The dramatic story of Mussolini's fall from power in July 1943, illuminating both the causes and the consequences of this momentous event. Morgan shows how Italians of all classes coped with the extraordinary pressures of wartime living, both on the military and home fronts, and how their experience of the country at war eventually distanced them from the dictator and his fascist regime.
Looking beyond Mussolini's initial fall from power, Morgan examines how the Italian people responded to the invasion, occupation, and division of their country by Nazi German and Anglo-American forces - and how crucial the experience of this period was in shaping Italy's post-war sense of nationhood and transition to democracy.
Introduction: Remembering the Second World War in Italy 1: The First Fall of Mussolini, July 1943 2: Fascist Italy at War, 1940-1943: Propaganda and Reality 3: Fascist Italy at War, 1940-43: Collapse of the Home Front 4: The Forty-Five Days, July to September 1943 5: The Armistice, September 1943 6: The Invasion and Occupation of Italy, and the Kingdom of the South, 1943-1945 7: The Other Two Italies, and their Three Wars, 1943-1945 Conclusion: Italy's War
Reviews for The Fall of Mussolini: Italy, the Italians, and the Second World War
A thought-provoking account. BBC History Magazine (Main) A panoramic... sober and balanced account. The Economist As an introduction for the general reader, or for undergraduates with a short-term interest, this study works well. Chris Rundle, THES An absorbing account of how ordinary Italians coped under the regime of a man who was both hated and revered...It is a book which will be welcomed by students of the era. Vincent Moss, Tribune Books (Review)
