The Divo and the Duce: Promoting Film Stardom and Political Leadership in 1920s America GIORGIO BERTELLINI, 2019: Oakland, CA, University of California Press pp. xv + 309, notes and index, $34.95 (paper).

By interlacing the public figures of Valentino and Mussolini, I The Divo and the Duce i unveils the interdependence of romantic and political leadership during the 1920s. Ever since his meteoric rise to fame and early death in 1926, Italian-born star Rodolfo Valentino has been the subject of huge media coverage and numerous biographies, both in the United States and abroad. [Extracted from the article]