![]() It is definitely good you don't have to be an expert to read this. So far I am thinking this is not a waste of time and am glad I am reading it. When I get lost in the acronyms or who is who (and later code names) I do get a bit upset, but generally that isn't so often. ![]() I do NOT understand everything, but enough to hang on and learn more. Would it be dry? Would it be boring? But it only cost £2.99!! It is long, yes, but not dry or boring. I was hesitant it is so darn long (44 hours). Thoughts having completed about ¼ of the book:ĭid anyone else pick up the .uk daily deal Hitler on November 14th, 2016? My thoughts on completion are to be found below. One last note: I listened to the Audible version, which was expertly read by Damian Lynch. ![]() For me, how incremental changes in politics, policy, attitudes, and behaviour served to justify and allow the mass extermination of people. This is a fascinating and important book the investigation and analysis of such complicated political machinations and mistakes, the end result of which was millions of deaths, must surely hold some lessons for modern society. The Final Solution, developed over time and with the assistance and input of his advisors, was the most brutal endnote to a savage, murderous system that began in Hitler's early drive for power. This is an important factor in the ongoing nature of his popularity, right up until the massive devastation and failures of WWII started to erode both his authority and appeal, when he had no more victories or answers to offer. Hitler is portrayed very much as a man of his time, significantly moulded by contemporary political, cultural, and economic conditions. Anti-Semitism, for example, was deeply rooted in the European consciousness, with violent manifestations centuries before Nazism. For, while Kershaw sees Hitler's way of thinking as a singularly important factor in the expression of fascism in Germany, he makes very clear that Hitler was far from alone in his outlook, and did not even hold the most extremist views. As a man, Hitler is made accountable for his thoughts, choices, and actions, as are those within his ruling elite, and all others who formed part of the massive political movement of Nazism/National Socialism. The Hitler in this book is human, evil only in his immorality or wickedness, not as part of some greater, more nebulous sense of him as the Devil incarnate. ![]() The author's argument isn't sensationalist, it's evaluative and critical. Kershaw never shies away from the complexity of Hitler's character or the means by which he, and his paladins, achieved and retained power. Having had some personal experience of historical research, on a vastly smaller scale, I can only imagine the time and effort it must have taken to complete a work of this type and I am entirely unsurprised to discover that he was knighted for services to history. Considering it is a condensed version of Kershaw's two part biography Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris and Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis, it remains incredibly detailed, well structured, and without significant omission. I'm not sure where to start with reviewing this book.
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