The Fascist Revolution : Toward a General Theory of Fascism [Paperback]

George L. Mosse (Author), George L. Mosse (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

A brief yet invaluable reassessment, from one of our most insightful and profound thinkers on the nature of fascism. Co-editor of the Journal of Contemporary History and author of nearly two dozen books (e.g., Fallen Soldiers: Replacing the Memory of the World Wars, 1990), Mosse has helped to shape our contemporary understanding of fascismand, consequently, of 20th-century history. Hes trained dozens of practicing historians, leaving the field indelibly altered. The essays collected here have all appeared previously in academic journals and scholarly volumes. In them Mosse examines facets of fascism. (Following the usual convention, ``fascism'' refers to the generic phenomenon, while ``Fascism'' alludes to the Italian variant.) His topics include fascist aesthetics, theater, and the avant-garde; fascism and the French Revolution; the nexus between fascism, nationalism, and racism; fascism and the role of intellectuals; fascism (or in this case, specifically National Socialism) and the occult; and fascism and homosexuality. The author opens his introduction by acknowledging the changing interpretations of fascism over the last five decades. His own method might be described as cultural analysisor, to borrow a term from Clifford Geertz and cultural anthropology, ``thick description.'' To be sure, class analysis, long favored by many Marxist and leftist historians, fails to fully capture fascisms essence. And yet even a cultural approach poses certain inherent difficulties. For, as Mosse and others h ave pointed out, a paradox lies at the heart of ``fascist studies'': Intellectuals have chosen to use rational analysis to study and explain a movement thats irrational by its very natureas well as hostile to the Wests humanistic tradition. Hardly an intr oductory work for the novice, but instead a fundamental summation of a lifetime. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

His arguments are not always easy to grasp, but they come from long consideration of a vexing phenomenon, which is given a full and many-sided explication in these pages. --The New York Times, Richard Bernstein

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Howard Fertig (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865274355
• ISBN-13: 978-0865274358
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #653,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Original Insights On Fascism(s), May 19, 2002

By 

William R. Tucker (Tucson, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fascist Revolution : Toward a General Theory of Fascism (Paperback)

Mosse gives us here a collection of essays published in different journals and over a period of years, yet they are all distinguished by a search for fresh insights into the still-relevant phenomenon of fascism (as with the recent upsurge of the Nationalist Right in several European countries). There are some errors (Brasillach was never married and some historical sequences are unaccountably off), but the small volume is well worth exploring.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but Variable, October 24, 2006

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fascist Revolution : Toward a General Theory of Fascism (Paperback)

This is collection of essays from the late George Mosse, the author of the outstanding The Crisis of the German Ideology. Compared with that book, this is a modest contribution but written with Mosse's typical combination of erudition, clear exposition, and insight. The different essays examine different aspects of European fascism, avoiding concentrating on Germany by discussing Italian, French, Belgian, and other forms of fascism. The depth of these essays vary considerably with the title essay being the most ambitious, a effort to sketch out the general features of European fascism (for more extensive efforts, see Stanley Payne's book and the recent long essay by Robert Paxton). Well worth reading.