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Hitler: Beyond Evil and Tyranny
This fascinating and richly detailed new biography of Hitler reinterprets the known facts about the Nazi Fuehrer to construct a convincing, realistic portrait of the man. In place of the hollow shell others have made into an icon of evil, the author sees a complex, nuanced personality. Without in any way glorifying its subject, this unique revision of the historical Hitler brings us closer to understanding a pivotal personality of the twentieth century.
530 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 30, 2015
If the book by Professor Stolfi is your first book on the subject, I suggest you skip it. The book is not a biography, but rather controversial critical comments on major biographers of Hitler, such as Ian Kershaw, Alan Bullock, and few others. Basically, from Stolfi’s point of view, most of the “great biographers” of Hitler, view him as the incarnation of evil and as such incapable of possession of any human qualities. They deny his bravery in WWI, personal and political courage, his achievements, intelligence, talent in art, in fact, almost everything, with the single exception of great oratorical skills. Professor Stolfi is in no way an apologist for Hitler, but he is not satisfied with the simplistic view on the man, who coming from nothing, became the undisputed leader of Germany and came just little short of almost singlehandedly achieving the word domination. Personally, I do not agree with everything Professor Stolfi is writing, but I do applaud his attempt to fight oversimplification of history. It is absolutely unbearable that in the current "politically correct" world, we have “untouchables”: Nelson Mandela - no vices; Adolph Hitler – no virtues. As Talleyrand said once: “It is worse than a crime, it is a mistake”
March 15, 2022
Finally, a biography of Hitler which is fair, balanced, and insighful.
Stolfi gives a very convincing interepretation of Hitler as a man fulfilling the role of a prophet, with a message of salvation of the German people. While this might sound outlandish at first, the book does a great job at describing the aspects of Hitler's personality which are more akin to a religious leader, rather than a politician.
This book stands out because it's not full of the prejudices, biases, and outright hatred and conptempt which are omnipresent in the more famous "biographies". This book calls out the other biographers as being petty, spiteful, and with an axe to grind - and brings very convincing examples to prove it.
This book presents both positives and negatives, and it concentrates on interpreting Hitler's personality without bias. The book explains Hitler's antisemitism as driven by emotionless logic and a will to protect the German people, and not driven by blind hatred or personal problems like in the conventional narrative. This part alone is illuminating.
If you're genuinely interested in understanding Hitler as a man, an artist, a soldier, and a leader with a prophetic vision, then this book is for you.
Stolfi gives a very convincing interepretation of Hitler as a man fulfilling the role of a prophet, with a message of salvation of the German people. While this might sound outlandish at first, the book does a great job at describing the aspects of Hitler's personality which are more akin to a religious leader, rather than a politician.
This book stands out because it's not full of the prejudices, biases, and outright hatred and conptempt which are omnipresent in the more famous "biographies". This book calls out the other biographers as being petty, spiteful, and with an axe to grind - and brings very convincing examples to prove it.
This book presents both positives and negatives, and it concentrates on interpreting Hitler's personality without bias. The book explains Hitler's antisemitism as driven by emotionless logic and a will to protect the German people, and not driven by blind hatred or personal problems like in the conventional narrative. This part alone is illuminating.
If you're genuinely interested in understanding Hitler as a man, an artist, a soldier, and a leader with a prophetic vision, then this book is for you.
October 3, 2012
R.H.S. Stolfi, a military historian, takes aim at the work of what he deems the "great" Adolf Hitler biographers -- including Allen Bullock, Joachim Fest and Ian Kershaw, to name the three principal targets. Stolfi conducts his argument like a military campaign, probing his fellow biographers' weaknesses -- especially their penchant for denigrating Hitler's intelligence and personality, both portrayed as second-rate and vapid.
How could such an "unperson," as Kershaw calls Hitler, have become what Stolfi calls him: a world historical individual, a rare human being who, according to Hegel, makes decisions and takes actions following a vision of history that often defies conventional moral categories? Biographers have belittled Hitler, Stolfi contends, because they cannot conceive that a man capable of such evil could also be human in the ordinary sense of the term.
