Product Description

Ian Kershaw's HITLER allows us to come closer than ever before to a serious understanding of the man and of the catastrophic sequence of events which allowed a bizarre misfit to climb from a Viennese dosshouse to leadership of one of Europe's most sophisticated countries. With extraordinary skill and vividness, drawing on a huge range of sources, Kershaw recreates the world which first thwarted and then nurtured the young Hitler. As his seemingly pitiful fantasy of being Germany's saviour attracted more and more support, Kershaw brilliantly conveys why so many Germans adored Hitler, connived with him or felt powerless to resist him.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28376 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 912 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Is there anything fresh to be said about Hitler? He is an icon, maybe the icon, of the 20th century. He was a failed artist with Wagnerian fantasies, a slob who could not get up in the morning, but he exposed the frailties of modern civilisation in a way that should still make us giddy. How? Was it his doing, or German society's? Professor Ian Kershaw has produced a work of definitive scholarship that will be the standard for years to come. It was badly needed; since Alan Bullock's 1952 classic Hitler: A Study in Tyranny and Joachim Fest's Hitler (originally published in 1973) there has been much valuable research, all of which Kershaw seems to have read (there are 200 pages of notes). Add to this the media (and, by extension, public) fascination with the nature of evil, and a resurgent interest in right-wing groups, and this book becomes long overdue. Kershaw deals rigorously with the bones of his subject's life. He has no truck with psychological padding, and calmly demolishes most of the quasi-facts that have sprung up--if in doubt, he allows space within the chronology. His description of the path to the Chancellorship, which was always more messy than messianic, is painful to behold but gripping to follow, and concludes in 1936 with Hitler at the height of his "Hubris". This is an important study of the character of power, as clearly written as it is intellectually engaging. --David Vincent

About the Author
Ian Kershaw is Professor of Modern History at the University of Sheffield and one of the world's leading authorities on Hitler.

Customer Reviews

A historical magnus opus.
Looking at some of the earlier reviews I have to wonder if the reviewers have actually understood the book. Kershaw doesn't rehash the 'Hitler as a lucky non-entity' argument. He shows (again and again) how Hitler, through his hard-won dominiation of the Nazi party, coupled with his undoubted genius as an orator, came to power in Germany. The early chapters on the unique social and political conditions within Germany which allowed a demagogue like Hitler to prosper are worth the price of the book alone. Also, the charge that Kershaw is 'woolly' on the root of Hitlers' anti-semitism is deeply flawed. No-one can acurately pin-point what made Hitler so rabidly anti-semetic without resorting to cod-philosophy, which is exactly what real historians (like Kershaw) avoid.

Hitler: Hubris is not only the best book on Hitler I have ever read, it's the best book period.

A fantastic and level headed book.
This book allows the reader to understand and - more importantly - rationalise the sequence of events that led an opinionated and egotistical art-student wannabe (too lazy to study even for the entrance exams) to become one of the 20th century's most destructive and loathsome men. It can be seen how under-currents of nationalism, anti-Semitism, anti-Weimar State feelings and right-wing ideologies were all brought to the forefront of German politics after WW1 by obscure parties who gradually became larger as their ideas caught on with a German population who felt humiliated by their defeat in 1918. To be honest, it made me feel slightly restless and nauseous, all too aware of where all of this ended, and even worse, the fact that the political views of the Nazis aren't entirely dead yet...

This is a great, but very complex book, and would recommend taking notes of who the various men and women in this book were and their roles, thereby getting the most out of this work.

And don't forget to read the second book 'Nemesis'!

A Readable History text: not necessarily a contradiction
As a student of Modern History, it is both refreshing and useful to find a book which is not only such a major part of the current historiography on such an significant subject but also so accessible. Kershaw's book gives an important insight into the background of Hitler's early life and into the environment which helped to spawn the dictator who more than anyone contributed to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Apart from being fantastically well researched, "Hubris" is clear and easy to read and provides a useful re-examination of this topic, which until now had only been covered by Alan Bullock's early (but nevertheless brilliant) study of Hitler. This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the subject and an exceptionally useful aid for anyone studying Nazi history at university.