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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 943.086092 EAN: 9780393322521 ISBN: 0393322521 Label: W. W. Norton & Company Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 1210 Publication Date: 2001-09 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Studio: W. W. Norton & Company Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: George VI thought him a "damnable villain," and Neville Chamberlain found him not quite a gentleman; but, to the rest of the world, Adolf Hitler has come to personify modern evil to such an extent that his biographers always have faced an unenviable task. The two more renowned biographies of Hitler--by Joachim C. Fest ( Hitler) and by Alan Bullock ( Hitler: A Study in Tyranny)--painted a picture of individual tyranny which, in the words of A.J.P. Taylor, left Hitler guilty and every other German innocent. Decades of scholarship on German society under the Nazis have made that verdict look dubious; so, the modern biographer of Hitler must account both for his terrible mindset and his charismatic appeal. In the second and final volume of his mammoth biography of Hitler--which covers the climax of Nazi power, the reclamation of German-speaking Europe, and the horrific unfolding of the final solution in Poland and Russia--Ian Kershaw manages to achieve both of these tasks. Continuing where Hitler: Hubris 1889-1936 left off, the epic Hitler: Nemesis 1937-1945 takes the reader from the adulation and hysteria of Hitler's electoral victory in 1936 to the obsessive and remote "bunker" mentality that enveloped the Führer as Operation Barbarossa (the attack on Russia in 1942) proved the beginning of the end. Chilling, yet objective. A definitive work. --Miles Taylor Product Description: The climax and conclusion of one of the best-selling biographies of our time. The New Yorker declared the first volume of Ian Kershaw's two-volume masterpiece "as close to definitive as anything we are likely to see," and that promise is fulfilled in this stunning second volume. As Nemesis opens, Adolf Hitler has achieved absolute power within Germany and triumphed in his first challenge to the European powers. Idolized by large segments of the population and firmly supported by the Nazi regime, Hitler is poised to subjugate Europe. Nine years later, his vaunted war machine destroyed, Allied forces sweeping across Germany, Hitler will end his life with a pistol shot to his head. 48 pages of b/w photographs. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Superb ReduxThe second volume of Kershaw's outstanding biography of Hitler covers the period from 1936 to his death. Kershaw does a superb job of integrating the biographical material per se with relevant narrative and analysis of German history over this period. Kershaw picks up and expands themes that emerged in volume one. Two in particular stand out. One is the overriding importance of Hitler's crude but powerful ideology. The point of Hitler's actions was the violent attainment of his social Darwinist ... Read More Rating:  - OK, but could be betterI finally got around to reading both volumes of Kershaw's biography after plowing through the Fest bio. Fest's is better, in my opinion, although the first Volume of Kershaw's isn't bad. The problem with Volume 2 is that it's redundant, with endless anecdotes about Hitler's tantrums and paranoia---way too much padding. It's more of an historical account of WW2, instead of a biography, unfortunately. As well, Kershaw's contempt for Hitler gets in the way of acknowledging any successes on Hitler's part; ... Read More Rating: - "Working Towards the Fuhrer"How could a racial crank with no education rule Germany so effectively for years? If he was an evil genius, Why did he then fail, stupidly leading it into a second war and eventual defeat? Kershaw's answer is the Nazi phrase, "working towards the Fuhrer". When Hitler stated his desires or plans, he didn't have to issue actual detailed commands: he could count on his lieutenants to implement his will in practice. Thus making Germany's foreign policy (in particular) a copy of his own paranoid, ... Read More Rating: - Worth reading without reservationI have read many books about the Nazism, but until I read this one I didn't really feel I understood how a little snake like Adolf Hitler could get intelligent people to follow him. "Working toward the Fuhrer", as Kershaw puts it, became the goal, regardless of the consequences. Being "one of us", rather than "one of them", was the only goal. Facinating stuff, and scary, considering the relevance to our own time. Rating: - ExcellentTo be sure, military historians may be upset because Kershaw doesn't cover every little thing when it comes to the war, but this is the place to start and finish when it comes to Hitler from 1936-1945. The book is very well written and highly readable. If you want more info on the war, there are certainly other places to go, but if you want to know about Hitler, start with Kershaw's 1st volume and move on to this. |