Stolfi is no apologist for Hitler in the sense of minimizing his culpability for the Holocaust and the war, but the biographer wants to understand, even empathize, with the man. He portrays Hitler's great personal courage during World War I as an intrepid combat soldier, and afterward as a man who personally waged war in the streets of Germany against Marxist street gangs. Stolfi quotes Thomas Mann's reluctant admission that Hitler was an artist, and shows, in detail, Hitler's consummate understanding of opera and architecture and how those arts shaped his view of history and modern Germany.
Most important, however, Stolfi analyzes Hitler as a world leader of astonishing capability, a leader unlike any other politician of his time. Hitler was a messiah, wishing to create a new Germany unencumbered by the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty that crippled German politics and the country's economy. Over and over, Hitler made decisions alone, drawing on an inner inspiration -- which Stolfi likens to Muhammad's impetus -- and commanding not only a loyal band of followers but the allegiance of millions.
Why did Hitler fail? Ultimately, his major weakness was his siege mentality. He halted the German army in August 1941, just when it was poised to take Moscow in a victory that in Stolfi's judgment would have ended World War II before the United States entered it. Hitler next directed his forces toward the Ukraine and other areas with rich natural resources that could sustain Germany. Consequently, the German drive to Moscow, delayed until October 1941, ran into the coldest winter in 200 years and stalled.
"The Allies did not win the war; Hitler lost it," Stolfi claims in this rousing book, which is sure to provoke outrage but also admiration for its author's attempt to offer a new and more comprehensive understanding of Hitler's psyche.
How could such an "unperson," as Kershaw calls Hitler, have become what Stolfi calls him: a world historical individual, a rare human being who, according to Hegel, makes decisions and takes actions following a vision of history that often defies conventional moral categories? Biographers have belittled Hitler, Stolfi contends, because they cannot conceive that a man capable of such evil could also be human in the ordinary sense of the term.
Stolfi is no apologist for Hitler in the sense of minimizing his culpability for the Holocaust and the war, but the biographer wants to understand, even empathize, with the man. He portrays Hitler's great personal courage during World War I as an intrepid combat soldier, and afterward as a man who personally waged war in the streets of Germany against Marxist street gangs. Stolfi quotes Thomas Mann's reluctant admission that Hitler was an artist, and shows, in detail, Hitler's consummate understanding of opera and architecture and how those arts shaped his view of history and modern Germany.
Most important, however, Stolfi analyzes Hitler as a world leader of astonishing capability, a leader unlike any other politician of his time. Hitler was a messiah, wishing to create a new Germany unencumbered by the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty that crippled German politics and the country's economy. Over and over, Hitler made decisions alone, drawing on an inner inspiration -- which Stolfi likens to Muhammad's impetus -- and commanding not only a loyal band of followers but the allegiance of millions.
Why did Hitler fail? Ultimately, his major weakness was his siege mentality. He halted the German army in August 1941, just when it was poised to take Moscow in a victory that in Stolfi's judgment would have ended World War II before the United States entered it. Hitler next directed his forces toward the Ukraine and other areas with rich natural resources that could sustain Germany. Consequently, the German drive to Moscow, delayed until October 1941, ran into the coldest winter in 200 years and stalled.
"The Allies did not win the war; Hitler lost it," Stolfi claims in this rousing book, which is sure to provoke outrage but also admiration for its author's attempt to offer a new and more comprehensive understanding of Hitler's psyche.
December 18, 2020
"But things are not always as they seem to be in Hitler biography." I think that quote from this book sums up this book quite well, as autopsy of the "the great biographers [and biographies]," although I would claim Stolfian exceptionalism for this biography itself. The exceptionalism, sadly, is misplaced with the numerous claims of "the 1942 decision" and Hitler being "amoral," the singular mention of "physical extermination" and, as part of the very disappointing final two paragraphs, the claim of "cruel systematic killing of European Jews."
Overall, though, this was absolutely magnificent reading. I would characterize it as perhaps the greatest biography in history of perhaps the greatest man in history.
Overall, though, this was absolutely magnificent reading. I would characterize it as perhaps the greatest biography in history of perhaps the greatest man in history.
