Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis (Allen Lane History)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
George VI thought him a "damnable villain" and Neville Chamberlain found him not quite a gentleman, but to the rest of the world Adolf Hitler has come to personify modern evil to such an extent that his biographers have always faced an unenviable task. The two most renowned biographies of Hitler--by Joachim C Fest (Hitler) and by Alan Bullock (Hitler: A Study in Tyranny)--painted a picture of individual tyranny which, in the words of AJP Taylor, left Hitler guilty and every other German innocent. Decades of scholarship on German society under the Nazis now make that verdict unsafe, and so the modern biographer of Hitler must account both for his terrible mindset and his charismatic appeal. In the second and final volume of his mammoth biography of Hitler, covering the climax of Nazi power, the reclamation of German-speaking Europe, and the horrific unfolding of the final solution in Poland and Russia, Ian Kershaw manages to achieve both these tasks. Following on from Hitler: Hubris 1889-1936 the epic Hitler: Nemesis 1936-1945 takes the reader from the adulation and hysteria of Hitler's electoral victory in 1936 to the obsessive and remote "bunker" mentality which enveloped the Fuhrer as Operation Barbarossa (the attack on Russia in 1942) proved the beginning of the end. Chilling yet objective: a definitive work.--Miles Taylor
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
John P. Fox, The Independent on Sunday
'...Hitler the man jumps out at the reader from virtually every page. [He ] comes across as a cold, friendless, lonely, unfeeling and utterly self-centred creature whose private life was virtually non-existent. Hitler was driven by the goal of total and ruthless success in politics and war. Power, the total domination of the new racially-pure Germany over a racially and ethnically cleansed Europe, and the ideas and practices of war were all that mattered to him - and God help those crossed him.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ian Kershaw's follow-up to the peerless 'Hubris' matches and even surpasses the achievements of the first half of this splendid biography. Whereas Hubris addressed Hitler's upbringing and rise to power, Nemesis concerns Hitler's central role during the second world war and with it the final demise and collapse of the third reich. Kershaw's prose is accessible for laymen, whilst remaining packed full of detailed analysis for academics. The author considers both the structuralist and intentional approaches to the third reich, and also whether Nazi policy was determined by economic necessity, or ideological goals.
Nemesis also provides a fabulous insight into the mind and world of the centuries most infamous and destructive figure. It also highlights and ponders the role of those around Hitler and their relationship to him. The author also attempts to understand the reasons for Hitler's murderous determination to implement policies of genocide and dogged continuance of the war even when he knew it was lost.
The two works together represent an excellent study in the workings of the Nazi government and the mind of a dictator. These two works follow the already excellent work on the Nazis and seek to examine how and why these ideologues came to power in a rational and highly educated civlised state. Hopefully works of this quality will help aid us from preventing it from happening again.
Nemesis also provides a fabulous insight into the mind and world of the centuries most infamous and destructive figure. It also highlights and ponders the role of those around Hitler and their relationship to him. The author also attempts to understand the reasons for Hitler's murderous determination to implement policies of genocide and dogged continuance of the war even when he knew it was lost.
The two works together represent an excellent study in the workings of the Nazi government and the mind of a dictator. These two works follow the already excellent work on the Nazis and seek to examine how and why these ideologues came to power in a rational and highly educated civlised state. Hopefully works of this quality will help aid us from preventing it from happening again.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis, Ian Kershaw's superb account of Hitler's final years, manages to fuse biographical insight into the life and mind of the Dictator, together with a detailed overview of the system (or lack of it) within the Nazi state structure.
We are offered comprehensive analyses of Hitler's pre-war belligerance, the lack of will in British and French government circles to prevent his imperial ambition, his early military triumphs and, ultimately, the final descent into Holocaust, defeat, and death.
Kerhaw's excellent account acts as a constant reminder of how Hitler could have been prevented at every turn but for the absence of committed opposition within the German military establishment. It is a lucid and sober lesson in the victory of bluff and outrageous chance over conventional politics and diplomacy.
49 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read both books I found this to be the more engaging but that is no reflection on the quality of the first. Rather I found as I assume most people would Hitler is at his most interesting and puzzling during the period 1936 - 1945. Together they form a superb and comprehensive biography on Hitler but they are also fine as stand alones.
This is not a book about WWII but the events of WWII in relation to Hitler so people expecting a comprehensive summary of the war will be dissapointed. Some of the most significant events are covered in only a few pages i.e. the fall of France and the Ardennes offensive. However this is probably my only criticism and one which I have no right to make given that this is a biography of Hitler and not a history of the war. However it gives an superb 800 page insight into the man and the world he was surrounded by. Kershaws writing style is engaging and the level of research he has undertaken makes this a credible document. I would certainly recommend it as being the ultimate biography of a man who has his fair share of them.
The world can be thankful that Mr Kershaw had no need for a third book on Hitler (1946 - ????) although its absence is a loss to readers of fine historical writing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Stunning, terrifying, compulsive reading.
This second half of Prof Kershaw's Hiltler biography is a masterwork. Accepted as the best single reference in modern Germany, this very large, detailed, yet readable tome is... Read more
Published 19 months ago by R. Hart
CHALLENGING AND INFORMATIVE READ
This is the second volume of Ian Kershaw's biography of Adolf Hitler, and like the first volume'Hubris'it gives detailed accounts of the build up to the second world war, and the... Read more
Published 21 months ago by bibliophile
One I would not part with.
This was the first biography of Hitler which I have read to date , my knowledge of the man having previously been gathered from the thoughts and considerations of other historians... Read more
Published 22 months ago by R. C. J. Stewart
Brilliant book with enough details and pages to keep all happy
Brilliant second part to a good quality and well researched piece of history. Even though the author states in the foreword that he tries to show Hitler's deeds as wrongful you... Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2010 by Lukasz Piwko
Very pleased
I bought this as a gift for my dad for Christmas. He is currently reading the first of Ian Kershaw's 2 Hitler books (Hitler: 1889 to 1936) and knew that he wanted to follow on... Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2010 by M. Beadle
Underpowered giant
Despite its publisher's claims, this book adds absolutely nothing of value to older works on Hitler by Fest and Bullock, both of which, incidentally, are also much better written... Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2009 by birchden
The rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler
They were unavailable in local bookshops so ordered both books of Ian Kershaw's biography of Hitler. An excellent price post free that arrived very quickly.
Published on 15 July 2009 by D. Milford
An insight into the most infamous character of the 20th Century
A must read for those interested in the Third Reich & world war 2 and the higher echelons of the Nazi leadership. Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2009 by Shaky Hands
Nothing more to be said
As the book was published already some years ago, I have read it many times since. It certainly is the definitive account of Germany's war-years and Hitler's downfall. Read more
Published on 26 April 2007 by 1001 Pages
Good, but with several holes and mistakes
This book, naturally, beginns where first one ended. We follow Germany's bloodless victories (Austria, Czechoslovakia) and WW2. Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2002 by Luka Novak
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