent, and there is in the contemporary world a great reservoir of protest. Among the likely candidates, Laqueur singles out certain parts of Eastern Europe and the Third World. In carefully plotting fascism's past, present, and future, Walter Laqueur offers a riveting, if sometimes disturbing, account of one of the twentieth century's most baneful political ideas, in a book that is both a masterly survey of the roots, the ideas, and the practices of fascism and an assessment of its prospects in the contemporary world.

What is fascism? Is it revolutionary? Or is it reactionary? Can it be both? Fascism is notoriously hard to define. How do we make sense of an ideology that appeals to streetfighters and intellectuals alike? That is overtly macho in style, yet attracts many women? That calls for a return to tradition while maintaining a fascination with technology? And that preaches violence in the name of an ordered society? In the new edition of this Very Short Introduction, Kevin Passmore brilliantly unravels the paradoxes of one of the most important phenomena in the modern world—tracing its origins in the intellectual, political, and social crises of the late nineteenth century, the rise of fascism following World War I, including fascist regimes in Italy and Germany, and the fortunes of 'failed' fascist movements in Eastern Europe, Spain, and the Americas. He also considers fascism in culture, the new interest in transnational research, and the progress of the far right since 2002. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Benito Mussolini (1893 - 1945) is the living image of Fascism and one of the most well known historical figures ever, the antonomasia of a Dictator: nevertheless few are the ones aware that early in the 20th century he was the coming man of the Italian Revolutionary Socialism, headed to represent the Socialist Party, in which everyone had high hopes for the overthrowing of the so-called "bourgeois system," when Socialism was still revolutionary and hostile to Capitalism. Lenin said of him: "in Italy, comrades, in Italy there is only a Socialist capable of guiding the people towards the revolution, Benito Mussolini," soon after the Duce would lead a revolution, but a Fascist one... So, why did he become a Fascist after wall? Has he really betrayed Socialism as his critics accused him of doing? Or was Fascism the genial and natural outcome of a Socialist's evolution, of a charismatic mass leader, towards the real revolution? In "Revolutionary Fascism" Erik Norling, author of "Blood in the Snow: The Russo-Finnish War" (Shelf Books, 2001), acquaints us not only with the Revolutionary and Socialist roots of primeval Fascism but also describes the Italian Social Republic period, at the end of the war, when these values reemerged in its utmost purity.