Hitler: Ascent, 1889–1939

Historian Ullrich (Bismarck) has written one of the best biographies of Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) to date. This first volume meticulously covers the Führer's early years, from his birth in Austria through the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Beautifully translated, this book is engaging, thoroughly researched, and full of insights that compel readers to view Nazi Germany and, most importantly, its leader with a fresh perspective. Ullrich presents the complex dictator as an autodidact who had incredible gifts of calculation, memory, and instinct. Far from whitewashing, this emphasis on the leader's positive qualities creates a better understanding of the utter depravity of Hitler and his regime. The only criticism of this book is Ullrich's overreliance upon the diaries of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to settle some disputed aspects of Hitler's story, such as his role in the 1938 Blomberg-Fritsch Affair.