Fascism was the major political invention of the twentieth century and the source of much of its pain.How can we try to comprehend its allure and its horror?Is it a philosophy, a movement, an aesthetic experience?What makes states and nations become fascist?Acclaimed historian Robert O.Paxton shows that in order to understand fascism we must look at it in action - at what it did, as much as what it said it was about.He explores its falsehoods and common threads; the social and political base that allowed it to prosper; its leaders and internal struggles; how it manifested itself differently in each country - France, Britain, the low countries, Eastern Europe, even Latin America as well as Italy and Germany; how fascists viewed the Holocaust; and, finally, whether fascism is still possible in today's world. Offering a bold new interpretation of the fascist phenomenon, this groundbreaking book will overturn our understanding of twentieth-century history.