Hitler: A Short Biography

From acclaimed biographer A. N. Wilson, Hitler is a short, sharp, gripping account of one of the twentieth century''s most notorious figures

In this brilliant short biography of Adolf Hitler, acclaimed historian A N Wilson offers a fresh interpretation of the life of the ''ultimate demon-tyrant of history''.

In 1923, aged thirty -four, Hitler was languishing in prison after leading an unsuccessful putsch to overthrow the German Government. Within a decade he was German Chancellor, one of the most powerful men in Europe. How did he do it?

Had Hitler been a regular politician, Wilson argues, he would have vanished without trace after his prison experience. But he was not a regular politician, but rather a conjurer, seeing politics not as the Art of the Possible but as the Art of the Impossible: ''Whereas politicians watched the weather and waited for calm, Hitler wanted to ride storms.'' Among the book''s many insights, Wilson shows how Hitler had an intuitive sense which amounted to genius that the spoken word was going to be of more significance than the written word during the twentieth century. In this respect, the Fuhrer is presented as a man ahead of his time, who foreshadowed Hollywood and TV stars and post-war politicians.

In a field dense with lengthy tomes, this brief, penetrating portrait provides a compelling introduction to a man whose evil continues to fascinate and appal.