Book description
Written by acclaimed biographer A. N. Wilson, Hitler offers a short,
sharp, gripping account of one of the twentieth century's most monstrous
and influential figures.
In 1923, a thirty-four year old Adolf Hitler was in prison after taking
part in an unsuccessful putsch to overthrow the German government.
Within a decade, he was the most powerful man in Europe.
As Germany's leader, Hitler delivered full employment and what appeared
to be a booming economy to the nation - while Britain was suffering
punishing levels of unemployment with no real welfare benefits. His
popularity seemed to know no bounds; the slow deprivation of civil
freedoms and rights to Jews did not initially displease all Germans, and
the full extent of Nazi anti-Semitic extermination plans were incredible
to many even within their own movement - let alone to the outside world
- when they began to be put into operation during the early 1940s.
Internationally, too, Hitler's triumphs were extraordinary, and soon
the Rhineland, Sudetenland and Austria fell to the German army, who
suffered barely a casualty. By 1940, there was no doubt that Hitler was
Europe's master.
But there was another story - and in this utterly compelling short
biography, acclaimed writer A. N. Wilson positions Hitler as a man who
not only embodied the excesses of the Third Reich but one who also
represented the mediocrity of what optimists called 'the Century of the
Common Man'. For all the limitations of his personal accomplishments -
as the child of a poverty stricken family, with no great educational,
military or moral qualifications for leadership - Hitler was able, by
remarkable energy, superbly choreographed rallies and electrifying
rhetoric, to become a second Napoleon.
In a field populated with lengthy tomes, Wilson's brief, insightful
portrait offers a compelling introduction to a man who continues to
fascinate and appal. 'In the best short biography of Adolf Hitler for
three decades, A. N. Wilson goes straight to the essentials to explain
what made the Fuhrer the phenomenon he was. His conclusions make
fascinating, if occasionally uncomfortable, reading even two-thirds of a
century after Hitler's death.'
-Andrew Roberts, author of The Storm of War: A New History of the Second
World War
'A. N. Wilson is a born biographer and has an eye for the telling
detail. In a book written with verve, insight, and imagination, he gives
us a fresh look at Hitler. The story he tells is bound to interest and
surprise even those who think they already know and understand this most
curious historical figure, one who against all odds rose to become
leader of Germany and then promptly brought about the greatest
catastrophe in European history.'
-Robert Gellately, author of Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of
Social Catastrophe
'brilliantly dissecting Hitler…. a stimulating triumph of the mind'
Sunday Express
'brims with the author's customary zip and zing' The Spectator
'Wilson…brings a witty, novelist's insight into what made Hitler tick.
He seems to understand Hitler's character in a way many historians never
could.' Mail on Sunday A. N. Wilson was born in 1950 and educated at
Rugby and New College, Oxford. He was a lecturer at St Hugh's College
and New College from 1976 to 1981, and was then appointed Literary
Editor of the Spectator. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of
Literature in 1981. His novels include The Sweets of Pimlico, The
Healing Art, Wise Virgin and biographies of Walter Scott, Milton and
Tolstoy.
