Far-right political ideologies and movements Books

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis'A witty, lucid investigation into one of the great mysteries of our time' JONATHAN COE‘Should be read and enjoyed by readers on the left, right and centre’ David Edgerton, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT  ________________________________________________Why do British politics so often play out on the Tories’ terms? What does this say about our democracy? In his revelatory book, Samuel Earle explores the roots of the current crisis and the real reasons for the Conservatives’ unsettling success, from their ruling-class origins in the eighteenth century and their disproportionate influence of the British press to their stranglehold over national identity. He sheds light on the Conservatives’ historic appeal among the working classes and why the Labour Party so often disappoints.Tory Nation describes the making of Britain through one party’s astonishing power oveTrade Review‘A witty, lucid investigation into one of the great political mysteries of our time: the enduring love felt by the British people for the party which regularly manages to persuade them, against all the evidence, that it has their best interests at heart’ -- Jonathan Coe, author of Bournville‘Finally, someone has explained why the British electorate behaves like Turkeys voting for Christmas. Sam Earle has set out clearly and eloquently why our democracy is incapable of solving our political problems’ -- Robert Verkaik, author of Posh Boys‘Eviscerating. Less a political book and more a mystery novel . . . untangles the riddle of the strange cognitive dissonance between the Tories’ bumbling, destructive political record and their inexplicable electoral success’ -- i-D'Explores the remarkable resilience of the Conservative party, which ought to be of interest to friend and foe alike’ * Spectator *Highly readable. Capably explains two innate Conservative traits that are beyond doubt: an unquenchable lust for power, and a deep belief in stooping to conquer. * Observer *'Not only brilliant but also steers well clear of facile ‘crisis of our politics’ analyses' -- Nesrine Malik, author of 'We Need New Stories'‘A rich, well-written and rewarding book narrated with brio and insight. It should be read and enjoyed by readers on the left, right and centre’ * David Edgerton, TLS *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE NOVEL THAT INSPIRED THE OSCAR WINNING FILMAmidst the horrors of Auschwitz, German officer, Angelus Thomsen, has found love. But unfortunately for Thomsen, the object of his affection is already married to his camp commandant, Paul Doll.As Thomsen and Doll's wife pursue their passion the gears of Nazi Germany's Final Solution grinding around them Doll is riven by suspicion. With his dignity in disrepute and his reputation on the line, Doll must take matters into his own hands and bring order back to the chaos that reigns around him.It is exceptionally brave. Shakespearean. It's exciting; it's alive; it's more than slightly mad. As the title suggests, it is dreadfully interesting.' Sunday Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisDiscover unrelenting spirit and strength in the extraordinary true story of Franci: a woman who survived the holocaust against all of the odds''Achingly moving, gives much-needed hope. Deserves the status both as a valuable historical source and as a stand-out memoir'' Daily Express ''A story that needs to be heard'' 5***** Reader Review ______ In 1942 Franci Epstein, a young Jewish woman, was imprisoned in Terezin, a concentration camp close to her home in Prague. Few could expect anything other than death. But for Franci it was the start of a journey that would take her into the very heart of Nazi genocide. Through a combination of guile, ingenuity, endurance and sheer bloody mindedness, Franci survived not one but five death camps, including Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. In this astonishing memoir, unpublished for 50 years, Franci lays bare the appalling sacrifices she and other women had to Trade ReviewFranci's story is a testament to the human spirit . . . a mesmerising read * Jewish Chronicle *The extraordinary true story of the girl who survived the holocaust against all of the odds . . . In this astonishing memoir, she lays bare