October 2, 2019
Whenever you read a biography of Hilter or a history of WWII, you are reading the same exact take on the same story over and over. The West prides itself on free speech, yet usually that only means a hundred books that all have the same interpretation of any given historical event or figure. Ameica and it's allies are always right. Everyone else is wrong. If you're a right-leaning person the exception is Viet Nam, if you are left-leaning the exceptions are Viet Nam and Iraq.
Once in a while there is someone with a more sensible take on something, and if he writes it in just the right way (not too overtly subversive to the official propaganda), someone will actually publish it.
This is one of those books. He targets other biographers of Hitler. I had just got done reading Ian Kershaw's bio, which I found insufferable in it's interpretations. He would present Hitler's actions or words and then make assumptions about them, when most of it could be interpreted in other ways.
Anyway, Kershaw is a major target of this current book, so if you have read that one (actually two volumes), this is a great response to it.
Once in a while there is someone with a more sensible take on something, and if he writes it in just the right way (not too overtly subversive to the official propaganda), someone will actually publish it.
This is one of those books. He targets other biographers of Hitler. I had just got done reading Ian Kershaw's bio, which I found insufferable in it's interpretations. He would present Hitler's actions or words and then make assumptions about them, when most of it could be interpreted in other ways.
Anyway, Kershaw is a major target of this current book, so if you have read that one (actually two volumes), this is a great response to it.
December 8, 2017
Another way for understanding Hitler’s personality. Very interesting.
نظرة جديدة وأكثر واقعية حول شخصية هيتلر. كتاب تاريخ يستحق القراءة
نظرة جديدة وأكثر واقعية حول شخصية هيتلر. كتاب تاريخ يستحق القراءة
November 3, 2015
An engaging alternative view of a complex man.
November 7, 2023
This is more a critique of existing biographies about Hitler than a biography in and of itself. You will definitely learn a lot about Hitler in this book, and it may help you read other biographies about Hitler with a clearer perspective, but it isn't entirely complete, since that isn't really the goal. In a lot of ways I think this book is crucial. So many books approach the topic with the conclusion first and then build toward that conclusion regardless of the cognitive dissonance required to present the facts incongruous with that conclusion. This book works tirelessly to combat the bias that prevents other authors from analyzing Hitler honestly. What this book struggles with is that at times it seems to swing much too far in the opposite direction. Properly adjusting the scales of analysis to be balanced should be a gradual thing, where as, he seems to try and balance the weights within this one book, so it feels a bit extreme in its own way. There is no holocaust denial or anything that extreme, but the language he uses to describe Hitler at times seems more intended to be provocative rather than productive. I still think this is the most honest and accurate portrayal of the man thus far, but I'm still waiting for an actual biography that presents all of the information and doesn't swing a little too wide in either direction.
September 5, 2014
Why this Book?
Re-reading William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. A number of Nazi-centered WWII series on History and Discovery channels this year. Shirer's book was published in 1950. It's now 64 years later. Wanted to read a recent Hitler biography. This book was published in 2011 and was available at Howard County library.
The Book
Was in for a surprise. Should have been less so for book's subtitle is Beyond Evil and Tyranny.
European military historian R.H.S. Stolfi's (US Marine Corps Reserve colonel (ret.) & professor emeritus at the US Naval Postgraduate School) tome bucks the tradition by looking at Hitler without prejudging his analysis with the premise Hitler = evil incarnate, ergo nothing about Hitler could be good.
Stolfi finds the vast majority of scholarship on Hitler's life lacking. These miss the real story because the man's evilness overlays everything about him.
But ...
Hitler was a decent landscape painter, a better architect, and an excellent student of grand opera especially Wagner's works. He saw things in a grand scale. He was to be Germany's savior following its harsh and unfair treatment by the Versailles treatiy.
------- "If Adolph Hitler says 2 plus 2 equals 4, the math is still right." (unknown)
"The conventional wisdom has worked from a known end result and has selectively looked for evidence to support (that)..." Stolfi designates these writers as the 'Great Biographers"
o Alan Bullock (Hitler: A Study in Tyranny)
o Werner Maser (Hitler: legend, myth & reality)
o Joachim Fest (Hitler)
o John Toland (Adolf Hitler)
o Ian Kershaw (Hitler: A Biography)
Note: He has special disapproval for Kershaw whose work was published in 2008.
