Duce

Benito Mussolini, the son of a peasant, held absolute rule over the Italian nation for the best part of a generation, and played a leading role in high world drama. What happened to Italy was therefore in the fullest sense his personal responsibly, and by this history whose ultimate verdict was his constant self-conscious preoccupation must judge him. The clue to his character as revealed in this remarkable detailed biography is to be found in a web almost pathological contradictions.