the appalling sacrifices she and other women had to make to survive * Eastern Daily Press *Achingly moving, gives much-needed hope . . . Deserves the status both as a valuable historical source and as a stand-out memoir * Daily Express *First-hand accounts of life in Nazi death camps never lose their terrible power but few are as extraordinary as Franci's War * Mail on Sunday *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTopographies of Fascism offers the first comprehensive exploration of how Spanish fascist writing essays, speeches, articles, propaganda materials, poems, novels, and memoirs represented and created space from the early 1920s until the late 1950s.Trade Review‘Topographies of Fascism is an original, ambitious, and innovative study which offers fascinating insights into the use and representation of space in Spanish fascism… Only with books like this will the spectre of Spanish fascism be finally exorcised.’ -- Jordi Cornellà * Bulletin of Spanish Studies January 2016 *‘This is a good tool for writers and researchers interested in Spanish Civil War, fascist politics, and literature.’ -- C. Prieto * Choice Magazine, vol 51:06:2014 *Table of ContentsIllustrations Acknowledgments Note on Translations and Quoted Material Introduction 1. A Politics of Space Concepts of Space Mapping Planning Ordering 2. Morocco: The Forging of a Habitus Colonial Space and Fascism Technologies of Tropological Striation Spatial History and Tropological Striation The Legion: A Pedagogy of the Habitus Places of Radical Evil Warmongering and the Colonization of Spain 3. Spatial Myths Fascist Journeys Habitus and Myth Castile, or the Ur-topia The Telluric Being Rome, Epicentre of a Totalitarian Production of Space Rome, Capital of Spanish Fascism The Grammar of Empire 4. The City Hegemony and the City Spatial Antagonisms and the Rhetoric of Walking The City at War Spatial Form and the Rhetoric of Mapping Into the Battlefield Longing for the City Representing Fascist Urban Space The Performance of Victory 5. Russia: Spectres and Paratopos Returning a Courtesy Call Territorial Alterity and Absolute War The Paratopos The House of the Spectre The Visit The Being-for-War Unforgiving Ghostly Cities Revenants Notes Works Cited Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisWe are here to remember what happened and to declare solemnly that 'they' must never do it again. But who are 'they'?HOW TO SPOT A FASCIST is a selection of three thought-provoking essays on freedom and fascism, censorship and tolerance - including Eco's iconic essay 'Ur-Fascism', which lists the fourteen essential characteristics of fascism, and draws on his own personal experiences growing up in the shadow of Mussolini. Umberto Eco remains one of the greatest writers and cultural commentators of the last century. In these pertinent pieces, he warns against prejudice and abuses of power and proves a wise and insightful guide for our times. If we strive to learn from our collective history and come together in challenging times, we can hope for a peaceful and tolerant future. Freedom and liberation are never-ending tasks. Let this be our motto: 'Do not forget.''He brilliantly exposes all that is absurd and paradoxical in contemporary behaviour. Eco's irony is disarming, his cleverness dazzling' GuardianTrade ReviewHe brilliantly exposes all that is absurd and paradoxical in contemporary behaviour. Eco’s irony is disarming, his cleverness dazzling * Guardian *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Book That Launched MAGA Nation The media scoffed at Trump’s vision and the people who supported him; they were blinded by the Clinton machine. But their eyes were opened after Trump won sixty-two million votes and the Oval Office in 2016. Even Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “Donald Trump heard a voice in this country that no one else heard.” He still does. Donald Trump puts “America’s interests first—and that means doing what’s right for our economy, our national security, and our public safety.” He made the biggest deals of his life as President of the United States, but there are more deals to be made. From ending the border crisis to enacting policies to eliminate regulations that restrict small businesses, Donald Trump understands that America “doesn’t need cowardice, it needs courage.” It is Time to Get Tough  

