What do you think?
Rate this book
The Life and Death of Adolph Hitler
Rumor has it that our young are now so far removed historically from the Hitler experience so many of us felt so immediately that they sometimes confuse him as a contemporary of, say, Napoleon. Moreover, they haven't learned nor absorbed the full horror of the reign of carnage he visited upon the western world. Payne wants us all to remember & to study the story of how this "totally alienated" man full of "nihilistic fury" who more resembled Dostoyevsky's mousehole man than any real person came to power, came to be called der Fuehrer & finally Oberster Gerichtsherr in a nation which claimed Enlightenment, came to give an unwary world Blitzkrieg & Auschwitz, came to cause such unparalleled suffering wherever he cast his rage. "We need to come to terms with Hitler by knowing more about him, because his spirit is far from dead...The small Hitlers are around us every day, tormenting us with their promises, rejoicing in our weaknesses." We must mainline the lesson of history. We must watch for the small signals of the psychopath who would lead us. We must ensure that authority is answerable to the people. So he tells anew the Hitlerian drama--the Sturm und Drang of evil genius. No revised portrait of the Nazi phenomenon is proffered--Hitler's rise was "a result of ludicrous & terrible accidents"; he oscillated between lucidity & madness; he was obsessed with making Berlin the most beautiful city in Europe; he died in the Fuehrer-bunker with Eva at his side ("Like Siegfried he would lie on a bed of fire, & Brunnhilde would lie beside him"), the Gotterdammerung. Payne is a popular biographer (Lenin, Stalin, Gandhi, Mao), not a historian, & his book is on the near side of the earlier studies by Bullock (Hitler, A Study In Tyranny, '53) & Langer (The Mind of Adolf Hitler, a secret wartime psychohistorical analysis from '43), with none of the sweep of events of Shirer's Rise & Fall of the 3rd Reich. The book will do well, however. It will be heavily promoted by the publisher & is the main April BOMC selection. It does achieve Payne's aim--a stark reminder that arrogation of absolute power by any political leader invites calamity.--Kirkus (edited)
Introduction
The Young Hitler
The Years of the Locust
War & Revolution
The Revolutionary
The Claws of the Cat
The Enjoyment of Power
The Easy Conquests
The Conqueror
The War of Annihilation
The World Fights Back
Catastrophe
A Letter from the Western Front 2/1915
An Autobiographical Letter to an Unknown Doctor 11/29/1921
Eva Braun's Diary 2-5/1935
Hitler's Political Testament 4/29/1945
Chronology
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
Introduction
The Young Hitler
The Years of the Locust
War & Revolution
The Revolutionary
The Claws of the Cat
The Enjoyment of Power
The Easy Conquests
The Conqueror
The War of Annihilation
The World Fights Back
Catastrophe
A Letter from the Western Front 2/1915
An Autobiographical Letter to an Unknown Doctor 11/29/1921
Eva Braun's Diary 2-5/1935
Hitler's Political Testament 4/29/1945
Chronology
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
623 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
41 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
About the author
Robert Payne
339 books34 followersPierre Stephen Robert Payne was born December 4, 1911, in Saltash, County of Cornwall, England, the son of Stephen Payne, a naval architect, and Mireille Louise Antonia (Dorey) Payne, a native of France. Payne was the eldest of three brothers. His middle brother was Alan (Marcel Alan), and his youngest brother was Tony, who died at the age of seven.
Payne went to St. Paul's School, London. He attended the Diocesan College, Rondebosch, South Africa, 1929-30; the University of Capetown, 1928-1930; Liverpool University, 1933-35; the University of Munich, summer, 1937, and the Sorbonne, in Paris, 1938.
Payne first followed his father into shipbuilding, working as a shipwright's apprentice at Cammell, Laird's Shipbuilding Company, Birkendhead, 1931-33. He also worked for the Inland Revenue as an Assistant Inspector of Taxes in Guilford in 1936. In 1937-38 he traveled in Europe and, while in Munich, met Adolf Hitler through Rudolf Hess, an incident which Payne vividly describes in his book Eyewitness. In 1938 Payne covered the Civil War in Spain for the London News Chronicle, an experience that resulted in two books, A Young Man Looks at Europe and The Song of the Peasant.
From 1939 to 1941 Payne worked as a shipwright at the Singapore Naval Base and in 1941 he became an armament officer and chief camouflage officer for British Army Intelligence there. In December, 1941, he was sent to Chungking, China, to serve as Cultural Attaché at the British Embassy.
