Hitler: A Biography - Hardcover

Longerich, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0190056738 ISBN 13: 9780190056735

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2019

Synopsis

From one of the most prominent biographers of the Nazi period, a new and provocative portrait of the figure behind the century's worst crimes

Acclaimed historian Peter Longerich, author of Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler now turns his attention to Adolf Hitler in this new biography. While many previous portraits have speculated about Hitler's formative years, Longerich focuses on his central role as the driving force of Nazism itself. You cannot separate the man from the monstrous movement he came to embody.

From his ascendance through the party's ranks to his final hours as Führer in April 1945, Longerich shows just how ruthless Hitler was in his path to power. He emphasizes Hitler's political skills as Germany gained prominence on the world's stage. Hitler's rise to, and ultimate hold on, power was more than merely a matter of charisma; rather, it was due to his ability to control the structure he created. His was an image constructed by his regime - an essential piece self-created of propaganda. This comprehensive biography is the culmination of Longerich's life-long pursuit to understand the man behind the century's worst crimes.

About this title

About the Author:

Peter Longerich is Professor of Modern German History at Royal Holloway University of London and founder of the College's Holocaust Research Centre. An internationally renowned authority on the Nazis, he has published widely on the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, including Holocaust: The Nazi Murder and Persecution of the Jews (2010), which is widely recognized as the standard account of the Nazi machinery of mass murder and the steps by which it unfolded, and Himmler (2011), described by the London Review of Books as "one of the landmark Nazi biographies."

Review:

"... a comprehensive and impressive work. I am happy to say that Hitler: A Life is a very good book, fluently translated by Jeremy Noakes and Lesley Sharpe. It is comprehensive on the domestic side of the story, and it draws on the newer literature of the past two decades ... Longerich's work is much more than a synthesis... The result is a fine-grained and generally persuasive account of Hitler's rise to power..." -- Brendan Simms, Irish Times

"Here once again [Longerich] mobilises a formidable quantity of archival material and shows us Hitler in his true colours ... [A] detailed biography." -- Richard Overy, Literary Review

"... demonstrates a mastery of a vast mass of primary and secondary research... that is remarkable even for a German professor ... Longerich is uniquely equipped to explore the enigma of a Fuhrer who manipulated and ultimately ruined not on his lieutenants but an entire continent..." -- Daniel Johnson, Standpoint

"Throughout, the author wears his impeccable scholarship lightly, creating a fresh picture of one of history's most written-about subjects. A Hitler biography unlikely to be surpassed for quite some time."--Kirkus, Starred Review

"Despite its length, Longerich's book is no ornamental 'door stopper;' it is, rather, an 'eye opener' that sets this book apart from those of many other Hitler biographers."
--Reform Judaism

"A chilling but masterful portrait."--Booklist, Starred Review

"Longerich brings distinctive perspectives to the subject, offering compelling insights... A worthwhile and thought-provoking assessment of Hitler's life and times, in the process providing a stark reminder of the consequences of the politics of hate."
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0190056738
• ISBN 13: 9780190056735
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1344