La Amante del Populismo / Populism's Lover

Un reportaje hist?rico a Margherita Sarfatti, amante y bi?grafa de Benito Mussolini, que devela detalles in?ditos sobre la vida y la trayectoria del dictador y abre la puerta a una l?cida y reflexiva lectura sobre los fascismos y populismos contempor?neos. Margherita Sarfatti (1880-1961), periodista e intelectual italiana hija de una rica familia veneciana de origen jud?o, fue bi?grafa de Benito Mussolini -adem?s de su amante por veinte a?os- y comparti? con ?l momentos decisivos en la fundaci?n y el crecimiento del movimiento fascista. Marcos Aguinis, tras una extensa y rigurosa investigaci?n, recupera su voz y la despliega en un notable reportaje hist?rico en el que, a partir de la obra escrita de Margherita, y a trav?s del ensamble de historia, cr?tica, ensayo y mucho de novela, construye una entrevista singular, en m?s de un sentido reveladora. La conversaci?n, siempre amable pero nunca complaciente, se desarrolla ?gil, aguda, inteligente y desparpajada; en su decurso ning?n aspecto de la vida privada y de la acci?n p?blica del hombre que impuso a Italia un r?gimen totalitario y autocr?tico es dejado de lado, ning?n detalle es eludido. Por estas p?ginas desfilan las primeras armas de Mussolini como periodista, su carrera militar, su ascenso pol?tico, su v?nculo con Adolf Hitler y su decisiva participaci?n en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, pero tambi?n su volc?nica intimidad y los aspectos m?s oscuros de su personalidad. Aut?ntica obra maestra, La amante del populismo ratifica a Aguinis como uno de los intelectuales m?s l?cidos de nuestro tiempo. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Italian journalist and intellectual Margherita Sarfatti (1880-1961), daughter of a rich Venetian family of Jewish descent, was Benito Mussolini's biographer--as well as his lover for twenty years--and shared some of his most decisive moments in the inception and development of the fascist movement in Italy, clear root of populism, both for the left- and right-wing. After an extensive and rigorous investigation, Marcos Aguinis gets his voice back and uses it in a remarkable historical piece in which--based on Margherita's written work and after creating an ensemble of history, review, essay, and novel--he builds a singular interview, insightful in more than one way. This conversation, always kind, but never complacent, unfolds in a fast, sharp, smart, and easy manner. In his discourse, he never leaves aside any aspect of the private life of this man who imposed a totalitarian and authoritarian regime in Italy; no detail eludes him. Through these pages we witness how Mussolini's main weapons as a journalist march on, his military career, his political ascent, his link with Adolf Hitler, and his crucial participation in the Second World War, but also his volcanic intimacy and the darkest traits of his personality. An authentic masterpiece, Populism's Lover ratifies Aguinis as one of the most lucid intellectuals of our time.