A great deal of effort has been expended by Anglo-American scholars in an attempt to isolate past and contemporary "fascisms," "neofascisms," "cryptofascisms," and "latent" fascisms in the modern world. A. James Gregor's Phoenix: Fascism in Our Time offers an insightful history of the intellectual rationale for Benito Mussolini's fascism. His work examines the complex rationale provided by major Italian intellectuals. The book provides a list of recurrent features that helps to identify the generic phenomenon. This lucid account reviews seriously neglected aspects of intellectual history, describing the socioeconomic and political conditions that precipitate and sustain fascism. Gregor shows that Italian fascism was supported by a responsible and credible rationale. His account of that rationale permits us to understand the appeal fascism as an ideal has exercised over elites and masses in the twentieth century. Gregor offers a credible list of traits in showing how instances of fascism can be identified when they first appear. The last chapters of the work are devoted to a case study of the newly emergent post-Soviet Russian nationalism and its affinities with historic fascism. Gregor discusses the implications of the rise of generic fascism in the former Soviet Union and post-Maoist China.This timely volume now available in paperback offers an alternative to conventional mechanical interpretations of the major historical events of the twentieth century. Phoenix is must reading for scholars and policymakers dealing with European history between the two world wars, and will be instructive for anyone interested in prospects for a fascist ideology in the new millennium.