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewGripping ... Huber tells the shocking stories of ordinary German suicides with literary power and skill, making excellent use of unknown material. -- Richard Evans * The Guardian *All eyes will be opened by the facts on offer in Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself ... Huber follows a cast of real, all-too-human characters as they head into darkness. ... His terrible evidence is priceless, and belongs on every bookshelf. -- James Hawes * The Spectator *Huber retells the self-annihilation of May 1945 in dispassionate, vivid detail ... It's hard not to hear faint echoes in our current plight. -- Andrew Anthony * The Observer *A remarkable book - grim and fascinating. Florian Huber tells the story well. -- Robbie Millen * The Times *An under-represented history that is equal parts terrifying and tragic ... Amid the nearly unbearable darkness, Huber injects notes of hope ... Illuminating yet haunting. -- Ruta Sepetys * Financial Times *Huber tells this terrible history with compassion and care. He writes with an ease that makes the book flow smoothly despite the bleak nature of the subject, aided by a fine translation from the German by Imogen Taylor. -- Laurence Rees * The Telegraph *A harrowing insight into the psyche of everyday German citizens ... Huber's book is extremely well researched ... By drawing on the thoughts, movements and mental state of the diarists, he is able to provide a compelling insight into the minds of everyday Nazi citizens. -- Jacob Farr * The Scotsman *A grimly compelling study of the psychology of fanaticism ... The book hints at a deep truth about war at its dirtiest. * The Economist *Bleak, arresting ... A sobering study of a dark period of Europe's history. -- Matt Elton and Ellie Cawthorne * BBC History Magazine *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWas World War II really the `Good War''? In the years since the declaration of peace in 1945 many myths have sprung up around the conflict in the victorious nations. In this book, Peter Hitchens deconstructs the many fables which have become associated with the narrative of the `Good War''. Whilst not criticising or doubting the need for war against Nazi Germany at some stage, Hitchens does query whether September 1939 was the right moment, or the independence of Poland the right issue. He points out that in the summer of 1939 Britain and France were wholly unprepared for a major European war and that this quickly became apparent in the conflict that ensued. He also rejects the retroactive claim that Britain went to war in 1939 to save the Jewish population of Europe. On the contrary, the beginning and intensification of war made it easier for Germany to begin the policy of mass murder in secret as well as closing most escape routes. In a provocative, but deeply-researched book, HitcheTrade ReviewHitchens devotes much of his indictment to the war at sea, arguing that the Navy had been starved of resources between the wars and was ill-equipped to fight the all-important Battle of the Atlantic against the Nazi U-boat fleet. He regales the reader with touching stories from his days at boarding school, when he and his friends built plastic models of warships. * Standpoint *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Timeline Introduction 1. The British Guarantee to Poland of March 1939 2. Plucky Little Poland 3. Appeasement and Pacifism from Fulham to Bridgwater, or 'The Left Has Its Cake and Eats It' 4. The War We Couldn't Afford 5. America First 6. The Invasion that Never Was 7. In Peril on the Sea 8. Gomorrah 9. Orderly and Humane Conclusion Notes Select Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisContributors to this special issue of Radical History Review study histories of fascism and antifascism after 1945 to show how fascist ideology continues to circulate and be opposed transnationally despite its supposed death at the end of World War II. The essays cover the use of fascism in the 1970s construction of the Latinx Left, the connection of antifascism and anti-imperialism in 1960s Italian Communist internationalism, post-dictatorship Argentina and the transhistorical alliance between Las Madres and travestí activism, cultures of antifascism in contemporary Japan, and global fascism as portrayed through the British radical right's attempted alliance with Qathafi's Libya. The issue also includes a discussion about teaching fascism through fiction in the age of Trump, a reflection on the practices of archiving and displaying antifascist objects to various publics, and reviews of recent works on antifascism, punk music, and the Rock Against Racism movement. Contributors. Benj