In January, 1942, he covered the battle of Changsha for the London Times, and from 1942 to 1943 he taught English literature at Fuhtan University, near Chungking. Then, persuaded by Joseph Needham, he went to Kunming and taught poetry and naval architecture at Lienta University from 1943 to 1946. The universities of Peking, Tsinghua, and Nankai had converged in Kunming to form the University at Lienta. It was there that Payne, together with Chinese scholars and poets, compiled and co-translated The White Pony.
In China Payne met General George C. Marshall, Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao Tse-tung, who was elusive and living in the caves of Yenan, all of whom later became subjects for his biographies. From his time in China also came the autobiographical volumes Forever China and China Awake, and the historical novels Love and Peace and The Lovers.
From China, Payne briefly visited India in the summer, 1946, which resulted in a love for Indian art. Throughout his life, Payne retained a love for all forms of oriental art.
He came to the United States in the winter of 1946 and lived in Los Angeles, California, until he became Professor of English and Author-in-Residence at Alabama College, Montevallo, 1949-54. He was the founding editor of Montevallo Review, whose contributors included poets Charles Olson and Muriel Rukeyser. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1953.
In Spring, 1949, Payne visited Persia with the Asia Institute Expedition. He received an M.A. degree from the Asia Institute in 1951.
In 1954 Payne moved to New York City, where he lived the rest of his life, interrupted once or twice a year by travel to the Middle East, the Far East, and Europe, mostly to gather material for his books, but also to visit his mother and father in England. His very close literary relationship with his father is documented in the hundreds of highly personal and informative letters which they exchanged.
In 1942, Payne married Rose Hsiung, daughter of Hsiung Hse-ling, a former prime minister of China. They divorced in 1952. In 1981, he married Sheila Lalwani, originally from India.
Over a period of forty-seven years Payne had more than 110 books published. He wrote his first novella, Adventures of Sylvia, Queen of Denmark and China, when he was seven years old. Payne's first publication was a translation of Iiuri Olesha's Envy, published by Virginia and Leonard Woolf's Hogarth Press in 1936. A year later, T.S. Eliot published his novel The War in the Marshes under
Payne went to St. Paul's School, London. He attended the Diocesan College, Rondebosch, South Africa, 1929-30; the University of Capetown, 1928-1930; Liverpool University, 1933-35; the University of Munich, summer, 1937, and the Sorbonne, in Paris, 1938.
Payne first followed his father into shipbuilding, working as a shipwright's apprentice at Cammell, Laird's Shipbuilding Company, Birkendhead, 1931-33. He also worked for the Inland Revenue as an Assistant Inspector of Taxes in Guilford in 1936. In 1937-38 he traveled in Europe and, while in Munich, met Adolf Hitler through Rudolf Hess, an incident which Payne vividly describes in his book Eyewitness. In 1938 Payne covered the Civil War in Spain for the London News Chronicle, an experience that resulted in two books, A Young Man Looks at Europe and The Song of the Peasant.
From 1939 to 1941 Payne worked as a shipwright at the Singapore Naval Base and in 1941 he became an armament officer and chief camouflage officer for British Army Intelligence there. In December, 1941, he was sent to Chungking, China, to serve as Cultural Attaché at the British Embassy.
In January, 1942, he covered the battle of Changsha for the London Times, and from 1942 to 1943 he taught English literature at Fuhtan University, near Chungking. Then, persuaded by Joseph Needham, he went to Kunming and taught poetry and naval architecture at Lienta University from 1943 to 1946. The universities of Peking, Tsinghua, and Nankai had converged in Kunming to form the University at Lienta. It was there that Payne, together with Chinese scholars and poets, compiled and co-translated The White Pony.
In China Payne met General George C. Marshall, Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao Tse-tung, who was elusive and living in the caves of Yenan, all of whom later became subjects for his biographies. From his time in China also came the autobiographical volumes Forever China and China Awake, and the historical novels Love and Peace and The Lovers.
From China, Payne briefly visited India in the summer, 1946, which resulted in a love for Indian art. Throughout his life, Payne retained a love for all forms of oriental art.
He came to the United States in the winter of 1946 and lived in Los Angeles, California, until he became Professor of English and Author-in-Residence at Alabama College, Montevallo, 1949-54. He was the founding editor of Montevallo Review, whose contributors included poets Charles Olson and Muriel Rukeyser. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1953.
