Hitler biographies are not in short supply, but this one is worthy of study.
The first volume of a new Hitler biography.
McDonough provides an expert, disheartening account of the first seven years of Hitler’s chancellorship, during which he seemed to have the golden touch. The author reminds readers that in 1932, Germany’s establishment had long viewed Hitler as a lowbrow demagogue, but the Nazis were the largest political party. Certain that they could control him, leading conservatives persuaded the president, Paul von Hindenburg, to appoint Hitler as chancellor. He took office on Jan. 30, 1933, and swiftly proposed the Enabling Act “to end parliamentary democracy now and forever.” This required an election. Many historians pronounce the Nazi’s 44% minority in the March 5 voting a disappointment, but it was a spectacular achievement for a multiparty system, the “highest vote of any party” in any German election since 1919. Passing the act required 66% of the Reichstag, which Hitler accomplished by banning communist deputies and threatening the Centre Party. McDonough offers an insightful chronological account of what followed: brutal persecution and packed concentration camps inside Germany and a pugnacious foreign policy that produced easy, bloodless takeovers of Austria, the Sudetenland, and Czechoslovakia before the invasion of Poland persuaded a reluctant Britain and France to declare war. Few historians fail to denounce the refusal to take Hitler seriously until it was almost too late, but McDonough emphasizes that his frenzied public persona disguised a sophisticated diplomat. By the 1930s, almost everyone deplored the Treaty of Versailles and sympathized with his denunciation of Germany’s persecution. After interviews, Western journalists wrote fawning articles; face to face, most politicians found him reasonable. Western leaders refused to believe that Hitler always intended to go to war, not only because they hated the thought of conflict, but also because wars are often pointless. Of course, Hitler was deeply determined and pugnacious, and the catastrophic results of his ambition will likely become apparent in the second volume.
Hitler biographies are not in short supply, but this one is worthy of study.Pub Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-27510-3
Page Count: 496
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...
Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.
He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.
Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006
ISBN: 0374500010
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
“Protect your passion,” writes an NBA star in this winning exploration of how we can succeed in life.
A future basketball Hall of Famer’s rosy outlook.
Curry is that rare athlete who looks like he gets joy from what he does. There’s no doubt that the Golden State Warriors point guard is a competitor—he’s led his team to four championships—but he plays the game with nonchalance and exuberance. That ease, he says, “only comes from discipline.” He practices hard enough—he’s altered the sport by mastering the three-point shot—so that he achieves a “kind of freedom.” In that “flow state,” he says, “I can let joy and creativity take over. I block out all distractions, even the person guarding me. He can wave his arms and call me every name in the book, but I just smile and wait as the solution to the problem—how to get the ball into the basket—presents itself.” Curry shares this approach to his craft in a stylish collection that mixes life lessons with sharp photographs and archival images. His dad, Dell, played in the NBA for 16 years, and Curry learned much from his father and mother: “My parents were extremely strict about me and my little brother Seth not going to my pops’s games on school nights.” Curry’s mother, Sonya, who founded the Montessori elementary school that Curry attended in North Carolina, emphasized the importance not just of learning but of playing. Her influence helped Curry and his wife, Ayesha, create a nonprofit foundation: Eat. Learn. Play. He writes that “making reading fun is the key to unlocking a kid’s ability to be successful in their academic journeys.” The book also has valuable pointers for ballers—and those hoping to hit the court. “Plant those arches—knees bent behind those 10 toes pointing at the hoop, hips squared with your shoulders—and draw your power up so you explode off the ground and rise into your shot.” Sounds easy, right?
“Protect your passion,” writes an NBA star in this winning exploration of how we can succeed in life.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780593597293
Page Count: 432
Publisher: One World/Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
