My Rise And Fall [Paperback]

Benito Mussolini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 1998

Here, for the first time in one volume, are two rare autobiographical works by Benito Mussolini (1883–1945), founder of Fascism and Italian dictator for twenty-one years. The first volume (published in English in 1928 as My Autobiography) describes Mussolini's youth, years as an agitator and journalist, experiences in World War I, the formation and revolutionary struggles of the Fascist Party, the March on Rome, and his early years in power. The second volume (published in English in 1948 as The Fall of Mussolini) was written during the brief period between his rescue by the Germans in September 1943 and his execution by Italian partisans in April 1945. Here the Duce recounts his last year in power and the coup d'état that deposed him. My Rise and Fall allows readers to view the dictator from two unique vantage points: Il Duce, eyes on the horizon, chin thrust forward, as he nears his political zenith; and Mussolini at his nadir, a desperate, powerless, sawdust Caesar, soon to be shot and hanged, head down, for all to scorn.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

Product Details

• Paperback: 658 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306808641
• ISBN-13: 978-0306808647
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #532,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mussolini: The self-made myth, May 3, 2001

By 

jane k johnson (Junction City, Kansas, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Rise And Fall (Paperback)

MY RISE AND FALL is actually two books written twenty years apart. MY RISE is an autobiography written in l928 when Mussolini was extremely popular. The introduction by United States ambassador Richard Washurn Child is laudatory, in fact, a hagiography that represents the conservative opinion of that day. To modern readers this view seems a bit grotesque but was widely held by many important people such as Churchill. Mussolini was admired, feared, and universally believed to have been a renaissance genius-exactly the image the dictator carefully crafted through the years of glory. He preened, strutted, intimidated and philosophied on the world stage until he met Hitler and was reduced to a pathetic secondary role as comic 'side-kick'. We now know the tragedy Mussolini inflicted upon his nation, but one can understand his seductive genius by reading him Mussolini, unlike Hitler, could write-and write well. His terse masculine prose ripples across the page reenforcing the image of a hard modern Caesar. Pithy epigrams such as: "throttled by the skinny hand of poverty "(p.86); descriptive images: "ferrets were sent out to smell into my life"(p.95); dramatic scenes like when Zaniboni attempted to kill him: "The bullets pass, Mussolini remains" (p.237);challenging appeals: "If I go forward, follow me; If I recoil, kill me; If I die, revenge me!" (p.238); as well as softer images "the authority of the state was a kitten handled to death". Il Duce was also a great actor who lived his various roles with such zest he believed them himself. Observe Mussolini: fighting a duel with broadswords, skiing bare-chested down the alps, flying an airplane, driving his red sports car with his beautiful mistress Claretta Pettaci, taking his horse over incredibly high hurdles, or playing with a lion. These images combined with the world stateman brokering the Munich Conference-he was the only one there that knew French, German and English-or negotiating the Concordant with the Vatican;along with the family man accompanied by Dona Rachele and his five handsome children made him the idol of his nation. He had restored respect to his nation. Or did he? One can well understand how intellectuals at first flocked to his banner, Nobel prize winners such as Luigi Pirandello, Guglielmo Marconi, and Enrico Fermi were members of his Academy; Giovanni Gentile, his minister of education; Conductor Arturo Toscanni a Fascist candidate; Curzio Malaparte a war correspondent; and even philosopher Bennedetto Croce, a bitter opponent, supported the Ethiopian War. True, many later deserted, Toscanni and Fermi to the United States, but many remained. THE FALL OF MUSSOLINI reveals the true man behind the myth. Actually, Mussolini only writes of a period of twenty-four hours, the day he was dismissed from the government, The bulk of the fall was written by Max Asoli, a critic of the man and his movement. In this section the curtain is stripped away revealing a timid little fellow manuvering a complex illusion-pyrotechnics that could not harm any one. The real Duce was a humbug-with ulcers... The really strong people in his life were his women: Clara Pettaci, Edda Ciano and most of all, Dona Rachele... Mussolini was more Napoleon III than Hitler, in fact Hitler was his nemesis, and Mussolini knew it! Il Duce first thought the Fuhrer was a degenerate but like a hypnotized rabbit would not flee in horror from the viper. The result was Mussolini's degregation and the negative verdict of history.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In his own words., November 3, 1998

By 

WD Grissom (Cabot, Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Rise And Fall (Paperback)

My Rise, first published in English in 1928, details the dictator's early life and accession to power, in his own words. The second part of the book, My Fall, was written in the period between his rescue by the Nazis and his execution by partisans.
The early Duce confirms his bombastic and arrogant image, but emerges as more intelligent and ruthless than one may have suspected. The latter Duce, written as a virtual prisoner of Hitler, attempts to justify his place in history and escape personal responsibility for the disaster he brought upon the nation he undoubtedly loved.
Essential reading for anyone interested in the origins of the Second World War. The introduction by Richard lamb and preface by Max Ascoli are valuable bonuses, in themselves making the book worthwhile. (The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing history, but little theory., December 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: My Rise And Fall (Paperback)

I bought this book on the belief that it would explain to me the very essence of Italian Fascism. Although some important themes and ideas of Mussolini's fascism were discussed, I was disappointed with the lack of detail and expansion. However, I was enthralled by Mussolini's elegant writing style.I found the Duce's view of his own history - however biased - very informing. It gives an intimate view of early 20th century Italy,and in particular, the mood of the Italian people(especially the war veterans). The book's two parts, the first written well before the Second World War and the second during the war, offer a stark comparison of the different outlooks on the world that Mussolini possessed - he was once popular and arrogant, then hated and bitter. The book offers an extraordinary opportunity to take a deep and intimate look inside Mussolini's soul, as well as a thorough - however biased - examination of Fascist Italy. A must for anyone interested in the Duce, Fascism's general themes or World War II in general.