Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris

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Summary: Excellent...This is a page turner...in a biography.
Review: The author does a superb job in putting into context the rise of Hitler. He examines the forces that led to the rise of Hitler including Hitler's own skills with emphasis on the underlying support that Hitler received from others. Hitler's struggle for power succeeded as a result of his nationalistic views,anti-semitic and anti-marxist views which found a willing audience during the economic calamity and social unrest of the time. Through his personality - his negotiatiing skills that tended toward brinksmanship, all or nothing attitude, and his careful articulation of ideas through appropriate propaganda machines he managed to become the spokesman of an extreme nationalistic party. But as the author effectively contends there was a power structure for which he became the spokesman. It is in understanding the nature of this power structure - the people behind the Nazi votes and their psychology that one can get an insight into how a non-German leader with genocidal tendencies could have become the leader of one of the major western powers.

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Summary: extremely informative picture of the Third Reich
Review: Ian Kershaw does an amazing job of vividly portraying Hitler's life and times. But I have several criticisms. In his introduction, he explicitly refutes the view that Hitler was a tragic figure. Nonetheless, he uses Greek terms in his title (Hubris in the first volume, Nemesis in the forthcoming) that more than impart a Greek tragic flavor to the live of Hitler. I hope that this is not evidence of conceptual confusion. Secondly, Kershaw's prose style leaves a little to be desired. Indeed, his prose sometimes reads like German painfully and literally translated into English

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Summary: A really valuable book which is also very readable.
Review: This is a wonderful, extremely readable book that taught me a great deal and that I couldn't put down. It read more like a Greek tragedy than an academic biography. Professor Kershaw starts by showing that Hitler was one of life's losers who wasn't very good at anything, and only rose to corporal in the German army, but ended up, less than 15 years after the end of World War I, ruling a major industrial country. He rejects the romantic idea that Hitler was some kind of evil genius, and shows us the historical and social context of late 19th and early 20th century Germany and Austria that allowed Hitler, a rather ordinary, maladjusted, social misfit, to rise to power. I eagerly await the sequel.

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Summary: Definitive biography of Hitler
Review: The author is well respected for his work on the social aspects of German society under the Nazis. I have long looked forward to the publication of this work and am not at all disappointed. Kershaw fits the early life of Hitler into its social context to attempt to explain his source of ideas and attitudes. He is able to demonstrate Hitler was no original thinker, if a thinker at all, but had an ability to play on the fears and prejudices of blue-collar Germans by a decided gift for fiery oratory. The extreme rightist and volkisch sentiments in reaction to the largely imagined threat of "Bolshevismus" and the decidedly imaginary 'plots' of Jewish 'capitalism' Hitler expanded and deepened. The help he then received from the wealthy, reactionary elements of German society ensured his political prominence. From the evidence garnered from reliable sources, Kershaw shows a Hitler almost devoid of a personal life, a human shell and a 'loner'. The development of the Fuehrer myth is a brilliant expose of the way Hitler was nothing if not an opportunist. Thoroughly recommended as a serious historical biography of the most evil man of the 20th C. There is much right-wing attempt to show Stalin as, if not more, evil than Hitler. This book should dispel that idea; Stalin did not start from a position that there are humans and non-humans and the latter are to be exterminated. There is an inhuman aspect to Hitler not evident in Stalin to anything like the same degree (vide: Parallel Lives by Alan Bullock)

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Summary: IAN KERSHAW'S HITLER (VOLUMES 1 AND 2) BY JOHN CHUCKMAN
Review: This biography (actually two volumes, Hubris and Nemesis) is well worth reading. Kershaw is a sound, if not elegant, writer and tells a story you will want to finish, but the book has significant faults.

Historians still do not know exactly how to reckon with the phenomenon of Hitler. The man was like a giantic cyclonic storm that suddenly welled up and unleashed death and misery on a colossal scale.

And for that reason he stands as the most influential man of the 20th century, not the greatest or the most gifted, but the most influential.

His existence brought to life such memorable opponents as Churchill, his defeat established forty years of Soviet dominance over much of Europe, and his beastial acts unquestionably led to the founding of modern Israel, setting off great difficulties in the Middle East for decades.

