Hitler: A Biography

Well written and thoughtful

I disagree with some of the reviewers who complain about the length of sentences in the book. The author wrote, I presume, for an audience who appreciated compound thoughts being expressed as a whole. Really, if one has not been educated above the KISS ( keep it simple stupid) level then this book is not for you. If, however, you enjoy good English language usage then you will be delighted with this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not Unabridged!!!!!

Not apparant to the unsuspecting buyer of this version at time of purchase, none of the images contained in the print version are included "owing to permissive issues." Shouldn't there be a disclaimer somewhere about this on the page describing the book so the buyer knows in advance of making a purchase? Feels like bait and switch B&N.......

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Recommended

I enjoyed the book, however, it is comprised of such long sentences. It's as if the author has this idea of "Why say it with six sentences when you can say it with one!" His vocabulary is not difficult to understand; his long sentences are sometimes.The book is filled with many interesting facts and I did enjoy learning about the "Nobody from Vienna." However, I could have read the book much quicker had the author worded things a bit better. If Kershaw wanted to tell you, for example, that he went to the lake on Saturday, June 6th, 1944, it might go like this: "On saturday, the genesis of a new journey,both myself and my family, the lake was nice, warm summer air and nearly cloudless day. beautiful day this Saturday, June 6th, 1944; suffice to say, despite the cold tea, we had a good time. It doesn't flow very well due to the sentence structure. I read reviews of the book before buying it and soon learned exactly what some reviewers were talking about.If you don't mind the sentence structure that the author most likely believes to be his "style", you may enjoy this book.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

one of the most extraordinary biographies i have ever read.

ian kershaw has created a biographical masterpiece, he has captured the tone of the evil dictators regime with amazing detail, including some pretty detailed pictures that reveal the overall brutality of the nazis rule. though the book is extremely long every page is as fascinating as the next.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Brilliant Biography Of Hitler At His Zenith Of Power!

Most simply put, this, the second of two superb books by British historian Ian Kershaw on Hitler's life and times, quite successfully draws the reader closer to an understanding of this historically enigmatic and often bizarre human being who so changed the world of the 20th century. Although there are a myriad of such books that have appeared in the half-century since Hitler's demise in the dust and rubble of Berlin, this particular effort, which draws from hundreds of secondary sources, many of which have never before been cited, paints an authentic and masterful portrait of Hitler as an individual. This is an absolutely singular historical work; and it will almost come to occupy a central place on the shelves of serious World War Two historians. Most fascinating for me is the way in which Kershaw grows an incredibly fertile appreciation for Hitler's personal characteristics into a sophisticated appreciation for what unfolded historically. A good example is his fetish for secrecy, which left both Hitler himself and those around him incredibly poorly informed of many of the details of what their policies were doing to the society around them. Author Ian Kershaw takes a quite different and novel approach, and it is one I enjoyed. Here, by carefully locating and fixing the individual in the context and welter of his times, it yields a much more enlightening approach toward painting a meaningful comprehensive picture of how this criminally twisted psychopath became such a fatefully placed politician and leader of post-World War One Germany. Thus, in Volume One we saw the boy grow and change in whatever fashion into a man, tracing the rise of this troubled malcontent from the anonymity of Viennese shelters to a fiery and meteoric rise into politics, culminating in his ascent to rule Germany. Kershaw memorably recreates the social, economic, and political circumstances that bent and twisted Hitler so fatefully for the history of the world. In this volume, Kershaw concentrates masterfully on how this single human being then fatefully pushes Nazi Germany, Europe, and the rest of the world into the most horrific bloodbath in modern history. Hitler was, in Kershaw's estimation, a man most representative of his times, reflecting a widespread disaffection with democratic politics, steeped in the virulent anti-Semitism of his Viennese environment, twisted and experienced in the cruelties and absurdities of the First World War, thrust by circumstance and disposition into the sectarian, dyspeptic, and rough & tumble politics of the 1920s, and rising by finding himself the most unlikely of politicians with an unusual ability to orate and emote. It is also interesting to discover that Hitler had an unusually acute (though uneven) intellect, is rumored to have possessed a 'photographic memory', and was said to have an amazing ability to discuss and quote facts and figures and then subsequently casually weave them into a conversation that witnesses found spellbinding and convincing. He was also unquestionably quite charismatic and charming. Kershaw argues masterfully that it is impossible to understand 'why' Hitler without understanding this extremely toxic and strange combination of social, economic, and cultural factors that characterized Germany. Thus, as Hitler begins his ineluctable rise to power, we better appreciate how and why such a seemingly unlikely cast of characters as the Nazis succeeded so wildly beyond what one would expect to be possible in a sane and sophisticated modern industrial state. This is fascinating stuff, as is his treatment of the concomitant rise of the slugs, thugs, and under-life accompanying him into the corridors of power and influence. Here is the world's greatest single collection of otherwise underachieving bullies, fanatics, pseudo-intellectuals, and fellow travelers, who clashed into an uneasy coalescence that formed the nucleus of the single greatest force for collective evil seen in the modern

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Danitayoung

WOW

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Too Much For Me

Kershaw has really done his homework. This is a well documented biography of Hitler, starting from his boyhood in Austria and taking him through his stint in the army in WWI and on through his meteoric rise in postwar Germany. Kershaw makes Hitler come alive. You can hear him speak, and watch him strut.

However, about half-way through, I couldn't continue. It was just too much Hitler. No matter how impartial the biographer tried to be, being careful to present Hitler's own words, the fact is, Hitler was more than unpleasant, and I just couldn't take it any more. His words were unpleasant. His political activities were not only offputting, but, knowing what they led up to, I couldn't hack it anymore.

Truthfully, Hitler wasn't that interesting a person in any way. Kershaw definitely portrays him in all his unoriginality. Hitler was horrible, but ultimately, banal. Even his Master Race ideas had been kicking around Germany since the 19th century. None of his ideology was formualated by Hitler. He just spoke to what Germans had been writing and saying for a century. Even the stab in the back theory was first put forward by others.

Perhaps I'll get back to it and read the rest.

Run off by the run-ons

I enjoyed the information presented. My biggest complaint is the writing style. So much of the information is lost in the LONG, run-on sentences. I would have preferred smaller, concise sentences. With such long sentences, I continually lost track of what the meaning was to be. Extensive use of commas does NOT make a sentence from being a run-on disaster.

an unforgettable work

book two on the life of the german dictator. the main biography on hitler thus far.

Part 2 better than Part 1

Although Hitler: Hubris was a scintilating story,with NEMESIS Mr. Kershaw has given us a biography that is perfect in every detail. Hitler's behavior has always been hard to understand in many ways.He traversed a twisting path in his attempt to remove the humiliation of WWI.As Mr. Kershaw deftly explains Hitler's manuvering for the Sudetenland and the Austrain annexation he also probes the Hitlerian mind to elucidate Hitler's problematic behavior. Why commence Operation Barbarrosa? Why not face reality in the Battle of Stalingrad? How was the final solution final in Hitler's mind? Mr. Kershaw also does a masterful job with Goebbels, Goring,Himmler, Heydrich and von Ribbentrop. Without question, the definitive biopgraphy of Hitler and the Nazi party that all will look to for the next hundred years.

Good book

Good book. Good plot.Loved it, want to read it again.

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