Hallo, meinen Freunden! I bought the most awesome books some time ago. They're named: "HITLER 1889-1936" and "HITLER 1936-1945" The author is named Ian Kershaw, dr. and proffesor of modern History in Sheffield University. He contibuted to the awesome BBC series: "The war of the century" (The War in the East) and "Nazis: a warning from History". It is a huge work of research which I can only say is magnific! It is so very detailed and with a lot of sources. Kershaw also says it clearly when a source is not reliable. It has so many interesting details and certainly does not try to interpretate Hitler's thoughts as many bad authors do. He disdains Hitler, indeed, perhaps because he has jewish ascendence... Kershawsky or something... But he puts things as they were and not as he believes they were! He says very surely, with a lot of reliable sources as back up that Hitler did not have jewish ascendence nor he was homosexual. How? because there is a theory about Hitler's grandmother Anna Schicklgruber, who was single when his father, Alois Schicklgruber was born. But she is supossed to have worked in a jewish banker's house... some Mr. Frankenberger in Viena. But Kershaw made research and found that there was no family named Frankenberger in Viena at that time... And there are also many other interesting things in those books you should read. It is basically an historical documentation of Hitler's life and the time he lived in. Not a cheap interpretation of a leader. These are books you MUST read. They cost like $60 American dollars both of them.
Hallo Friedrich, Thanks for this endorsement! I don't have his books yet, but I attended a lecture by Kershaw at the University of Amsterdam last year. Very interesting! Will get his books. I did read Bullock's book on Hitler. Although interesting, I had a pretty hard time getting through it. But I must say it gave me a lot of insight into the man. I am sure the Kershaw books will even deepen that. [ 12 June 2002, 03:05 AM: Message edited by: Stevin Oudshoorn ]
Ths last book I read that centered on Hitler was: A book called Hitlers Last Days? by Joachimsthaler (Sp?) It was VERY descriptive from what I read, but was more for those who are interested on the forensics part of Hitlers death.
You're right, Friedrich. These two books have been available over here for a couple of years now and have recently been republished in paperback. There are many useless and/or sensational books about Hitler but the critics are almost unanimous that Kershaw's work, while maybe not the most exciting to read, is the best biography to date containing the most up-to-date research. The books are highly recommended, for instance, by Michael Burleigh whose own book 'The Third Reich-A New History' is itself considered to be an important addition to modern historical literature ( this book also contains a very useful critical bibliography ).
*bumped* for the new guys over the forum. Specially, I'd like to hear Onthefield's opinion about this books, which he has read.
Yet another book has just been published which has attracted almost unanimous favourable reviews. This is Richard Evans' 'The Coming Of The Third Reich ' ( Allen Lane / Penguin ), the first of what will eventually be a three-volume history. Kershaw himself described this book as '...the most comprehensive history in any language of the disastrous epoch of the Third Reich'. Evans is Professor of Modern History at Cambridge and was expert witness at the Irving court case.
