Hitler - Softcover

Kershaw, Ian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141035889 ISBN 13: 9780141035888

Publisher: Penguin UK, 2010

Synopsis

Now available in a single, abridged paperback, Ian Kershaw's Hitler is the definitive biography of the Nazi leader. Ian Kershaw's two volume biography, Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris and Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis, was greeted with universal acclaim as the essential work on one of the most malign figures in history, from his earliest origins to the final days of the Second World War. Now this landmark historical work is available in one single, abridged edition, tracing the story of how a bitter, failed art student from an obscure corner of Austria rose to unparalleled power, destroying the lives of millions and bringing the world to the brink of Armageddon. 'Supersedes all previous accounts. It is the sort of masterly biography that only a first-rate historian can write'
  David Cannadine, Observer 'The Hitler biography for the twenty-first century'
  Richard Evans, Sunday Telegraph 'I cannot imagine a better biography of this great tyrant emerging for a long while'
  Jeremy Paxman 'Magisterial ... anyone who wishes to understand the Third Reich must read Kershaw, for no one has done more to lay bare Hitler's morbid psyche'
  Niall Ferguson, Sunday Telegraph 'For the present generation, Kershaw's Hitler stands out as a clear beacon of truth, illuminating a dark age of terror and mendacity'
  Mail on Sund 'An achievement of the very highest order'
  Michael Burleigh, Financial Times Ian Kershaw (b. 1943) was Professor of Modern History at the University of Sheffield from 1989-2008, and is one of the world's leading authorities on Hitler. His books include The 'Hitler Myth', his two volume biography Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris and Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis, and Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions that Changed the World, 1940-1941. He was knighted in 2002.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Front Flap
 In this now classic account, Ian Kershaw takes an innovative approach to the Hitler story. By putting forward the idea of Hitler as a 'charismatic leader' Kershaw tries to find answers to the questions of why Hitler of all the nationalist-racist fanatics with roughly similar views in Germany after the First World War should find such appeal, how such an unlikely figure as Hitler could come to wield such extraordinary personalised power, what his personal role in the shaping of policy amounted to, and whether he was indeed personally directing policy and taking the key decisions down to the very end. Hitler is portayed by Kershaw as a social product, not a demonic figure. He is depicted as the product of a society at a particular conjuncture - a society gripped by an extraordinary and comprehensive crisis of values, an overwhelming cultural as well as political, social and economic crisis. In the fourteen years that follwed the end of the First World War, he gradually emerged as the mouthpiece of the nationalist masses and eventually transformed himself into what over thirteen million Germans saw as the hope of national salvation. Ian Kershaw offers original insights into how Hitler 'became possible' and paints a compelling portrait of dictatorial power.  
Back Flap

Ian Kershaw is Professor of Modern History at the University of Sheffield. He has written widely on Hitler and the Third Reich and is author of the now definitive comprehensive two volume biography Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris (1998) and Hitler, 1936-1945: Nemesis (2000). In addition to his publications, he was consultant to the BAFTA-winning BBC TV series The Nazis: A Warning from History, to the BBC2 programme War of the Century, to ZDF's Hitler: eine Bilanz and to ZDF's series in preparation on the Holocaust.   Also available from Longman History: The Origins of the Second World War in Europe, 2nd Ed.P.M.H. Bell The Origins of the First World War in Europe, 2nd Ed.James Joll     
Back of Jacket

'this short book ought to be read by everybody with any interest, whether general or specialized, in Hitler and the Third Reich.'History
 'This is a book that contributes far more to our understanding of Hitler's power than any of the sensational biographies that hit the bookshops with such depressing regularity'Jewish Chronicle  Hitler was without doubt the most destructively influential figure of the twentieth century.  This hugely successful volume is not a conventional biography of Hitler. By looking at the nature and mechanics, the character and exercise, of Hitler's dictatorial power it has become influential in helping to understand more fully the extraordinary story of how Hitler could emerge from total obscurity to gain such popularity within Germany, unleash a new World War, and instigate the most terrible genocide yet known to mankind.

About the Author:

Sir Ian Kershaw is one of the UK's most distinguished historians. His most famous books include Hitler, Fateful Choices and The End. The first volume in his history of modern Europe, To Hell and Back, was described by the Observer as 'superb... likely to become and classic' and by Harold Evans in the New York Times as 'chilling epic-size history... should be required reading'. He lives in Manchester.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin UK
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0141035889
• ISBN 13: 9780141035888
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 1072