In Spring, 1949, Payne visited Persia with the Asia Institute Expedition. He received an M.A. degree from the Asia Institute in 1951.
In 1954 Payne moved to New York City, where he lived the rest of his life, interrupted once or twice a year by travel to the Middle East, the Far East, and Europe, mostly to gather material for his books, but also to visit his mother and father in England. His very close literary relationship with his father is documented in the hundreds of highly personal and informative letters which they exchanged.
In 1942, Payne married Rose Hsiung, daughter of Hsiung Hse-ling, a former prime minister of China. They divorced in 1952. In 1981, he married Sheila Lalwani, originally from India.
Over a period of forty-seven years Payne had more than 110 books published. He wrote his first novella, Adventures of Sylvia, Queen of Denmark and China, when he was seven years old. Payne's first publication was a translation of Iiuri Olesha's Envy, published by Virginia and Leonard Woolf's Hogarth Press in 1936. A year later, T.S. Eliot published his novel The War in the Marshes under
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 12, 2018
Before reading the first page all I knew about Adolf Hitler was what he did during WW2. I picked this book up to learn about his before life and try and discover something about his sadistic character that led to the events of WW2. I was shocked to find everything about Hitler from when he was a newborn to when he disappeared at the end of his reign.
This book was the title down to the smallest detail. The author had many sources to write this book and I honestly do not know how he was able to accomplish this feat. In any case, there was one quote at the beginning that I felt summarized his life. "To the end he would remain a man walking alone, lost in dreams, declaring war on a world he despised.", this was a fantastic quote in my opinion. Hitler was a man of solitude in his early years, most of the time he was fantasizing about his version of the world. When Hitler could not make his reality come true he despised everything around him that was not how he desired it to be. When he had the power to potentially change that, he didn't hold back.
This book is a must read for anybody that loves history and finding out the "why" in some points of history. A great biography and account of Adolf Hitler.
This book was the title down to the smallest detail. The author had many sources to write this book and I honestly do not know how he was able to accomplish this feat. In any case, there was one quote at the beginning that I felt summarized his life. "To the end he would remain a man walking alone, lost in dreams, declaring war on a world he despised.", this was a fantastic quote in my opinion. Hitler was a man of solitude in his early years, most of the time he was fantasizing about his version of the world. When Hitler could not make his reality come true he despised everything around him that was not how he desired it to be. When he had the power to potentially change that, he didn't hold back.
This book is a must read for anybody that loves history and finding out the "why" in some points of history. A great biography and account of Adolf Hitler.
May 24, 2019
Just finished. In the past I've read Hitler's biography by John Toland, Inside the 3rd Reich by Speer, and the Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich by Shirer. Payne's book was very, very readable. I flew through the book and finished, as I usually do with these books, in a state of shock and awe. It's despicable what went on, but this book does a good job at keeping the pages turning without getting bogged down into too many details. I highly recommend.
September 3, 2019
A fascinating book that tells just how horrible, repulsive, terrifying, (I could go on) Hitler was. From his humble beginnings as a little piece of garbage he grew up to a bigger piece of garbage with no direction in his life, nothing going for him, barely a friend to call his own and no prospects.
Sadly, Hitler avoided death and changed his mind about suicide so many times that of course you can't help but be upset that he didn't just stay in that shell hole one minute longer, or that his fellow party member didn't convince him that life was worth living.
Reading this book gave me insight into just how repulsive a person he was and just what he intended to do to the world should he have succeeded in winning the war (level London, enslave the male population, breed with the females, obliterate Moscow, kill everyone there, and wash it away under water so no one will ever know it ever existed, and so on).
For a dense biography it didn't seem slow. I'm sure there was much omitted to condense this book to a manageable read, but I was satisfied with the amount of pages spent on things like Hitler's command during Dunkirk, D-Day, and the last days of the war.
Sadly, Hitler avoided death and changed his mind about suicide so many times that of course you can't help but be upset that he didn't just stay in that shell hole one minute longer, or that his fellow party member didn't convince him that life was worth living.
Reading this book gave me insight into just how repulsive a person he was and just what he intended to do to the world should he have succeeded in winning the war (level London, enslave the male population, breed with the females, obliterate Moscow, kill everyone there, and wash it away under water so no one will ever know it ever existed, and so on).
For a dense biography it didn't seem slow. I'm sure there was much omitted to condense this book to a manageable read, but I was satisfied with the amount of pages spent on things like Hitler's command during Dunkirk, D-Day, and the last days of the war.
