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  • Hitler

  • Ascent 1889-1939
  • By: Volker Ullrich
  • Narrated by: Don Hagen
  • Length: 34 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (15 ratings)

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Hitler

By: Volker Ullrich
Narrated by: Don Hagen
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Publisher's Summary

A major new biography - an extraordinary, penetrating study of the man who has become the personification of evil.

For all the literature about Adolf Hitler, there have been just four seminal biographies; this is the fifth, a landmark work that sheds important new light on Hitler himself. Drawing on previously unseen papers and a wealth of recent scholarly research, Volker Ullrich reveals the man behind the public persona, from Hitler's childhood, to his failures as a young man in Vienna, to his experiences during the First World War, to his rise as a far-right party leader. Ullrich deftly captures Hitler's intelligence, instinctive grasp of politics, and gift for oratory as well as his megalomania, deep insecurity, and repulsive worldview.

Many previous biographies have focused on the larger social conditions that explain the rise of the Third Reich. Ullrich gives us a comprehensive portrait of a postwar Germany humiliated by defeat, wracked by political crisis, and starved by an economic depression - but his real gift is to show vividly how Hitler used his ruthlessness and political talent to shape the Nazi party and lead it to power. For decades the world has tried to grasp how Hitler was possible. By focusing on the man at the center of it all, on how he experienced his world, formed his political beliefs, and wielded power, this riveting biography brings us closer than ever to the answer.

Translated from the German by Jefferson Chase.

©2016 Volker Ullrich (P)2016 Gildan Media LLC

Critic Reviews

"Ullrich reveals Hitler to have been an eminently practical politician - and frighteningly so. Timely...One of the best works on Hitler and the origins of the Third Reich to appear in recent years." ( Kirkus Reviews)
"An outstanding study...All the huge, and terrible moments of the early Nazi era are dissected...but the real strength of this book is in disentangling the personal story of man and monster." ( The Guardian [U.K.])

What listeners say about Hitler

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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Author, Dead narrator.

Would you try another book written by Volker Ullrich or narrated by Don Hagen?

This Author is a great man, well researched book, but you may not be able to stand the narrator more than 5 minutes - I could not. I was filled with instant hate -at this waste of a great book. I will read it myself, in a book form... Why does this needed to happen.... So unfortunate.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He is a living dead - does not seem to breath, or have ANY intonation.... horrible. A CRIME !

What character would you cut from Hitler?

DON HAGEN

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, occasional whistling

Excellent, detailed book, comparable to William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. it probably does not differentiate itself much though concludes earlier
nd is more focused on Hitler than the overall party, also commencing earlier in greater detail, though still covering very similar ground.

Generally glad I covered both, and am hoping a part two will eventually become available.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Just loved this. Narration takes a little to get used to but then it is fine. Detail is honest and includes a very interesting history of Hitler and his ascent to power.
Highly recommended!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely remarkable

Next level detail through unprecedented scholarship. Reading is very appropriate for the amount of listening time.

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