Read more less

Book SynopsisA riveting tale, brilliantly told'' Philippe SandsThe little-known story of Hitler's war on modern art and the mentally ill.In the first years of the Weimar Republic, the German psychiatrist Hans Prinzhorn gathered a remarkable collection of works byschizophrenic patients that would astonish and delight the world.The Prinzhorn collection, as it was called, inspired a new generation of artists, including Paul Klee, Max Ernst and Salvador Dali. What the doctor could not have known, however, was that these works would later be used to prepare the ground for mass-murder.Soon after his rise to power, Hitlera failed artist of the old schooldeclared war on modern art. The Nazis staged giant Degenerate Art' shows to ridicule the avant-garde, and seized and destroyed the cream of Germany''s modern art collections. This action was mere preparation, however, for the even more sinister campaign Hitler would later wage against so-called degenerate people, and Prinzhorn''s artists were caught upin bTrade Review‘A superbly told story of worlds colliding …There’s so much that’s wonderful about this book; it’s hard to know where to start heaping praise. It is by turns intriguing, tragic, horrifying and occasionally funny’The Times ‘English has written a terrific book, taut and thematic … As beautiful as it is bleak’Guardian ‘Engrossing …The work of these artists, much of which miraculously survived the war, lives on as testament to the variety of human experience, and of ways to communicate what it feels like to be alive’Economist ‘Compelling … The twin strands of Hitler’s thinking on art and racial purity draw remorselessly together … Memorable’Literary Review ‘A riveting tale, brilliantly told'Philippe Sands ‘A fascinating new book’Daily Mail ‘Fascinating … Journalist English unpacks Hitler’s mad campaign against mentally ill artists … English’s story feels strikingly relevant. While shedding new light on this piece of history, English also provides a cautionary tale for the future’Publishers Weekly ‘An extraordinary, deeply researched work which is a testament to the Prinzhorn artists’The Tablet ‘Perhaps only in 1920s Weimar Germany where expressionism and dadaism were exploring the dark sides of sex and fantasy could the art of the mentally ill first get its due. And perhaps only in Germany could the story Charlie English tells so well have ended in such horror. English takes us through uncharted artistic waters in a narrative of great humanity: a gripping journey into art, madness and modern history’Jonathan Jones, author of Sensations ‘Dazzling … This poignant narrative centres on the complicated psychiatrist Hans Prizhorn and the eccentric patient artists whose work helped usher in a new epoch of the modernist avant-garde only to become fodder for Hitler's hateful ideology of “degeneration”. Richly wrought, and deeply researched’Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire

Read more less

Book SynopsisA riveting tale, brilliantly told'' Philippe SandsThe little-known story of Hitler's war on modern art and the mentally ill.In the first years of the Weimar Republic, the German psychiatrist Hans Prinzhorn gathered a remarkable collection of works byschizophrenic patients that would astonish and delight the world.The Prinzhorn collection, as it was called, inspired a new generation of artists, including Paul Klee, Max Ernst and Salvador Dali. What the doctor could not have known, however, was that these works would later be used to prepare the ground for mass-murder.Soon after his rise to power, Hitlera failed artist of the old schooldeclared war on modern art. The Nazis staged giant Degenerate Art' shows to ridicule the avant-garde, and seized and destroyed the cream of Germany''s modern art collections. This action was mere preparation, however, for the even more sinister campaign Hitler would later wage against so-called degenerate people, and Prinzhorn''s artists were caught upin bTrade Review‘A superbly told story of worlds colliding …There’s so much that’s wonderful about this book; it’s hard to know where to start heaping praise. It is by turns intriguing, tragic, horrifying and occasionally funny’The Times ‘English has written a terrific book, taut and thematic … As beautiful as it is bleak’Guardian ‘Engrossing …The work of these artists, much of which miraculously survived the war, lives on as testament to the variety of human experience, and of ways to communicate what it feels like to be alive’Economist ‘Compelling … The twin strands of Hitler’s thinking on art and racial purity draw remorselessly together … Memorable’Literary Review ‘A riveting tale, brilliantly told'Philippe Sands ‘A fascinating new book’Daily Mail ‘Fascinating … Journalist English unpacks Hitler’s mad campaign against mentally ill artists … English’s story feels strikingly relevant. While shedding new light on this piece of history, English also provides a cautionary tale for the future’Publishers Weekly ‘An extraordinary, deeply researched work which is a testament to the Prinzhorn artists’The Tablet ‘Perhaps only in 1920s Weimar Germany where expressionism and dadaism were exploring the dark sides of sex and fantasy could the art of the mentally ill first get its due. And perhaps only in Germany could the story Charlie English tells so well have ended in such horror. English takes us through uncharted artistic waters in a narrative of great humanity: a gripping journey into art, madness and modern history’Jonathan Jones, author of Sensations ‘Dazzling … This poignant narrative centres on the complicated psychiatrist Hans Prizhorn and the eccentric patient artists whose work helped usher in a new epoch of the modernist avant-garde only to become fodder for Hitler's hateful ideology of “degeneration”. Richly wrought, and deeply researched’Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire

Read more less

Book SynopsisHaunting.' Jonathan Freedland Powerful.' Daniel Finkelstein The profoundly moving and deeply intimate story of one Jewish family's fate in the Holocaust, following the thread from Germany to Latvia and to Britain.Trade Review‘Wonderful. Beautifully written.’ Alan Johnson, author of This Boy ‘I was gripped from the beginning. Peter Bradley has a powerful story to tell.’ Daniel Finkelstein, The Times ‘Evocative and unsettling, this is a gently haunting book whose characters – and lessons – will linger.’ Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian ‘Outstanding. The lessons Bradley draws from the catastrophe have powerful resonance in our own times.’ Oliver Kamm, The Times ‘Extraordinary …. a harrowing work of creative history.’ The Mirror ‘Far more than simply a historical explanation.’ The Jewish Chronicle ‘A beautifully written, moving account.’ Rebecca Clifford, author of Survivors 'A moving tale of a family, a small German town and Nazi horrors. Brings into sharp focus the enduring scourge of anti-Semitism.’ John Kampfner, author of Why The Germans Do It Better ‘Utterly gripping. I could not put it down.’ Rabbi The Baroness Neuberger DBE ‘Moving. An impressive journey to the roots of antisemitism.’ Géraldine Schwarz, author of Those Who Forget ‘A thought-provoking insight, through the prism of Peter’s family, into the real impact of this pernicious hatred.’ Ruth Smeeth, CEO of Index on Censorship ‘Important … Should be read by all who want to comprehend the enormity of the Holocaust and reflect on its significance for today.’ Dame Louise Ellman, Order! Order!

Read more less

Book SynopsisNo American leader has accomplished more for his state than Governor Ron DeSantis. Now he reveals how he did it.He played baseball for Yale, graduated with honours from Harvard Law School and served in Iraq and in the halls of Congress. But in all these places, Ron DeSantis learned the same lesson: he didn't want to be part of the leftist elite.His heart was always for the people of Florida, one of the most diverse and culturally rich states in the union. Since becoming governor of the Sunshine State, he has fought and won battle after battle, defeating not just opposition from the political left, but a barrage of hostile media coverage proclaiming the end of the world. In 2022, the governor delivered a historic, record-setting victory, winning by nearly 20 points and more than 1.5 million votes.A first-hand account from the blue-collar boy who grew up to take on Disney and Dr Fauci, The Courage to Be Free is a rallying cry for everyone who wishes to preserve their liberties

