It is often said that, deep down, Mussolini was really a reasonable man. Someone ?you could do business with? in spite of the fact that he was a dictator and a strongman. The Duce yearned to be accepted by the world at large and achieve the stature of a statesman. Then he ?came under Hitler's spell? and progressively let himself be overtaken by the Nazi world view. Hitler was another breed of leader, an uncompromising fanatic, always going for broke, ready to gamble everything, and always demanding that his advisors back ?the most radical solution? to every problem. Under normal circumstances a Hitler would never become head of state, but in the chaotic world of German politics of the 1930s the impossible became reality and Hitler was made Chancellor. What was the nature of this strange and still largely unknown relationship? Most writers claim that Hitler was the stronger of the two personalities, with Mussolini playing the role of second fiddle. But it was not always the case. This book provides the best and most detailed account of how that relationship evolved, and how the two dictators twisted and turned as the shifting sands of international politics drew them inexorably together. The propaganda photographs of the two rulers in uniform, meeting at train stations, riding in open cars, waving to the cheering crowds, hide the grim reality of the regimes they represented. The view of the two leaders in the privacy of the conference rooms is what this book aptly reveals, when the cameras were no longer rolling and decisions were made affecting the lives of millions. This is the first English edition of the complete chronicle of the 17 fateful meetings between the two dictators, from 1934 to 1944. The book is divided into 18 chapters. The first chapter describes the origins of the relationship and the initial requests, coming mostly from Hitler, to have a private meeting with Mussolini during the period from 1919 to 1933. Each of the other 17 chapters corresponds to a specific meeting that took place between the two dictators, giving for each one a detailed background and the history of what actually took place behind the closed doors, as well as eyewitness accounts recorded by other participants, anecdotes from the press, and other sources. Mr. Corvaja's book is a unique contribution because it assembles all this scattered and sometimes obscure material, building a complete account of historically vital information into a single text, which includes many details unknown even to many seasoned researchers. It is an important work of historical investigation, founded upon a vast number of German, Italian, Russian, French, and British sources and references covering facts indispensable to the historian and of great interest to the general reader. AUTHOR: Santi Corvaja (b. Catania 1920-d. Trieste 1999) was a retired journalist and a former director of the respected newspaper, Il Piccolo, published in Trieste. He also directed many other publications during his long and well-respected career and published many articles in various magazines, such as Storia illustrata. In writing this book of crucially important contemporary history, Mr. Corvaja has had access to many archives and to actual participants in the fateful meetings between the two dictators. Mr Corvaja was a lifelong anti-fascist and his is a work of objective history, unencumbered by any personal bias or political ideology.