Mussolini: The Rise and Fall of Il Duce
"Christopher Hibbert is a wonderful narrative historian who has illuminated many corners of Italian life and history. He has the gift of creating scenes and characters, of rendering the vividness of the past. HisMussoliniis no exception. He manages to convey both the charisma anddilettantismoof Mussolini the revolutionary leader as well as the later folly ofIl Duce, the dictator who began increasingly to believe his own rhetoric -- ''Mussolini is always right' -- in leading his country into World War  and ruin." --Alexander Stille, award-winning author ofBenevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian-Jewish Families Under Fascism, and ofThe Sack of Rome: Media + Money + Celebrity = Power = Silvio Berlusconi Praise for Christopher Hibbert:“Hibbert is a remarkably prolific popular historian, who can take on almost anything, from Dickens to General Wolfe, from Agincourt to Garibaldi.” –The Observer"An excellent account...balanced and perceptive in outlook...well-written and entertaining."--Economist "[Hibbert] is a superbly skillful historical writer."--The Spectator "An adroitly written evocation of a compelling but enigmatic personality, a man whose ambition, idealism and opportunism would not seem out of place on the political scene today."--Publishers WeeklyonDisraeli "Hibbert's lively and engaging portrait of Benjamin Disraeli joins the author's numerous other well-received, popular biographies...A supremely readable and enjoyable study of a colorful, often astonishing and modern character."--Library JournalonDisraeli