Description:
Many theorists in psychology have attempted to understand Adolf Hitler, but no analyst has put the Führer on the couch with more throrough results than Fritz Redlich. In Hitler: Diagnosis of a Destructive Prophet, the Yale psychiatrist considers whether physical illness and mental disorder affected the dictator's state of mind. In this matter, Redlich allows no simplistic labels or easy explanations. Keenly aware of the limits that historical sources impose on medical and psychological approaches, he overturns many diagnostic assessments of Hitler, arguing that "precise and subtle description is superior" to often inaccurate generalizations about personality. While there have been hundreds of biographies of Hitler, Redlich's stands out for its extensive use of the Führer's medical records, and an exhaustive survey of the relationship between Hitler and his personal physician, the controversial Theodor Morrel. Redlich also approaches more enduring issues, such as the Führer's sex life, vegetarianism, rumored genital deformity, possible syphilis, Parkinson's disease, and amphetamine addiction with fresh insight. Out of Redlich's absorbing account emerges a mercurial, paranoid fanatic who went to any lengths to maintain his popularity. --James Highfill
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