Rodolfo Graziani, Marshal of Italy, Viceroy of Ethiopia and one of Mussolini's most valued generals remains to this day a divisive figure in his homeland. Revered by some Italians as a patriot and vilified by others a murderer, his reputation abroad remains one of infamy. To the people of Libya, he's the man who hanged Omar al-Mukhtar. In Ethiopia, the one behind the poison gas bombings. To the British, he is the buffoon-like Italian general whose troops surrendered en masse. But what is the true story of Rodolfo Graziani? This rigorously researched biography draws on private letters and secret communications to reveal a fascinating portrait of Fascist Italy's most notorious military leader. What emerges is a man of glaring contradictions. A Doting family man and a violent soldier. Graziani was a key figure of Italy's momentous 1930s, enjoying widespread popularity during the height of Mussolini's dictatorship, his exploits in Libya and Ethiopia captured the public's imagination. After his death he was largely forgotten. But in 2012, the mausoleum erected in his honour has sparked fresh controversy.

Alessandro Cova was born in 1930, in the Cadore region of northern Italy, into an old Piedmontese family. He has been a professional journalist since 1955, working for a long list of prestigious Italian newspapers. As well as working for RAI, Italy's national broadcasting company, Cova also taught "History of journalism" at the LUISS University. His book on Rodolfo Graziani was the first biography on one of Italy’s most noteworthy protagonists of the last World War. In 1995, he also wrote 'Eva e il Fuhrer', a biography on Eva Braun. He resides in Rome.