The ironic thing about Kershaw's book is that the author says he does not understand Hitler. Hitler remains a mystery to him, and Kershaw even says that in some ways his book is not a biography of the man but of the era in Germany. This is not satisfying to the reader wishing to understand better.

Kershaw's thesis of Hitler as a an almost compulsive gambler who struck it lucky for a while is weak. Hitler's rise to lead a great nation of Europe and his years of early diplomatic and military victories call for a more insightful explanation than a heavy run of luck. Kershaw gives credit to Hitler as an instinctive propagandist (in advertising terms, a talented marketer), but that is about as far as he goes to explaining this eye of the greatest storm in human history.

Historians, naturally enough, are reluctant to write anything that could be interpreted as admiration, but other historians have managed a better job of dealing with Hitler's talents and personality, notably Alan Bullock, Joachim Fest, and William Shirer.

One new element that Kershaw brings is a focus on Hitler's being responsible for the Holocaust, not that any responsible historian ever has denied it, but naturally enough there is no paper trail. I think Shirer is better on the horrors Hitler inflicted. I also think a more insightful treatment of this kind of psychology is found in Gitta Sereny.

One of the great mysteries of Hitler's psychology is his anti-Semitism. There is just no accounting for its immensity, and Kershaw does little to enlighten us here.

Read this book and the other authors I have mentioned and decide whether you agree with me that the definitive biography of Hitler has yet to be written.


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Summary: Buy other books
Review: This is yet another typical anti-Hitler, anti-Germany book that flooded the book market. So expect the usual obligatory lampooning, ridicule and name-callings.
This book is claimed to be judicious, scholary and objective. But in reality it is judgemental, prejudiced and 'selectively researched'.
All of Hitler's strengths and accomplishments are belittled and very briefly grossed over; while his shortcomings are expounded in excruciating detail.
For a much more professional and matured biography I recommend John Toland's "Adolf Hitler".

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Summary: Hitler exposed as leftist
Review: Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the first volume is how Kershaw dissects Hitler's young adulthood. It sets the stage not only for what Kershaw argues about the true nature of this monster in the first volume, but throughout the second as well. Hitler is exposed as a pretender, a lay-a-bout, a daydreamer, and an expert bloviator with delusions of grandeur. All arguments in this work are heavily footnoted, making it difficult to come up with any counter arguments.

The defects in Hitler's personality are excellent groundwork for explaining how he really came to power- by getting himself appointed Chancellor through powerful friends who were foolish enough to bank their futures on the meager abilities of an Austrian ex-con. This volume sets the stage for the wartime leadership of Hitler, and aids greatly in showing how the left always comes to power. When the will of the people fails, it is taken by force. Kershaw does show in the second volume (most interestingly through diary entries of ordinary German citizens) that many Germans and Austrians were quite taken with Hitler in the early years of his reign, but it is clear from the writing in this volume that Kershaw understands the nature of the radical left. Once Hitler gained power, the only way to unseat him was to kill him. Whether or not his rule was popular, Germany would have no other choice while he remained alive.

This was and is the nature of all other leftists: Mao, Lenin, Stalin, Kruschev, Castro, Pol Pot, Ceucescu and to a much lesser degree, the modern left in free countries (relying upon the rule of un-elected judges and other bureaucrats, like un-elected Hitler, to get their way).

Absent from this volume are the old canards of Hitler's insanity, religious zeal, or "right-wing" extremism. His mediocre artistic talent, low grades in school, pretended bookishness, directionless life before WWI, and then his vaunted sense of self upon capturing the minds of other radicals, are all expertly revealed, with engaging prose and indisputable documentation. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to know what Hitler was really like, and why we should be very afraid of any modern forms of socialism.

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Summary: Kershaw's hubris
Review: Billed as the definitive biography on Hitler, this book is a major letdown, providing nothing that we don't know of 20 years back. This is popular history dressed up as serious research. There is hardly any primary researches, and most of the pages are just recycling of old cliches and prejuidices (what do you expect from a so called expert who can hardly read German?).

I recommend David Irving's book on Hilter, a seminal work based on primary, archival researches from one of the best historians on Nazi Germany.

