Hitler by Michael Kerrigan

Artist, soldier, politician, madman? We know the headlines, we know about the atrocities, but what do we really know of the man at the heart of it all? Hitler looks behind the image of the dictator and explores his childhood, his military service during World War I, his artistic aspirations, the formation of his political and religious views, his troubled love life, his rise to power and his life as dictator. From an ordinary background, Adolf Hitler wasn’t highly educated and hadn’t held high rank in the army, but became the most powerful man in Europe. He rose quickly in politics and manoeuvred himself into not just a position of power but of unchecked authority, with those who opposed him either intimidated, arrested or executed. He created a cult around himself and rebuilt his weakened country. But what were his thoughts as he led the country into war, and how did he change as the war turned against him? What was the true nature of his relationship with his half-niece Geli, who committed suicide in his apartment? And what did he think in his final days when he realised that all was lost? Expertly written and illustrated with 180 colour and black-&-white photographs, paintings and artworks, Hitler tells the inside story behind the man whose actions may appall us, but continue to fascinate us.