These concise guides are an antidote to confusion, tracing major political ideas from their origins to today's headlines. Hitler's salute. Mussolini's glare. The swastika. The jackboot. These symbols of fascism's past loom large in the popular imagination - so why is the word itself so hard to define? Unlike most major political ideologies, fascism has no clear-cut intellectual foundation. It appeals to some of the very darkest instincts in human nature: the hatred of difference, the desire to control, the delight in violence. The story of fascism shows us what happens when these instincts consume entire nations. In Fascism: The Story of an Idea , Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey lay out in clear and accessible terms the origins of fascism: what happened, how it happened and why. It is only by understanding fascism's beginnings that we can start to understand what it means today - and guard against those who seek its return. Ian Dunt spent many years working in the heart of Westminster as editor of Politics.co.uk. He is a columnist for the i newspaper, host on the Oh God What Now and Origin Story podcasts, and regularly appears as a political pundit on TV and radio. He is the author of two previous books - Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now and How to be a Liberal .