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Summary: The Definitive Biography
Review: There are many books that focus on the life of Adolf Hitler, but none can be compared to the work of shear perfection that is Ian Kershaw's Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris. In the first volume of his Hitler biography, Kershaw addresses the key themes that led to Hitler's rise to power. The book does not begin with any preconceived notions regarding the "evil" or "inhumanity" of Hitler, but rather examines him as he was, a flesh and blood human being. Kershaw presents Hitler as a three dimensional figure. It is this balanced view that makes this book so unique. Hitler presents a full view of its namesake's story and directly challenges and refutes many misconceptions that have become part of the Hitler myth.
The author's motivation behind writing this book is also key to the overall understanding of its significance. Kershaw states that a Hitler biography had never been part of his agenda. In fact, he was extremely hesitant to even begin undertaking this venture because of the prior works of Alan Bullock and Joachim Fest. Kershaw's prior works did not focus on individuals, but rather broader social trends surrounding Hitler's acceptance and Nazism. It was the inescapable link between Hitler and Nazi Germany that finally drove Kershaw to begin his book.
Ian Kershaw's "Hitler 1889-1936 Hubris" is the first part of the greatest biography ever written on the subject of Adolf Hitler. It is the most complete and thought provoking of all the Hitler biographies. While the work can only be described as massive, at well over 800 pages, it is well worth the read. Kershaw addresses all sides of the Hitler. He looks at the figure of Hitler independently of preconceived notions. Kershaw comments on and discredits many of the numerous Hitler myths ranging from the possible Jewish origins of his grandfather, his sexual preference, and the roots of his anti-Semitism. Kershaw references the earlier works of Joachim Fest and Alan Bullock to make his descriptions of Hitler more well rounded. This book address nearly ever key element of Hitler's early life from his boyhood days in Austria to his time in the trenches of World War I and finally to his eventual rise to power through the Nazis. The book is incredibly detailed and presents the full scope of each event in Hitler's life. Kershaw also helps to place Hitler's life in the larger context of the German nation throughout the pre-1936 era.
Perhaps the most prominent theme addressed by Kershaw is Hitler's anti-Semitism. Not only is this one of the most fundamental issues to understanding Hitler, but it is also a prime example of the skill employed by Ian Kershaw in his book. I found Kershaw's theory to be well formed and the most sound of all the other material available. The book is supplemented by a diverse collection of Hitler and Nazi photographs. These photos add to the work as they depict Hitler before he would become the Fuhrer of Germany. Some of these photos, especially of his youth, are not commonly seen and offer a different look on a man whose life is frequently analyzed throughout the world. The book is skillfully written and has a great flow, which makes its length seem almost a non-factor. After reading "Hubris" one will not be able to resist diving into the second volume "Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis." Overall, you could not find a better biography of Hitler. Kershaw does not provide "shocking" new details or "sensational" accounts he simply gives the reader the facts. I highly recommend Kershaw's book for anyone interested in Nazi Germany or history in general.

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Summary: Disturbing, enlightening, and thoroughly good read.
Review: I speak as a general reader, expert at nothing. This volume has exactly 200 hundred pages (200) of notes and references. It is written with clarity and with a fluid style with sufficient variation, and outstanding structure, and so is no struggle for the general reader - no purple prose, or academic dryness, and is easy to follow the logical and grammatical development of sentence, paragraph and chapter. Its topic sentences are sometimes quite memorable eg, "Crisis was Hitler's oxygen. He needed it to survive." p. 200. In the work, Professor Kershaw refers to housewives like Luise Solmitz, and to reporters like William Shirer and to Generals like Ribbentrop in equal measure. We learn Hitler became a millionaire in his own right through the sales of Mein Kampf. We learn Hitler was, apparently, responsible for breaking the shackles of Versailles, restoring military pride and making Germany a force "to be reckoned with" whilst his party was seen as corrupt and violent - this in itself, how he was able to separate himself from his party so convincingly, is measure of his political skill. We learn (or at least I do) that Hitler introduced compulsory sterilization of the hereditary sick but that the ground had been prepared by the "experts" before Hitler took office. This book is not just a political, or military history, but a social and economic history as well. I suppose the study of this era in the World's history should be required reading for every citizen. Democracy as we know it, emerged the victor at the end of the 20th century, but only by the hair of its chinny chin chin.