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Fascism: A Readers' Guide : Analysis, Interpretations, Bibliography
An interdisciplinary study of fascism investigates the sociological, ideological, and economic aspects of Italian fascism and German national socialism and analyzes the fascist movement in countries in which it failed to come to power
478 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
About the author
Walter Laqueur
182 books39 followersWalter Ze'ev Laqueur was an American historian, journalist and political commentator. Laqueur was born in Breslau, Lower Silesia, Prussia (modern Wrocław, Poland), into a Jewish family. In 1938, he left Germany for the British Mandate of Palestine. His parents, who were unable to leave, became victims of the Holocaust.
Laqueur lived in Israel from 1938 to 1953. After one year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he joined a Kibbutz and worked as an agricultural laborer from 1939 to 1944. In 1944, he moved to Jerusalem, where he worked as a journalist until 1953, covering Palestine and other countries in the Middle East.
Since 1955 Laqueur has lived in London. He was founder and editor, with George Mosse, of the Journal of Contemporary History and of Survey from 1956 to 1964. He was also founding editor of The Washington Papers. He was Director of the Institute of Contemporary History and the Wiener Library in London from 1965 to 1994. From 1969 he was a member, and later Chairman (until 2000), of the International Research Council of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington. He was Professor of the History of Ideas at Brandeis University from 1968 to 1972, and University Professor at Georgetown University from 1976 to 1988. He has also been a visiting professor of history and government at Harvard, the University of Chicago, Tel Aviv University and Johns Hopkins University.
Laqueur's main works deal with European history in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially Russian history and German history, as well as the history of the Middle East. The topics he has written about include the German Youth Movement, Zionism, Israeli history, the cultural history of the Weimar Republic and Russia, Communism, the Holocaust, fascism, and the diplomatic history of the Cold War. His books have been translated into many languages, and he was one of the founders of the study of political violence, guerrilla warfare and terrorism. His comments on international affairs have appeared in many American and European newspapers and periodicals.
(Wikipedia)
Laqueur lived in Israel from 1938 to 1953. After one year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he joined a Kibbutz and worked as an agricultural laborer from 1939 to 1944. In 1944, he moved to Jerusalem, where he worked as a journalist until 1953, covering Palestine and other countries in the Middle East.
Since 1955 Laqueur has lived in London. He was founder and editor, with George Mosse, of the Journal of Contemporary History and of Survey from 1956 to 1964. He was also founding editor of The Washington Papers. He was Director of the Institute of Contemporary History and the Wiener Library in London from 1965 to 1994. From 1969 he was a member, and later Chairman (until 2000), of the International Research Council of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington. He was Professor of the History of Ideas at Brandeis University from 1968 to 1972, and University Professor at Georgetown University from 1976 to 1988. He has also been a visiting professor of history and government at Harvard, the University of Chicago, Tel Aviv University and Johns Hopkins University.
Laqueur's main works deal with European history in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially Russian history and German history, as well as the history of the Middle East. The topics he has written about include the German Youth Movement, Zionism, Israeli history, the cultural history of the Weimar Republic and Russia, Communism, the Holocaust, fascism, and the diplomatic history of the Cold War. His books have been translated into many languages, and he was one of the founders of the study of political violence, guerrilla warfare and terrorism. His comments on international affairs have appeared in many American and European newspapers and periodicals.
(Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 15, 2013
There was a time, apparently, where such a collection of crucial essays would retail for £3.50 - new. That's the RRP on my 1976 pocket edition.
Nowadays, we have 'Fascism: Critical Concepts in political science' edited by Griffin and Feldman, going on the editor's website for a mere £1.040.00.
I know, idle talk, to complain the prices of academic publisher, but my point is that this 'Fascism: A Reader's Guide' is first of all great value: it's literally packed with great essays that provide the eager reader with not only the bibliographies the title allow you to expect, but also with excellent overviews of various fields and key issues by leaders of the field. It is striking in this regard to see what has changed, and the many have not, in regards to more recent scholarship on this question; Few would nowadays bother to rebuke the orthodox Marxist interpretation as some do in the reader, but otherwise questions of fascism's revolutionary character, of its transnational aspects, or the kinship between Central and East European types remain as far as I can tell, much discussed. The emphasis is probably less on culture than on politics, maybe because of the surprising absence of Mosse, leaving to Sternhell the task of exposing the intellectual roots of the phenomena. Economics also receive a special treatment, as well as the different geographic areas whose XXth century politics can lay a claim to the phenomenon. The two movements that reached power are examined in more detail and their respective social composition is discussed in some depth. All in all the book is hardly dated and delivers beyond expectations.
Nowadays, we have 'Fascism: Critical Concepts in political science' edited by Griffin and Feldman, going on the editor's website for a mere £1.040.00.
I know, idle talk, to complain the prices of academic publisher, but my point is that this 'Fascism: A Reader's Guide' is first of all great value: it's literally packed with great essays that provide the eager reader with not only the bibliographies the title allow you to expect, but also with excellent overviews of various fields and key issues by leaders of the field. It is striking in this regard to see what has changed, and the many have not, in regards to more recent scholarship on this question; Few would nowadays bother to rebuke the orthodox Marxist interpretation as some do in the reader, but otherwise questions of fascism's revolutionary character, of its transnational aspects, or the kinship between Central and East European types remain as far as I can tell, much discussed. The emphasis is probably less on culture than on politics, maybe because of the surprising absence of Mosse, leaving to Sternhell the task of exposing the intellectual roots of the phenomena. Economics also receive a special treatment, as well as the different geographic areas whose XXth century politics can lay a claim to the phenomenon. The two movements that reached power are examined in more detail and their respective social composition is discussed in some depth. All in all the book is hardly dated and delivers beyond expectations.
July 13, 2016
Written by several scholars, but more sequential and logical by its very nature than a "reader" text. Discusses some thing which Aristotle Kallis text doesn't deeply, namely, latin american fascism. But its not as rich with ideas.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews