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Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The first of many strokes of good fortune for Adolf Hitler took place thirteen years before he was born..." (more)
Key Phrases: paramilitary politics, dispatch runners, racial antisemitism, Mein Kampf, Reich President, Adolf Hitler (more...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Noted for his excellent structural explanation of the Third Reich's political culture in The Hitler Myth, eminent historian Ian Kershaw shifts approach in this innovative biography of the Nazi tyrant. The first of a two-volume study, Hubris is far from a simple rehearsal of "great man" history, impressively exploring the historical forces that transformed a shiftless Austrian daydreamer into a dictator with immense power.

In his forthright introduction, Kershaw acknowledges that, as a committed social historian, he did not include biography in his original intellectual plans. However, his "growing preoccupation" with the structures of Nazi domination pushed him toward questions about Hitler's place and considerable authority within that system. He argues that the sources for Hitler's power must be sought not only in the dictator's actions but also (and more importantly) in the social circumstances of a nation that allowed him to overstep all institutional and moral barriers. In a comprehensive treatment of Hitler's life and times up through the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936, Kershaw draws from documents recently made available from Russian archives and benefits from a rigorous source criticism that has discredited many records formerly understood to be reliable. Hubris thus supplants Alan Bullock's classic Hitler: A Study in Tyranny as the definitive account of a man who, with characteristic smugness, indicated that it was a divinely inspired history that made him: "I go with the certainty of a sleep walker along a path laid out for me by Providence." Kershaw's penetrating analysis of how such a certain path could emerge from the dire circumstances of post World War I Germany is the abiding strength of Hubris. --James Highfill



From Publishers Weekly

We surely need books like Daniel Jonah Goldhagen's Hitler's Willing Executioners that examine German society as a whole in an effort to understand how Hitler came to power and held it for so long. But we also need classic, political biographies that focus on the dictator himself. Kershaw's book, the first volume of a projected two-part biography, pays some attention to how ripe a demoralized Germany was for demagoguery after the Treaty of Versailles, but the author's focus is on Hitler and his political career?the decisions he made as he rose to power and those he made once he attained it. What distinguishes this effort is the extent of documentation as Kershaw, a professor of history at the University of Sheffield, exploits the full Goebbels diaries and texts of early Hitler speeches only recently made accessible. Also notable is the portrait Kershaw draws of Hitler as surprisingly remote from the thuggery, greed and corruption of his followers, high and low, even as he actively encouraged the development of a cult of personality. Kershaw closes with an examination of Hitler's remilitarization of the Rhineland, a fait accompli made possible by the timidity and disarray of Germany's supine neighbors. Had the French marched, Hitler said later, "we would have had to withdraw... with our tails between our legs." By 1936, Kershaw writes, events had substantiated Hitler's hubris. A "nemesis" (subtitle of the next volume) would in reality not emerge before 1941. Kershaw's massive work (made somewhat too massive by some repetition) is valuable for the rigor with which it portrays Hitler not as some supernatural evil force ejected into history from beyond but as a thoroughly natural figure?evil, surely, but historically evil. Photos.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 845 pages
  • Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st US Edition edition (January 1, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0393046710
  • ISBN-13: 978-0393046717
  • Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #322,484 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #30 in  Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( H ) > Hitler, Adolf
    #90 in  Books > History > Europe > Germany > Third Reich

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65 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Biographical Treatment of Hitler's & The Times!, June 13, 2000
By Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This superb book draws the reader closer to understanding this historically enigmatic and often bizarre human being who so changed the world of the 20th century. Although there are a myriad of such books that have appeared in the half-century since Hitler's demise in the dust and rubble of Berlin, this particular effort, which draws from hundreds of secondary sources, many of which have never before been cited, paints an authentic and masterful portrait of Hitler as an individual. This is an absolutely singular historical work; and it will almost certainly displace other, older tomes as the standard text on the early life and rise of Adolph Hitler.

Although I must confess that I intensely dislike reading through the early years of most biographies as depicted in so many other treatments of famous individuals, I loved reading this particular book. Kershaw takes a quite different and novel approach, and it is one I enjoyed. Here, by carefully locating and fixing the individual in the context and welter of his times, it yields a much more enlightening approach toward painting a meaningful comprehensive picture of how a neglected and conflicted boy meaningfully became such a terribly flawed and troubled man. Thus, we see the boy grow and change in whatever fashion into a man, tracing the rise of this troubled malcontent from the anonymity of Viennese shelters to a fiery and meteoric rise into politics, culminating in his ascent to rule Germany. Kershaw memorably recreates the social, economic, and political circumstances that bent and twisted Hitler so fatefully for the history of the world.

Hitler was, in Kershaw's estimation, a man most representative of his times, reflecting a widespread disaffection with democratic politics, steeped in the virulent anti-Semitism of his Viennese environment, twisted and experienced in the cruelties and absurdities of the First World War, thrust by circumstance and disposition into the sectarian, dyspeptic, and rough & tumble politics of the 1920s, and rising by finding himself the most unlikely of politicians with an unusual ability to orate and emote. It is also interesting to discover that Hitler had an unusually acute (though uneven) intellect, is rumored to have possesed a 'photographic memory', and was said to have an amazing ability to discuss and quote facts and figures and then subsequently casually weave them into a conversation that witnesses found spellbinding and convincing. He was also unquestionably quite charismatic and charming.

From the beginning Kershaw argues it is impossible to understand `why' Hitler without understanding this extremely toxic and strange combination of social, economic, and cultural factors that characterized Germany in the post-war era. Thus, by the time he begins his ineluctable rise to power, we much better understand both `how' and `why' such a seemingly unlikely cast of characters as the Nazis succeeded so wildly beyond what one would expect to be possible in a sane and sophisticated modern industrial state.

This is fascinating stuff, as is his treatment of the concomitant rise of the slugs, thugs, and under-life accompanying him into the corridors of power and influence. Here is the world's greatest single collection of otherwise underachieving bullies, fanatics, pseudo-intellectuals, and fellow travelers, who clashed into an uneasy coalescence that formed the nucleus of the single greatest force for collective evil seen in the modern world. One's mind reels at the scene at the book's conclusion, as the newly formed Nazi power structure begins applying the progressively strangulating neck-lock on Germany's Jews, religious leaders, and other `malcontents'. I await the publication of volume two of this effort with eager anticipation. Enjoy!

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52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An authoritative examination, December 7, 1999
By A Customer
Ian Kershaw's book is simply exceptional in every way. His grasp of the primary and secondary sources on Hitler and Germany is astonishing. Despite what might appear to be a weighty tome, with thousands of footnotes, Kershaw has organized his material and presented it in elegant prose that drives the Hitler story along at a brisk pace--and draws the reader along too.

Perhaps more impressive than Kershaw's research and writing, is his analysis. The reader will come away from this book with, at this point in time, the most cogent, insightful interpretation one can find of how Hitler came to power. Kershaw brilliantly lays out how Hitler's "belief" system was formed, where it fit into the Germany of Hitler's time, and how Hitler was able to match his talents as a propagandist and mesmerizing speaker to the "needs" of the German people. Kershaw does not accept simplistic explanations about Hitler's rise to power--there was nothing inevitable about it, it was not the "nature" of the German people that produced Hitler, etc. Instead, Kershaw presents a sober, balanced account that clearly lays out in detail the political, economic, and social situation in Germany, the times, and the man--and his luck--all of which led, as he notes in his final setence, Germany into the abyss.

This book does not attempt to sensationalize Hitler. Rather it is an extraordinary piece of scholarship, analysis, and writing--this is the one book about Hitler and Germany that should be read. I look forward with great anticipation to a second volume.

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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Biography, February 27, 2000
By Scott Anderson "Sharpsburg" (Shepherdstown, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Through Ian Kershaw's masterful use of all available sources, including primary and secondary source material he has put together a most intriguing study on one of the many men that shaped the 20th century. From a small Austrian village to the promulgation of the Nuremberg laws, this book takes the reader through Hitler's rise to power - one of epic proportions.

Kershaw's keen sense of understanding mixed with detailed research has brought forth a well documented book; one that's beautifully laid out and easy to use as a research tool. The chapters, "list of works cited" along with "notes" help the reader to go back into the annals of history to locate the material used in this work. This work outlines his beginnings and uses previously unpublished material to take you into the minds of those closest to him.

Hitler was a masterful speaker and used his talents to build up the citizens of Germany giving them what they desired - self worth, obligation and a sense of duty. Germany was crying out to be rescued from a post war depression; so he took the country by the throat and pulled it from the ashes to rise like a majestic phoenix.

Adolf Hitler - a little known corporal from World War I, who believed he survived a mustard gas attack by divine intervention, rose to power and unleashed the might of the German army unto the world.

This book is a remarkable achievement and my hat is off to Mr Kershaw for all his hard work. This is an excellent biography filled with insight!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent Hitler biography
This excellent biography stands out for bringing in journals from people who worked with Hitler especially Goebbels and gave some context that previous biographies of Hitler did... Read more
Published 3 months ago by woodrow locksley

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Without Equal
The biography, in my opinion, is the most difficult genre an author can decide to write. Amongst the mountain of information, mis-information, social and personal bias that may... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Seth Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars Hitler- Evil, Human
Ian Kershaw's first volume of his biography of Adolf Hitler, "Hitler: Hubris, 1889-1936" is an extraordinary work that helps illuminate the life of one of history's greatest... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Cody Carlson

5.0 out of 5 stars How the Improbable Happened
This book gives a good account of Hitler's highly improbable rise to power, but does not resolve the question of why Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor. Read more
Published 5 months ago by P. J. Sullivan

3.0 out of 5 stars No real answers
I bought this book with the idea that it would discuss the rise of Hitler in a broader context - but there is just a lot of the same old stories here. Read more
Published 5 months ago by AAP

4.0 out of 5 stars Approach With Caution
The general interest reader looking for a meaningful biography of Adolf Hitler -- one of the most terrifying monsters in a century overflowing with examples of how depraved the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Andrew Hall

5.0 out of 5 stars Good history
-- Harsh but impartial.

-- Meticulously researched.

-- Fact stranger than fiction.
Published 9 months ago by Ravanagh Allan

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
Kershaw undertakes three major tasks in the first volume of this outstanding biography. The first is fundamental biographer's responsibility of providing a thorough and well... Read more
Published 18 months ago by R. Albin

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid but with problems
This is a solid but unspectacular study of Hitler--hardly the definitive account trumnpeted by its publisher and by some reviewers here. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Frank

5.0 out of 5 stars Putting Hitler into History
Hitler is the most difficult person to write a biography of. An obscure person came out of nowhere, and, against impossible odds, totally (and horribly) transformed human history... Read more
Published on November 9, 2007 by Avital Pilpel

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