Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography

Like many of you, I have a special interest in reading not only history, but especially biographies of Key personalities who played a transformative role. Though only a casual reader and not a serious student of history as many reviewers here, I wanted to understand how one man could seize the imagination of a nation and then transform it from a decimated state after WW I to an almost unstoppable juggernaut militarily and economically, and in a relatively short time. While the name Hitler evokes immediate feelings of hate and disgust like perhaps no other personage in modern history, I was piqued by revelations in other accounts, like a biography of FDR, where, when he took office, many prominent and respected circles in the U.S. believed that FDR might do well to adopt dictatorial powers with Hitler as a model, hoping for similar transformations in the economy and unemployment that occurred in the mid 1930's in Germany. I initially began reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, but somehow didn't find it compelling so after reading reviews, decided to sample John Toland's work. Writing style and appeal is, of course, subjective, but I found this book to be completely compelling and found it difficult to put down. Describing itself as , "The Definitive Biography", is not hubris or overstatement. Though vilified, and rightfully so, Hitler's evolution is detailed fairly and authoritatively. You see him as an idealistic man who, only wanted to become an artist and who lived a bohemian lifestyle as a young man. His work was evidently good enough to find limited sales success, though he resorted to offering his paintings from door to door and at taverns. He was rejected from the Art Academy 3 separate times and told he had no talent. He lived in boarding houses often just subsisting. Curiously, he seemed to be respectful and moderate in his habits, later becoming a vegetarian. He eschewed amoral behavior with the opposite sex and if anything was awkward in attempts to broach even introductions to a few that caught his eye. Puzzlingly, you see his fervent thanks and appreciation to the Jewish doctor who treated his mother as she suffered from cancer, and early close friendships with Jewish heritage. Toland's writing style is fluid, easily absorbed, and fair. You see a young, idealistic boy trying to find himself and his place in the world, who is decorated as a war hero for fearless bravery and an uncanny knack for survival in brutal battles in WW I, who is blinded by poison gas and the emotional shock at hearing of Germany's surrender. A turning point seems to be when he is discovers his innate ability as a public speaker. Repeatedly, he gives the impression of being reserved, awkward and ordinary, until he starts to speak and orate. Audiences large and small seemed to be transfixed and the word "magic" was used more than once, as he transformed even hostile audiences into cheering followers after a single speech or even opening of a speech. I was also struck by the parallels of similar events recently as Putin seems to have taken a page out of Hitler's handbook during his maneuvers in the Ukraine, as Hitler did with first Austria, then Czechoslovakia, then Poland.As a casual reader with huge gaps in my understanding of especially that era, I found this book a tremendous resource, authoritative but unpretentious, personal, fair and unbiased in the portrayal of Hitler's life, development and eventual megalomania and barbarism that changed the course of history as perhaps no other individual in modern times. Highly recommended. So impressed that I just downloaded John Toland's other stellar work, Rising Sun, which won a Pulitzer Prize.

This book is thick, nearly 900 pages about WW2 and Hitler. Although it's that long, the writing style is fantastic and you can easily reach the end with no problem. I started reading it at page 45, around time when young Hitler was in Vienna, struggling as an artist. I got to page 750 with no problem, but the ending just drags on and on, I guess it's too depressing to read about Hitler's last days. I think the book is way too thick, by the time you finish reading it, you won't remember all the details and pointless stories anyways.Couple things that I have learned from this book, was Hitler's hate of Bolshevism. I think it's where all his rage came from. He was able to blame Jews for Bolshevism, therefore his hate of the Jews. Also I found interesting that around 1938-9, Hitler had very high approval rating of around 90-95%. If his career was to end before invasion of Poland, he would have been known as the greatest German leader of all time. Hitler and Mussolini were the subject of next few hundred pages. Their relationship is strange, but described in detail, you can also learn a few facts.Then you finally get to Hitler's turning point, when he decided to invade Russia in 1941. First few months seemed like a victory for Hitler, but then the winter came and his troops were just not equipped for that kind of fighting. That is where everything starts going downhill from that point. He gets more depressed, goes into seclusion, his health deteriorates, people turn against him, even his own party is starting to have doubts about Hitler's sanity. Overall, it's a good introduction of how Hitler came up and went down, but it's definetly not something you'll be able to read in a week.If you want to learn something about this dictator, it is a very long book, like I said, 900 or so pages. I would rather get something shorter that summarizes this one, although this book strictly evolves around Adolf Hitler and his choices in life. After a while you will find forcing yourself reading this, especially towards the end. But it has a few good points and some good info. The writing style is unique, and it pulls you through the book, good reference.

I've read a few books on the history of the Third Reich, but this was the first actual biography of Hitler I've tackled. It's a very readable account (perhaps because Toland is a journalist by trade). I was struck by how objective the account was - Toland lets the facts and accounts speak for themselves. This is a strength of the book. He seems to have resisted the temptation to write of Hitler in terms of turning him into some sort of comic book villain, or monster. I believe he's (Toland) been accused of being an apologist for Hitler by those who can't handle the idea of objective history telling. Like it or not, Hitler was a real person - and I think we sometimes comfort ourselves with dehumanizing him - so we can avoid rooting out the dark places in our own hearts - but I digress. Of course Hitler should be judged harshly, and has been - but that wasn't the purpose of this biography. Toland is no apologist and speaks several times of the holocaust as an undeniable, purposeful, event - and as Hitler began to realize the war couldn't be won, the extermination of Jews became even more important to him and the process was expedited - by Hitler's orders. The book was written in the 1970s so I wonder what new information has come to light since that could round out the subject. This book is a good starter biography and has me wanting to read the more recent ones.

Como minha avaliação anterior não foi publicada sem nenhuma explicação, retomo aqui minha modesta opinião sobre a obra. Em suas mais de mil páginas, muito bem escritas de forma clara e de fácil compreensão, pude ter um vislumbre de uma mente complexa e paradoxal. Não se desconhece que Hitler tomou seu lugar na história merecidamente como um dos maiores monstros e genocidas, mas avaliá-lo somente por esse prisma seria apequenar um personagem tão fascinante, seja para o bem ou para o mal. Hitler, na juventude, foi um adolescente sonhador, como muitos em sua idade, mas tinha uma megalomania incurável. Primeiro quis ser artista, mas não qualquer pintor, um grande mestre, e ao tentar a sorte em Viena foi rejeitado duas vezes até que se alistou como voluntário no exército alemão como cabo na função de mensageiro, uma das missões mais perigosas da grande guerra, oportunidade em que obteve uma cruz de ferro por bravura e cegueira devido aos gases venenosos. Diante da derrota da Alemanha e o tratado de Versalhes, o megalomaníaco Hitler se viu numa missão gloriosa e quixotesca: a redenção do seu país adotivo, já que era austríaco. Gostemos ou não Hitler pegou seu destino em suas próprias mãos e em vinte anos voltou como líder máximo do exército mais poderoso do mundo para um ajuste de contas com a humanidade. Abriu seu caminho com coragem, resiliência e punhos de ferro. Chegou ao poder como Chanceler por meios legítimos e em três anos uniu a Alemanha: “um povo, uma nação, um Führer”, trazendo emprego, segurança e prosperidade aos trabalhadores alemães, apesar da destruição da democracia e da perseguição aos judeus a nível de política de estado. Como estadista anexou a Áustria, Sudetos e Renania sem dar um tiro! A anexação da Prússia Oriental na Polônia era um objetivo legítimo que foi objeto de várias negociações diplomáticas todas recusadas pelo governo polonês. Mas seu grande erro foi invadir a Polônia e a União Soviética abrindo a guerra em dois fronts e o resto é história... Excelente livro, recomendo.

Dieses Buch beleuchtet den Verbrecher Adolf Hitler von einer anderen Seite, nämlich die eines Menschen, eines kranken Menschen. Dies ermöglicht diverse Einblicke und neue Erkenntnisse bezüglich der Person Adolf Hitler und der Machtmaschine die er erschuf. Toland wird vorgeworfen das er oft nicht kritisch genug ist was die Taten des Regimes angeht, dies ist aber nicht notwendig, da jeder vernünftige Mensch sich dessen bewusst ist. Trotzdem scheint es mir vernünftig, kritisch zu sein. Wie bei jedem historischen Werk kann auch hier Interpretation und ein altern der Fakten (Wiederlegungen usw.) möglich sein.

Very good book. Once you start reading, you become so enthusiastic to know what happened next. so you continue to read until last. One must read this book.

Huge but fascinationg book, hard to put down. Difficult to know precisely how much is factual (it is almost as if the author was present and knew what people said and indeed thought). Putting that aside, it is brilliantly written, giving a great insight into the life and the charachter of a man who however ghastly was one of, if not the most important figures of the 20th Century

A good narration of the Hitler story, very much a description of his life rather than an analysis of the man.