June 20, 2020
Looking past the man in which this book is about, I'll keep it at a professional viewpoint. This book is very thorough and clear, offering many sources and translations to make this book as clear and as fact-proven as possible. It's very lengthy (took me quite some time to finish) as its information heavy and can get tiring at times. Other than that, the author did a good job in putting everything together into one book. If you're looking for a good book to read on this man, this is your book.
May 21, 2021
I've read quite a few biographies, including biographies of monstrous people such as Lenin and Stalin. This is the first book that gave me the heebie-jeebies while reading it. Words fail me here; that last sentence doesn't quite describe what I felt. That feeling left me as I worked through the text. I've been reading about World War II for half a century or so, so I'm quite familiar with Hitler's work, the things he caused to have done. But I didn't know his story up to his ascension to power. When I read of the instances where Hitler was suicidal and people talked him out of killing himself, I felt... dirty. (Again, not the best description.) Of course, those people couldn't have known that by talking Hitler out of suicide they condemned fifty million people to death. But still.
I often say that although history doesn't repeat, it sometimes echoes or rhymes. In the last chapter, we read, "Even when [Hitler] lied outrageously, and they knew he was lying, the Germans preferred to believe his lies rather than face the consequences of truth." I can't help but to compare this with recent events. A significant portion of Americans believes the outrageous lies of Trump to the point of supporting an insurrection.
Includes photos, index, notes, and bibliography, although I think the notes (at 6 or 7 pages) are not as thorough as I expect from this sort of work.
I often say that although history doesn't repeat, it sometimes echoes or rhymes. In the last chapter, we read, "Even when [Hitler] lied outrageously, and they knew he was lying, the Germans preferred to believe his lies rather than face the consequences of truth." I can't help but to compare this with recent events. A significant portion of Americans believes the outrageous lies of Trump to the point of supporting an insurrection.
Includes photos, index, notes, and bibliography, although I think the notes (at 6 or 7 pages) are not as thorough as I expect from this sort of work.
January 14, 2013
A good bio, but has details in it that were untrue. First, Hitler never visited the UK as a young man, and no one took a picture of his corpse after his suicide. The book even has a picture alleging to to be a dead Hitler, but it has been revealed to be a picture of a double found dead in Berlin during the battle. Other than those two items, a first-rate bio of Der Fuhrer.
November 19, 2025
Emptying my library of books that won't be coming with me now that I'm moving (again) to another country. And Hitler definitely won't be coming with me.
I'm giving this book three stars because I'm still going to compare it with two other Hitler biographies I own that I'm also getting rid of (Ian Kershaw and Joachim Fest). This book by Robert Paine was released in the same year as Joachim Fest's book - Hitler; Ian Kershaw's is more recent, therefore it should be the most up-to-date of the three works.
For me, what mattered most in reading about this creature's life was discovering some details of his childhood. I think everyone is curious and wonders "how was it possible for him to become a Hitler?" or "why does someone become a Hitler?"
The years from the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship until the death of the pig didn't renew me much, apart from discovering that the cyanide capsule Hitler used to commit suicide was first tested on his pet dog, who had given birth to her puppies just days before. The poor dead dog was placed in a box, her puppies still nursing on her body, and they were all shot. [Story of Hitler's dog and her puppies - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blondi]
This biography is seriously flawed in that it lacks footnotes, and some passages were very important to me to know the sources Robert Paine used.
I'm giving this book three stars because I'm still going to compare it with two other Hitler biographies I own that I'm also getting rid of (Ian Kershaw and Joachim Fest). This book by Robert Paine was released in the same year as Joachim Fest's book - Hitler; Ian Kershaw's is more recent, therefore it should be the most up-to-date of the three works.
For me, what mattered most in reading about this creature's life was discovering some details of his childhood. I think everyone is curious and wonders "how was it possible for him to become a Hitler?" or "why does someone become a Hitler?"
The years from the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship until the death of the pig didn't renew me much, apart from discovering that the cyanide capsule Hitler used to commit suicide was first tested on his pet dog, who had given birth to her puppies just days before. The poor dead dog was placed in a box, her puppies still nursing on her body, and they were all shot. [Story of Hitler's dog and her puppies - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blondi]
This biography is seriously flawed in that it lacks footnotes, and some passages were very important to me to know the sources Robert Paine used.
September 3, 2025
El stinko-garbage. To think Robert Payne kept me up nights reading this pseudo-biography when it first appeared in 1973! Even then I knew he was nuts. Payne has Hitler visiting his half-sister in Liverpool before World War I, a lie than can easily be dismissed by checking British immigration records, and offers fake photographs of Hitler's intact body after his suicide in April of 1945; another lie, since his body was burn to a crisp per his instructions. Payne was a master of the potboiler biography (LENIN, TROTSKY) and has fortunately faded from view since his prime in the Seventies.
March 28, 2019
A book I stumbled upon, it is a good hard look at the Self Destructiveness of Hitler, the Self hate is unconscious, a way of overcoming the delusions.
Why Hitler hated the Germans more than anyone at the end. (They exemplified his past bad decisions)
A former British Secret agent, he has summarized a huge amount of research and put them into a whole series of world history. #TheLifeandDeathofMarx etc
Clues for Today's issues
Why Hitler hated the Germans more than anyone at the end. (They exemplified his past bad decisions)
A former British Secret agent, he has summarized a huge amount of research and put them into a whole series of world history. #TheLifeandDeathofMarx etc
Clues for Today's issues
February 11, 2018
This is a very comprehensive biography about Adolf Hitler. Many good sources were used to write this book. It was quite long though, so I would not recommend it if you are not interested in biographies or historical accounts.
May 2, 2025
a very easy to follow and informing read if you’re interested in studying the rise and fall of the most notable populist cult leader in recent human history. and also a huge bitch.
we study history so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the ones who came before us
we study history so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the ones who came before us
December 12, 2020
It’s a bit dry and a good portrait of a madman who nearly conquered the world. This could also be seen as a cautionary tale. We should all be aware of who we select as our leaders.
February 8, 2024
Excellent story and very well written. I’ve read other books concerning Hitler but none as good as this.
August 22, 2019
Somewhat dated and using a few legends long since corrected, Payne still delivers a few interesting insights.
December 7, 2012
He was an evil man. However this book starts at the very beginning with Hitler’s younger years. I really like the way the book was written, factual and nonbiased. The author gives you the story of Hitler without glorifying him or demonizing him. Hitler’s childhood was pretty normal; however he was abused as a child by his father. He was very close to his mother, and she was always there for him. Everything was pretty normal until he decided to be an artist. Hitler was rejected twice from the art school, and shortly after that his mother died from cancer. Things went from bad to worse and Hitler ended up living in poverty and living on the streets for a while. He then joined the army and felt at home for the first time. Hitler excelled with the structure and was actually upset when he was mustered out at the end of World War I. Before he was mustered out, He was given the job to infiltrate an organization that used subversion and intimidation to control political leaders. This job was a life changing event. Hitler became more and more involved in this group – The German Worker’s Party – and when he left the army, he started working full time with the Party. Their ideal appealed to him, and he eventually became the leader of the party. Through a series of “perfect storms”, Hitler found himself jailed then freed and more powerful than ever. He became a German citizen so he could run for a leadership position in the government. Another series of well calculated maneuvers eliminated his rivals and thrust him into the spot light. Hitler was appointed to be the Chancellor of Germany, and the Nazi party had their foot in the door. The rest of the book goes through his time as the leader of Nazi Germany and his ultimate down fall.
January 12, 2025
The Empty Web
The factual errors contained in this book have been aptly documented in many of the accompanying reviews. However, for a profile of Hitler the man, this is a very readable and insightful book.
I picked up this book after having read the William Shirer masterpiece, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. After having read the Shirer book, I was left wanting for a direct view into the center of the web. I went looking for the evil genius, the malevolent mastermind behind one of the most appalling evils committed within the human experience. Instead, I found much as Hannah Arendt found with Adolf Eichmann, a small, narrow minded and ill-educated man of petty prejudices and drastic misconceptions.
This book does a very good job of bringing out just how unremarkable a man was Adolf Hitler; this is the most remarkable fact about Hitler. At the center of the web was a void, no intellectual power, no coherent vision, not even evil genius or guile, just banal bigotry, puerile hate, and a very ordinary narrow mindedness as well as lack of perspective. Adolf Hitler, it turns out, was a very uninteresting and mundane common place man. This, as Hannah Ardent found with Adolf Eichmann, is what makes him most frightening.
The factual errors contained in this book have been aptly documented in many of the accompanying reviews. However, for a profile of Hitler the man, this is a very readable and insightful book.
I picked up this book after having read the William Shirer masterpiece, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. After having read the Shirer book, I was left wanting for a direct view into the center of the web. I went looking for the evil genius, the malevolent mastermind behind one of the most appalling evils committed within the human experience. Instead, I found much as Hannah Arendt found with Adolf Eichmann, a small, narrow minded and ill-educated man of petty prejudices and drastic misconceptions.
This book does a very good job of bringing out just how unremarkable a man was Adolf Hitler; this is the most remarkable fact about Hitler. At the center of the web was a void, no intellectual power, no coherent vision, not even evil genius or guile, just banal bigotry, puerile hate, and a very ordinary narrow mindedness as well as lack of perspective. Adolf Hitler, it turns out, was a very uninteresting and mundane common place man. This, as Hannah Ardent found with Adolf Eichmann, is what makes him most frightening.
October 24, 2020
This is a very comprehensive look at the life of Adolph Hitler. What I liked them most about this book was the fact that it delved into his early life as exhaustively as it did the war years, maybe even more so. Most know of Hitler's roll in World War II however not of where he came from, what made him the person he was and this book attempts to shed some light on that by looking at his childhood, teenage and young adult years.
Somewhat dated, being written in 1973, the book cites some long since corrected beliefs of the time, however, the author still delivers many interesting insights into the man. The book comes off as non biased and written in a factual way that does not lead you to conclusions but rather lets you consider what is there and come up with your own as to what caused the man to end up as he did.
If you are interested in Hitler or World War II this book should be on your read list. It is, certainly, not the only book to be read but you would do well to include it in your reading list.
Somewhat dated, being written in 1973, the book cites some long since corrected beliefs of the time, however, the author still delivers many interesting insights into the man. The book comes off as non biased and written in a factual way that does not lead you to conclusions but rather lets you consider what is there and come up with your own as to what caused the man to end up as he did.
If you are interested in Hitler or World War II this book should be on your read list. It is, certainly, not the only book to be read but you would do well to include it in your reading list.
November 17, 2021
It's probably the easiest-to-read biography of Hitler I've read, but beware, there are quite a few inaccuracies in this book, some of them major (Hitler's youthful visit to England and his meeting with the Russian foreign minister on the eve of Barbarossa didn't even happen). Take it with a grain of salt. If you want real accuracy on Hitler, try Ian Kershaw's two-part biography or the classic "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William Shirer. However, despite this book's inaccuracies I would still recommend it as a good starting point with reading about one of the greatest monsters of the twentieth century.
June 3, 2016
I read Reader's Digest condensed Biography over Memorial Day Weekend. It was enough!
To see the command he took over people's lives - the Austrians, the Germans, the Polish, the French and that only one or two ever stood up to him with a different opinion (and had to bear consequences) was frightening and eye-opening.
I appreciate having read it and been exposed to what happened before I was born.
To see the command he took over people's lives - the Austrians, the Germans, the Polish, the French and that only one or two ever stood up to him with a different opinion (and had to bear consequences) was frightening and eye-opening.
I appreciate having read it and been exposed to what happened before I was born.
January 2, 2013
This is a very readable, not a scholarly, biography of Adolf Hitler which concentrates on his early years as much as it does on his years in power. It has been criticized, with some justification, for various errors of fact, and so should not be one's only source for the events of Hitler's life.
February 16, 2008
Obviously the biography of A Legend of Notorious Adolf Hitler.. Somehow, I wonder what would gonna hapen if he never be born in this world.. Is it good or even bad?
March 6, 2008
It's chilling.
February 17, 2009
It was great! I learned most of what I know about Hitler form this book, of course I checked the facts and a few of the things in the book are wrong. The rest of it is really good though.
February 25, 2009
A very readable introduction to Hitler. However, some of it is a bit outdated by more recent discoveries.
February 25, 2009
زندگی ومرگ ادولف هیتلرکتابی که من چندین بار اونو خوندم
May 26, 2009
Great Historical account of the worlds most infamous man
December 3, 2010
Dry book, but interesting nonetheless. Some decent artwork of his in it from Hitler's art school days.
February 24, 2012
Early in the book Payne writes some paragraphs about German author Karl May. Payne has not read May and used incorrect second hand information. The paragraphs are in fact Libel.
March 13, 2013
Extremely thorough analysis of the life of the biggest megalomaniac of all time
December 13, 2013
A very long book which was a very dry read. I did learn a little about Hitlers early years and his rise to power.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews