Synopses & Reviews
In
Explaining Hitler, Ron Rosenbaum investigates the meanings and motivations people have attached to Hitler and his crimes against humanity. What does Hitler tell us about the nature of evil? In often dramatic encounters, Rosenbaum confronts historians, scholars, filmmakers, and deniers as he skeptically analyzes the key strains of Hitler interpretation.
A balanced and thoughtful overview of a subject both frightening and profound, this is an extraordinary quest, an expedition into the war zone of Hitler theories, a provocative work of cultural history that is as compelling as it is thoughtful, as readable as it is smart.”New York Times
First published in 1998 to rave reviews, Explaining Hitler became a (New York Times)bestseller. This new edition is an update of that classic and a critically important contribution to the study of the twentieth centurys darkest moment.
Review
A New York Times Bestseller"Brilliant...restlessly probing and deeply intelligent"Time
"A remarkable journey by one of the most original journalists and writers of our time"David Remnick, author of Lenin's Tomb
"Fascinating...A provocative work of cultural history that is as compelling as it is thoughtful, as readable as it is smart.... Mr. Rosenbaum has made an important contribution to our understanding not just of Hitler, but of the cultural processes by which we try to come to terms with history as well.... He has written an exciting, lucid book informed by old-fashioned moral rigor and common sense."Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
"Glistens with insight and intelligence and shimmers with originality."Gabriel Schoenfeld, Commentary
"Cultural criticism served up as riveting narrative history...with words and ideas that surprise, amuse, and even elevate the reader."Marc Fisher, Washington Post
"A work of importance and fascination"George Steiner, The Observer (UK)
"Intriguing, thought provoking, and intelligent"Ian Kershaw, author of Hitler: 1889-1936: Hubris, in The Guardian (UK)
Financial Times
"Explaining Hitler [is] a work of almost uncanny percipience and stamina."
Synopsis
Updated edition of an enthralling book that illuminates what Hitler explainers tell us about Hitler, the explainers, and ourselves.
Synopsis
When Hitler's war ended in 1945, the war over Hitler—who he really was, what gave birth to his unique evil—began.
Synopsis
Hitler did not escape the bunker in Berlin but, seven decades later, he has managed to escape explanation in ways both frightening and profound. Explaining Hitler is an extraordinary quest, an expedition into the war zone of Hitler theories. This is a passionate, enthralling book that illuminates what Hitler explainers tell us about Hitler, about the explainers, and about ourselves.
About the Author
Ron Rosenbaum's books include
The Shakespeare Wars,
How the End Begins, and
The Secret Parts of Fortune, a collection of his nonfiction writing which has appeared in
Harper's, the
New Yorker, and the
New York Times Magazine, among other periodicals. He has also edited an anthology about contemporary anti-Semitism,
Those Who Forget the Past.