R. J. B. Bosworth
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Richard James Boon Bosworth (7 December 1943) is an
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n historian and author, and a leading expert on
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
and
Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...
, having written extensively on both topics. Bosworth received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
, before going on to doctoral study at St John's College,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
. He held various teaching positions at the University of Sydney, the
University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...
and the
University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...
. He has also held various
fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
ships, including fellow of the
Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Aus ...
, fellow of the
Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...
, research fellow in the Humanities Research Centre of
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
and senior research fellow in history at Jesus College,
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
.


Personal life and education

Richard James Boon Bosworth was born to Richard C.L. Bosworth – himself a professor of Chemistry – and Thelma H.E. Bosworth on 7 December 1943 in
Sydney, New South Wales Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. Bosworth married Michal Gwyn Newell on 23 September 1965. They have two children: Edmund and
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
, the latter a professor of criminology at St. Cross College, Oxford. In the same year, Bosworth completed a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
at the University of Sydney, graduating with first-class honours. In 1971, Bosworth earned a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
at the University of Cambridge.


Career

Bosworth began his lecturing career in 1969 at the University of Sydney. He became a senior lecturer in 1974 and associate professor of history from 1981 to 1986. Promoted to professor of history at the University of Western Australia in 1987, Bosworth was head of department from 1988 to 1990. In 2007, he began working part-time there and part-time at the University of Reading. In 2012, Bosworth became a senior research fellow in history at Jesus College, Oxford. He is known as an "eminent scholar of
Italian Fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...
". Bosworth was deputy or acting director of the Frederick May Foundation for Italian Studies from 1981 to 1986. He also worked as a research fellow in the Humanities Research Centre of
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
in 1991, visiting overseas scholar at St John's College, Cambridge and visiting professor at various institutions. He is a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.


Publications


''Benito Mussolini and the Fascist Destruction of Liberal Italy'' (1973)

Bosworth wrote his first book as part of a series – Topics in Modern History – seeking to assist high school and university teachers and students, providing a "guiding and stimulating" overview of Fascist Italy, rather than in-depth historical analysis. Noting that Fascist Italy has not garnered the attention of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, Bosworth makes clear his anti-Fascist tone from the beginning, aiming for "a more serious study of Italian Fascism than is usually given" by
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
'misinterpreting and misunderstanding' Italian history. He presents Italy up to 1945 as pretending to be a
Great Power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...
in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, despite poor geography and resources, and argues that this pretence has taken its toll.


''Italy: The Least of the Great Powers'' (1979)

As the title implies, Bosworth argues that
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
was largely ignored by the other major world powers at the beginning of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The book constitutes a "severely critical analysis of Italian diplomatic aims and methods." Stemming from Bosworth's Cambridge PhD thesis, ''Italy: The Least of the Great Powers'' has been said to possess an extraordinarily 'rich and complete'
bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...
. Here again, Bosworth presents Italy as possessing the numbers and history of a great power, but really being closer to a small state or colony in identity. It is this book in which Bosworth argues that the Italian king,
Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...
, was merely a figurehead.


''Italy and the Approach of the First World War'' (1983)

Bosworth discusses the various influence in Italy preceding the country's entrance into the First World War. He argues that Italian Foreign Minister Antonio di San Giuliano single-handedly controlled Italian
foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
and rejected Italian responsibility to honour the Triple Alliance. Accordingly, Bosworth presents the Italian king,
Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...
, as a figurehead, delegating power and rarely making positive foreign interventions. Bosworth portrays decision makers largely uninfluenced by external pressures, including an Italian public who wanted peace.


''Explaining Auschwitz and Hiroshima'' (1993)

In this book, Bosworth aims to "pursue the question of the 'comfortable' or 'mad' ways in which societies went through the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
have historicised and thus comprehended that experience," emphasising that historicization over time. He particularly examines the
historiographical Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...
controversies which occur when a society's account of the war seems inadequate.


''Italy and the Wider World'' (1996)

Bosworth seeks to organise a collection of "contradictory images from Italy's past and Italy's present,
hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
jostles for attention", both for Italian self-understanding and for the understanding of outsiders, such that "there are many Italies to be pondered, both in the scholarship of historian or of other experts and in the popular mind." Bosworth agrees with Antonio Gramsci and others that commentators must acknowledge the intricacies of Italian history, such as Italy's differing histories between the North and South, country and rural, or government and population. Bosworth emphasises the discrepancy in vision of 'legal' (bureaucracy) and 'real' (population) Italy, especially concerning 'dreams of empire'. Bosworth uses the notion of ''paese'', an Italian word for both country and village, to illustrate the complexities of Italian nationhood, stating that each ''paese'' can be seen as "a world-ranging 'community'" or simply a village.


''The Italian Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives in the Interpretation of Mussolini and Fascism'' (1998)

In this 'personally inflected' book Bosworth analyses changing interpretations of Italian Fascism over time and their impact on Italian society, emphasising how these interpretations have been shaped by their environments. Bosworth opposes the work of Emilio Gentile and Renzo De Felice. He accuses both of being 'anti-anti-Fascist' (p. 23), failing to adequately condemn Italian Fascism, although this stance has been criticised as 'politicising scholarly activity'. Bosworth argues that recent scholarship has "deflected the field away from its moral and political purpose, which is to be vigilant against renewed fascism and protective of anti-fascism," attributing this failure to
cultural relativism Cultural relativism is the view that concepts and moral values must be understood in their own cultural context and not judged according to the standards of a different culture. It asserts the equal validity of all points of view and the relati ...
and
postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...
. The book has been accused of being 'unnecessarily polemical', dismissing much of the work done in the last twenty years, which has focused on more specific elements of Italian Fascism, like "ideology, cultural products, government policy, gender relations, sexuality, and public and private space."


''Mussolini'' (2002)


Content

In this biography, Bosworth concentrates less on Mussolini's personality than his political actions, leading to an "avowedly anti-Fascist study of the
Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word , 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 192 ...
." The book begins with Mussolini's final two years, then explains how he got there. Bosworth presents Mussolini as a "bully, coward, and a failure", who could not effectively modernise Italy, and who represented the Italy of his time. Bosworth particularly criticised Mussolini's leadership in the late 1930s and portrays him as more of a people-pleaser than an ideologue. He even controversially contends that Mussolini "might have entered history as a figure of some light and some darkness", had he retired in 1932.


Reception

Referred to as a "well-received biography of Mussolini", ''Mussolini'' won Bosworth the $20,000 Premier's Prize at the
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award provided by the Government of Western Australia, and managed by the State Library of Western Australia. History and format Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the Wes ...
, the most prestigious book prize in Western Australia. At the same Awards, ''Mussolini'' also won an award in the
non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...
category. Although one scholar notes an "occasionally rambling and disjointed narrative structure", he also calls it, "arguably the most complete biography of the Fascist dictator currently available in any language."


Scholarship

Bosworth's characterisation as a weak
dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...
, focused on short-term consolidation of power and prestige, differs from other scholars' portrayals. The book opposes the view of contemporaries that Mussolini had determined radically new foreign policy by the mid-1920s, instead depicting him as "an impatient and impulsive but continually oscillating opportunist in international affairs," who maintained the foreign policy of his predecessors. By portraying Mussolini not within revolutionary traditions but as a man without strict
ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
beliefs, Bosworth disagrees with
MacGregor Knox MacGregor Knox is an American historian of 20th-century Europe, and was from 1994 to 2010 the Stevenson Professor of International History at the London School of Economics. He is the son of the British-born classical scholar and historian Bernar ...
– a leader scholar on Italy – and Renzo De Felice – a "central and controversial" scholar on Italian Fascism.


''Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Dictatorship'' (2005)

Here, Bosworth examines the rise and fall of Fascist Italy. He combines various perspectives, including the mocking comments of Italian civilians under Mussolini. ''Mussolini's Italy'' was awarded a 2005 West Australian Premier's non-fiction prize and the 2006 New South Wales Premier's general history prize. It has been referred to as "a powerful work of scholarship, beautifully written, which should be read by anyone interested in 20th-century Europe, or indeed the antecedents of modern-day Italy."


''Nationalism'' (2007)

Bosworth's book joined a quickly growing body of literature on
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
. Bosworth primarily argues that nationalism is flawed, tempting us to lose sight of the goal of humankind's flourishing. The book is "certainly not written for beginners, requiring knowledge of the history of Europe and of nationalism generally. The book is written in Bosworth's signature playful tone and is "much closer to
polemic Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...
than a thesis."


''Whispering City'' (2011)

In this book, Bosworth connects ancient and modern
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
into an account of the city through the centuries, examining its architecture and culture. He begins with
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
ic occupation of Rome at the beginning of the 19th century, although at times he refers to history preceding the Napoleonic occupation. Bosworth contrasts the resulting
Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
ideals with competing worldviews and describes their continuing conflict. Thus, Bosworth incorporates examination of different periods into study of modern Rome. He also regularly includes maps and concentrates on different zones of the city, painting a picture of the city as it now stands. Bosworth argues that study of Rome has typically been occupied with an historical narrative, driven off course by politics and power. The book particularly highlights the role of the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in such power struggles.


''Italian Venice: A History'' (2014)

Bosworth sets out to provide a fresh description of
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, knowing that the task has been declared impossible. Most commentators focus on the Republic from its foundation in 421 to its destruction by Napoleon in 1797. Bosworth explores the sentiment surrounding Venice as "the most beautiful city in the world, but...also one of the saddest." He focuses on her 'modern histories', especially how Venice reacted to Italian ownership and how it in turn impacted the city. In chapter 3, he describes the devastating impact of the First World War on Venice, going on to consider "what Fascism did to Venice and what Venice did to Fascism."


''Claretta: Mussolini's Last Lover'' (2017)

In his most recent
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...
, Bosworth recounts the affair between
Claretta Petacci Clara "Claretta" Petacci (; 28 February 1912 – 28 April 1945) was a mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. She was killed by Italian partisans during Mussolini's summary execution. Early life Daughter of Giuseppina Persichetti (18 ...
and Benito Mussolini which began in 1936, when Petacci was separated from her husband. Bosworth portrays her as an 'unremarkable' "airhead", who was "neither charismatic nor clever nor cultured", despite belonging to a "respectable, ambitious and deeply Catholic Roman bourgeois family." According to Bosworth, Petacci was supported in the affair by her family, who hoped to manipulate her for their own benefit.


Views


Interaction with scholarship on Mussolini

Bosworth's work on Italian Fascism fits into a topic of scholarship "as controversial and congested today as in the past." Bosworth fits into the orthodox Anglo-Saxon scholarly tradition on Italian Fascism: his biography focuses on Mussolini's politics, rather than his personality. When he does discuss Mussolini's personality, Bosworth portrays him uniquely: "Bosworth's Duce was a cynical misanthrope, a crude
Darwinist ''Darwinism'' is a Term (argumentation), term used to describe a scientific theory, theory of Biology, biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others. The theory states that all species of org ...
, and an ideological
agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
, a man who viewed politics not as a means to realize any long-held vision but rather as an area of opportunistic compromises and deals designed to achieve short-term tactical advantages that bolstered his own power and prestige." Similarly, Bosworth's examination of Mussolini's politics differs from contemporaries. He has significant 'interpretive disagreements' with MacGregor Knox and Renzo De Felice. He disagrees with the assertion of Knox and De Felice that Mussolini fundamentally took Italy into war. He argues that Mussolini simply represented the Italy of his time, particularly their "feelings of inferiority and resentment after World War I", rather than swaying or deceiving his population. Bosworth does agree with De Felice that the regime was generally accepted by the Italian people. He opposes recent scholars, who attribute Mussolini's power to the 'mythical and symbol universe of fascism', and ''above all'' Bosworth denies that Mussolini himself revolutionised and transformed Italy.


Interaction with scholarship on Italian Fascism

The most notable interaction between Bosworth and his contemporaries on the topic of Italian Fascism concerns the nature and purpose of the scholarship itself. Especially in his book ''The Italian Dictatorship'', Bosworth condemns contemporary scholarship for what he sees as a failure to fulfil its moral and political duty. He particularly criticises Renzo De Felice as allegedly fitting into a group of 'anti-anti-Fascists', who fail to adequately condemn Italian Fascism. In this, Bosworth has been criticised as 'politicising scholarly activity' in a way which has caused him to neglect important advancements in the decades preceding his work. Bosworth also critiques scholarly distinction between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, emphasising instead their similarities. He calls for scholarship to approach Fascism similarly to scholars of Nazism, applying similar historiographical questions. However, he acknowledges significant differences between foreign policies of Mussolini and German dictator
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
.


Notes


References

* Askew, William (1981). "Review: Italy, the Least of the Great Powers". ''The American Historical Review''. 86(1): 168–169 * Atsuko, Ichijo (2009). "Review: R.J.B. Bosworth, Nationalism". ''European History Quarterly''. 39(3): 520 – via Sage Journals. * Baird, Jennifer (November 2012). "Review: 'Whispering City: Modern Rome and its Histories'". ''The Journal of Roman Studies''. 102: 323–324. * Bosworth, R.J.B. (1973). ''Benito Mussolini and the Fascist Destruction of Liberal Italy''. Adelaide: Rigby. * Bosworth, R.J.B. (1979). ''Italy the Least of the Great Powers''. Cambridge University Press. * * Bosworth, R.J.B. (1996). ''Italy and the Wider World''. New York: Routledge. * Bosworth, R.J.B. (1998). ''The Italian Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives in the Interpretation of Mussolini and Fascism''. New York: Oxford University Press. * Bosworth, R.J.B. (2002). ''Mussolini''. London: Bloomsbury Academic. * Bosworth, R.J.B. (2005). ''Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Dictatorship, 1915–1945''. Penguin Books. * Bosworth, R.J.B. (2007). ''Nationalism''. Pearson Education. * Bosworth, R.J.B. (2014). ''Italian Venice: A History''. New Haven: Yale University Press. * Bosworth, R.J.B. (2017). ''Claretta: Mussolini's Last Lover''. Yale University Press. * Cardoza, Anthony (2005). "Recasting the Duce for the New Century: Recent Scholarship on Mussolini and Italian Fascism". ''The Journal of Modern History''. 77(3): 722–737. * Falasca-Zamponi, Simonetta (April 2012). "Review: 'Whispering City: Modern Rome and its Histories'". ''The American Historical Review''. 117(2): 620–621. * "Fellows Directory". ''Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia''. * "Find Fellows". ''Australian Academy of the Humanities''. * * * Hughes, Hetty (2006). ''Venice: A Collection of the Poetry of Place''. London: Eland. * Ipsen, Carl (March 2005). "Review: Mussolini" (PDF). ''The Journal of Modern History''. 77(1): 206–208 * Joll, James (1977). ''Gramsci''. London: Fontana. * O'Grady, Desmond (21 January 2012). "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day". ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. * Painter, Borden (1990). "Renzo De Felice and the Historiography of Italian Fascism". ''The American Historical Review''. 95(2): 391–405. * Paxton, Robert (February 2009). "Review of 'To the Threshold of Power'". ''American Historical Review'': 205. * "Professor Richard Bosworth". ''Jesus College, Oxford''. * "Staff Profile: Professor Richard Bosworth". ''University of Reading''. * Stone, Marla (2000). "Review: The Italian Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives in the Interpretation of Mussolini and Fascism". ''The American Historical Review''. 105(3): 1041. * "The F Word". ''The Economist''. 8 October 2005. * Yeoman, William (4 October 2016). "Helen Garner wins top WA book prize for true crime tale". ''The West Australian''. * "2005 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards". ''State Library of Western Australia''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosworth, R. J. B. 1943 births Academics of the University of Reading Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 20th-century Australian historians 21st-century Australian historians Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford Historians of the University of Oxford Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Historians of Italy Historians of Europe Living people University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of Sydney Academic staff of the University of Western Australia Australian expatriates in England