July 15, 2016
"Everything is happening exactly as we predicted." So exulted Adolf Hitler in his salad days, before he brought the world tumbling down around him.Will there ever be an end to books about the Nazi dictator? Not as long as there are new documents to be released from the archives. Longtime students of the literature surrounding the Third Reich will find no surprises here, but journalist/historian Ullrich's primary audience is a generation of readers of German who have no direct knowledge of events, making it a thorough but eminently readable introduction to the receding past. The author deals with the usual turns, such as Hitler's rough years as an aspiring artist and the horrors of trench warfare in World War I, but he adds welcome observations and interesting asides along the way. Irrespective of the musings of Allied soldiers on the subject, for instance, he suggests that Hitler enjoyed a normal if perhaps not exciting physical relationship with Eva Braun. Of less prurient interest, Ullrich details the careful unfolding of the Nazi plan to isolate--extermination will come later in this two-volume biography--the Jews of Europe, which accelerated beyond the original timetable because "rapidly pursuing anti-Jewish persecution does no harm to the system [and] does not cause any economic difficulties or any loss of prestige in the world at large," in the words of one contemporary. Hitler, writes the author, was in fact keenly sensitive to public opinion, as revealed in the wake of the discovery that a senior military officer had married a onetime prostitute, when Hitler lamented, "if a German field marshal can marry a whore then anything is possible in this world." Above all, in this long but skillfully narrated study, Ullrich reveals Hitler to have been an eminently practical politician--and frighteningly so. Timely, given the increase in right-wing intransigence throughout the world, and one of the best works on Hitler and the origins of the Third Reich to appear in recent years.
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Starred review from July 1, 2016
A bafflingly complex human emerges in this first installment of an impressive new biography of the most infamous figure of the twentieth century. Drawing on newly available primary sources (including Goebbels' complete diaries) and wide-ranging recent scholarship, Ullrich develops a nuanced portrait of the failed artist who achieved undisputed mastery of the Third Reich. Distinguished previous biographers (Konrad Heiden, Alan Bullock, Joachim Fest, and Ian Kershaw) give Ullrich an interpretive foundation. But he judiciously identifies their errors, amplifies their strengths, and adds his own fresh insights as he limns Hitler's uncanny skill at discerning others' weaknesses, his mesmerizing versatility as an actor, and his remarkable gift for transforming personal relationships into political assets. Unconvinced by scholars who view Hitler as a protean opportunist, Ullrich highlights Hitler's unwavering commitment to two fixed objectives: ridding Germany of its Jews and securing living space for the homeland in Eastern Europe. How could a man so ruthlessly pursue these objectives while carrying a photo of his beloved mother in his pocket? Readers may ponder this question as Ullrich's masterful narrative (seamlessly translated) carries them to April 1939, scant weeks before Hitler starts WWII by invading Poland. Appreciative readers will eagerly await volume two.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)
Starred review from June 1, 2016
Historian Ullrich (Bismarck) has written one of the best biographies of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) to date. This first volume meticulously covers the Fuhrer's early years, from his birth in Austria through the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Beautifully translated, this book is engaging, thoroughly researched, and full of insights that compel readers to view Nazi Germany and, most importantly, its leader with a fresh perspective. Ullrich presents the complex dictator as an autodidact who had incredible gifts of calculation, memory, and instinct. Far from whitewashing, this emphasis on the leader's positive qualities creates a better understanding of the utter depravity of Hitler and his regime. The only criticism of this book is Ullrich's overreliance upon the diaries of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to settle some disputed aspects of Hitler's story, such as his role in the 1938 Blomberg-Fritsch Affair. VERDICT This biography is destined to become the new standard on Hitler, much as Alan Bullock's Hitler: A Study in Tyranny was in the 1960s and Ian Kershaw's Hitler: 1889-1936 has been since the turn of the century. [See Prepub Alert, 3/21/16.]--Michael Farrell, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 15, 2016
Former political book review editor of the German newspaper Die Zeit and author of books on Bismarck and Napoleon, Ullrich aims to explore the man behind the monster who was Hitler to understand his rise to power. With a 40,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2016
Historian Ullrich (Bismarck) has written one of the best biographies of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) to date. This first volume meticulously covers the Fuhrer's early years, from his birth in Austria through the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Beautifully translated, this book is engaging, thoroughly researched, and full of insights that compel readers to view Nazi Germany and, most importantly, its leader with a fresh perspective. Ullrich presents the complex dictator as an autodidact who had incredible gifts of calculation, memory, and instinct. Far from whitewashing, this emphasis on the leader's positive qualities creates a better understanding of the utter depravity of Hitler and his regime. The only criticism of this book is Ullrich's overreliance upon the diaries of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to settle some disputed aspects of Hitler's story, such as his role in the 1938 Blomberg-Fritsch Affair. VERDICT This biography is destined to become the new standard on Hitler, much as Alan Bullock's Hitler: A Study in Tyranny was in the 1960s and Ian Kershaw's Hitler: 1889-1936 has been since the turn of the century. [See Prepub Alert, 3/21/16.]--Michael Farrell, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.