Common Destiny: Dictatorship, Foreign Policy, and War in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany [Hardcover]

MacGregor Knox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0521582083 | ISBN-13: 978-0521582087 | Edition: 1St Edition

This book offers a genuinely comparative analysis of the dictatorships that launched the Second World War: their origins, nature, dynamics, and common ruin. It provides an unconventional and compelling overview from territorial unification in the 1860s to national catastrophe in 1943/45 that places Fascism and Nazism firmly in the tradition of revolutionary mass politics inaugurated in the French Revolution. Set within that overview are chapters analyzing Mussolini's poorly understood foreign policy and the character and performance of the military instruments upon which success chiefly depended-the Italian and German armies. The chapter on the German army and the conclusion-which dissects the causes of the striking disparities between the two dictatorships in expansionist appetite, fighting power, and staying power-argue that a unique synthesis of Prusso-German military tradition and Nazi revolution propelled Germany's fight to the last cartridge in 1943-45.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"superbly researched, stimulating and well-written essays" Times Literary Supplement

"This is a highly original book: the author demonstrates in a very carefully and thoughtfully done work how foreign and domestic policies in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy were similar; takes the views of Hitler and Mussolini seriously --as those two did--and offers the reader a substantial array of fascinating new ideas." Gerhard L. Weinberg, author of A World At Arms

"MacGregor Knox is one of the most creative scholars working to establish a comparative framework for the study of fascism and nazism. Common Destiny brings together a number of published articles and book chapters but the overall result is a satisfactory and coherent elaboration of his positions." The Journal of Military History

"An intriguing...account; Knox provides readers with a compelling reconsideration of the European revolutionary tradition..." Kirkus Reviews

"...a brief, articulately written, soundly analyzed monograph, Mr. Knox provides an autopsy of the decadent remains of two 20th-century tyrannies..." Washington Times

"Knox is a powerfully analytical historian and there is much to enjoy in his assembly....Knox, with a splendid armature of inforamation about Fascist social, political,fiscal,economic,tactical,logistical,technical, and personal bungling, launches an irresistible blitzkreig against such revisinist historians as Renzo De Felice and James Sadkovich who have been discerning some merit in Italy's war effort." R.J.B Bosworth The International History Review

"both of these works are impressive feats of scholarship, erudite, richly sourced, and authoritative. Taken together, they represent a stimulating and, in some ways, original school of thought that cannot be ignored." American Historical Review Dec 2001

Book Description

This book analyzes the origins, nature, dynamics, and ruinous end of the Italian and German dictatorships. Emphasizing themes of aggression, fighting power, and staying power, it offers a comparative overview of the two countries' trajectories from unification in the 1860s to national catastrophe in 1943-45. It evaluates Mussolini's foreign policy, a subject still inadequately explored and poorly understood, and offers a novel and compelling interpretation of the synthesis of Prusso-German military tradition and Nazi revolution, which was a key factor in Germany's ability to fight to the bitter end.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1St Edition edition (June 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521582083
• ISBN-13: 978-0521582087
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,678,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good start to the Nazi and Fascist Regimes, January 21, 2008

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Lehigh History Student (Bethlehem, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Common Destiny: Dictatorship, Foreign Policy, and War in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany (Hardcover)

Common Destiny provides an excellent overview of the Fascist and Nazi regimes that existed during the World War II era. Macgregor Knox sets out to provide the reader a comparison between the two in how they came to power, maintained power and dissolved. The first two chapters take an even wider view and asses the various factors that led to unification and how those factors allowed Hitler and Mussolini to take power. While the book is somewhat dated particularly with regards to recent scholarship on Italy it provides an excellent starting point for anyone wishing to compare these regimes. It serves as an excellent overview on how these regimes conducted military and foreign policy as well as the prospects for each. The book is well written and perfect for a starting look at these regimes.