Hitler: A Biography: The phenomenal bestselling biography, now for the first time in one volume

Now at last in a single, abridged volume – the definitive life. When the two volumes of Ian Kershaw’s biography of Hitler, Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris and Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis were published, they were immediately greeted around the world as the essential works on perhaps the most malign figure ever to hold power in modern Europe. In the face of considerable demand for such an edition, Kershaw has now created a single volume version. The result is a frightening, fascinating narrative of how a bitter provincial failure from an obscure corner of Austria rose to unparalleled power; how the half-baked, contemptible ideas of a vagrant former art student coalesced into an ideology that for twelve horrific years shaped the fate of millions; and how both in his determination to impose his will militarily and to fend off his many enemies he unleashed a genocidal Armageddon. No one individual can stand in as the scapegoat for the vast social, technological, economic and military forces that shape our societies – but if ever there was one man whose ideas and personality shaped and cowed those forces, as well as embodying them, it was Hitler. This is his story and Kershaw tells it with unique authority, and with moral anger. Now available in a single, abridged paperback, Ian Kershaw's Hitler is the definitive biography of the Nazi leader. Ian Kershaw's two volume biography, Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris and Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis , was greeted with universal acclaim as the essential work on one of the most malign figures in history, from his earliest origins to the final days of the Second World War. Now this landmark historical work is available in one single, abridged edition, tracing the story of how a bitter, failed art student from an obscure corner of Austria rose to unparalleled power, destroying the lives of millions and bringing the world to the brink of Armageddon. 'Supersedes all previous accounts. It is the sort of masterly biography that only a first-rate historian can write' David Cannadine, Observer 'The Hitler biography for the twenty-first century' Richard Evans, Sunday Telegraph 'I cannot imagine a better biography of this great tyrant emerging for a long while' Jeremy Paxman 'Magisterial ... anyone who wishes to understand the Third Reich must read Kershaw, for no one has done more to lay bare Hitler's morbid psyche' Niall Ferguson, Sunday Telegraph Contents List of Illustrations Glossary of Abbreviations Maps Preface to the New Edition Reflecting on Hitler 1 Fantasy and Failure 2 Drop-out 3 Elation and Embitterment 4 The Beerhall Agitator 5 The ‘Drummer’ 6 Emergence of the Leader 7 Mastery over the Movement 8 Breakthrough 9 Levered into Power 10 The Making of the Dictator 11 Securing Total Power 12 Working Towards the Führer 13 Ceaseless Radicalization 14 The Drive for Expansion 15 Marks of a Genocidal Mentality 16 Going for Broke 17 Licensing Barbarism 18 Zenith of Power 19 Designing a ‘War of Annihilation’ 20 Showdown 21 Fulfilling the ‘Prophecy’ 22 Last Big Throw of the Dice 23 Beleaguered 24 Hoping for Miracles 25 Luck of the Devil 26 No Way Out 27 Into the Abyss 28 Extinction Epilogue Main Published Primary Sources on Hitler Index