Hitler brought the defeat on Germany. The army/air force succeeded when the military was in charge and pursuing military objectives. But Hitler's intent was "..a German state secure in its destiny through large enough space and resources."
The U.K. could have lost the Battle of Britain if Hitler had not re-directed the bombing campaign away from military targets in Great Britain to the country's cities, creating the Blitz.
Germany could have defeated the USSR and probably won the war if the military was allowed to continue its successful march toward Moscow rather than diverting forces to Ukraine. When Moscow was finally the goal, in the Fall, the army had to battle muddy terrain followed by the coldest winter in Russian history.
Stolfi doesn't spend much time on Hitler's evilness as evidenced by the Holocaust, the killing of millions of people in the conquered lands, etc. He has little disagreement with his so-called Great Biographers on this.
Opposing View
Mimi Frank of the Jewish Book Council wrote, "I personally found it difficult to read Hitler: Beyond Evil and Tyranny, because I, like the other biographers, have a hard time overlooking the evil deeds of Hitler and concentrating instead upon his supposed genius. Stolfi characterizes Hitler as a rare world historical figure, compared with the likes of Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and Julius Caesar. He clearly presents an alternate view from all the other major biographers of Adolf Hitler, but not a view that I can share."
What Stolfi Might Offer
Adolf Hitler was Time Magazine's Man of the Year for 1938.
Re-reading William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. A number of Nazi-centered WWII series on History and Discovery channels this year. Shirer's book was published in 1950. It's now 64 years later. Wanted to read a recent Hitler biography. This book was published in 2011 and was available at Howard County library.
The Book
Was in for a surprise. Should have been less so for book's subtitle is Beyond Evil and Tyranny.
European military historian R.H.S. Stolfi's (US Marine Corps Reserve colonel (ret.) & professor emeritus at the US Naval Postgraduate School) tome bucks the tradition by looking at Hitler without prejudging his analysis with the premise Hitler = evil incarnate, ergo nothing about Hitler could be good.
Stolfi finds the vast majority of scholarship on Hitler's life lacking. These miss the real story because the man's evilness overlays everything about him.
But ...
Hitler was a decent landscape painter, a better architect, and an excellent student of grand opera especially Wagner's works. He saw things in a grand scale. He was to be Germany's savior following its harsh and unfair treatment by the Versailles treatiy.
------- "If Adolph Hitler says 2 plus 2 equals 4, the math is still right." (unknown)
"The conventional wisdom has worked from a known end result and has selectively looked for evidence to support (that)..." Stolfi designates these writers as the 'Great Biographers"
o Alan Bullock (Hitler: A Study in Tyranny)
o Werner Maser (Hitler: legend, myth & reality)
o Joachim Fest (Hitler)
o John Toland (Adolf Hitler)
o Ian Kershaw (Hitler: A Biography)
Note: He has special disapproval for Kershaw whose work was published in 2008.
Hitler brought the defeat on Germany. The army/air force succeeded when the military was in charge and pursuing military objectives. But Hitler's intent was "..a German state secure in its destiny through large enough space and resources."
The U.K. could have lost the Battle of Britain if Hitler had not re-directed the bombing campaign away from military targets in Great Britain to the country's cities, creating the Blitz.
Germany could have defeated the USSR and probably won the war if the military was allowed to continue its successful march toward Moscow rather than diverting forces to Ukraine. When Moscow was finally the goal, in the Fall, the army had to battle muddy terrain followed by the coldest winter in Russian history.
Stolfi doesn't spend much time on Hitler's evilness as evidenced by the Holocaust, the killing of millions of people in the conquered lands, etc. He has little disagreement with his so-called Great Biographers on this.
Opposing View
Mimi Frank of the Jewish Book Council wrote, "I personally found it difficult to read Hitler: Beyond Evil and Tyranny, because I, like the other biographers, have a hard time overlooking the evil deeds of Hitler and concentrating instead upon his supposed genius. Stolfi characterizes Hitler as a rare world historical figure, compared with the likes of Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and Julius Caesar. He clearly presents an alternate view from all the other major biographers of Adolf Hitler, but not a view that I can share."
What Stolfi Might Offer
Adolf Hitler was Time Magazine's Man of the Year for 1938.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews