My Autobiography

A primary source document from the architect of Italian fascism, this autobiography presents Mussolini's own account of his journey from turbulent youth to supreme power. Written in 1928 at the height of his regime, with Richard Washburn Child and Luigi Barzini Jr. serving as ghostwriters, the book traces his socialist beginnings, World War I service, the violent birth of the Fascist Party, and the March on Rome that made him Il Duce. What emerges is not merely a political memoir but a masterclass in authoritarian self-mythology: Mussolini frames his rise as inevitable, his violence as necessity, and his vision of Italian greatness as historical destiny. The book includes his definitive statement on Fascist doctrine. Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how dictators construct their own narratives, it reveals the psychology and rhetoric of fascism from the source itself.