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Origins of the Final Solution is the most detailed, careful, and comprehensive analysis to date of the descent of the Nazi persecution of the Jews into mass murder: the Holocaust. Arguing that genocide was not a preconceived plan but rather a discovered possibility, Christopher Browning explains how Hitler''s decision to murder the Jews en masse emerged in stages and by a process of elimination that gradually foreclosed plans for their expulsion from Europe. Only in the interval between late September and late October 1941 did the desire to remove the Jews intersect with the discovery of acceptable means of killing them on a large scale and with the euphoria of expected victory in Russia, all of which followed on from two years of ''race war'' and ''racial imperialism'' in eastern Europe that prepared ''ordinary Germans'' for this fateful task.Trade ReviewSensitive and nuanced, this is a fine piece of synthesis and analysis * Sunday Times *Superb . . . [Browning] has created an eloquent, painstaking narrative of how the Final Solution evolved -- Joshua Rubenstein * Wall Street Journal *This is a book of exceptional quality - The work of a historian at the peak of his powers, a magisterial study, a profound analysis of how the darkest chapter in human history could come about -- Ian Kershaw, bestselling author of HitlerThis magisterial work... An unrivaled account of how the Nazi leadership ended up with a policy of industrialized mass murder of Jews - Probably no one is better qualified for this task than Christopher Browning. * Mark Mazower, New York Times *Browning is persuasive because he marshals his evidence with unrivalled skill and writes with awesome clarity. * Literary Review *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARDMussolini was not only ruthless: he was subtle and manipulative. Black-shirted thugs did his dirty work for him: arson, murder, destruction of homes and offices, bribes and intimidation. His opponents including editors, union representatives, lawyers and judges were beaten into submission. But the tide turned in 1924 when his assassins went too far, horror spread across Italy, and antifascist resistance was born. Among those whose disgust hardened into bold and uncompromising resistance was a family from Florence: Amelia, Carlo and Nello Rosselli. Caroline Moorehead draws readers into the lives of this remarkable family their loves, their loyalties, their laughter and their ultimate sacrifice.Trade ReviewA gripping tale of intrigue… I was enormously moved * Observer *Expertly alternating vivid domestic detail with lucid exposition of the gradual evolution of totalitarianism… It feels like the book she was born to write -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * Guardian *The creepy description by the author of the naivety of the good and the seductive powers of the bad touches a nerve. A Bold and Dangerous Family is a haunting reminder of the fragility of liberty and the dangers of complaisance -- Leanda De Lisle * The Times *Moorehead’s book, written with sensitivity, erudition and balance, is a fine tribute to the Rosselli family * Financial Times *Much has been written about life under fascist rule… But the study of a nation can never be as emotionally compelling as the study of a family… Expertly alternating vivid domestic detail with lucid exposition of the gradual evolution of totalitarianism, Caroline Moorehead allows her readers not only to know, but also to feel, how it was to endure fascist oppression… A prolific author who has always combined seriousness of purpose with a warm, human touch, she is drawn to good-hearted troublemakers… A Bold and Dangerous Family is animated by the evident admiration and affection she feels for her subjects. It feels like the book she was born to write -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * Guardian *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSelected as a Book of the Year by the New York Times, Times Literary Supplement and The TimesDespite his status as the most despised political figure in history, there have only been four serious biographies of Hitler since the 1930s. Even more surprisingly, his biographers have been more interested in his rise to power and his methods of leadership than in Hitler the person: some have even declared that the Führer had no private life. Yet to render Hitler as a political animal with no personality to speak of, as a man of limited intelligence and poor social skills, fails to explain the spell that he cast not only on those close to him but on the German people as a whole. In the first volume of this monumental biography, Volker Ullrich sets out to correct our perception of the Führer. While charting in detail Hitler's life from his childhood to the eve of the Second World War against the politics of the times, Ullrich unveils the man behind the pTrade ReviewEveryone concerned about democracy should read this book. -- Richard J. Evans * The Nation *A superb biography of the Führer’s pre-war years… It is a tribute to Ullrich’s absorbing biography that one contemplates its second volume with a shudder. -- Miranda Seymour * Daily Telegraph *[A] fascinating Shakespearean parable about how the confluence of circumstances, chance, a ruthless individual and the wilful blindness of others can transform a country. -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *A substantial addition to the Fuhrer canon. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times, Book of the Year *Where Ullrich adds greatly to our understanding is by making the mercurial, changeable and…profoundly unknowable Hitler believable… This is a major achievement… Impressive and revealing biography. -- Nicholas Stargardt * Literary Review *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn extraordinary book of real passionate research' Edmund de WaalIn 1945, Ezra Pound was due to stand trial for treason for his broadcasts in Fascist Italy during the Second World War. But before the trial could take place Pound was pronounced insane. Escaping a potential death sentence he was shipped off to St Elizabeths Hospital near Washington, DC, where he was held for over a decade. At the hospital, Pound was at his most contradictory and most controversial: a genius writer The most important living poet in the English language' according to T. S. Eliot but also a traitor and now, seemingly, a madman. But he remained a magnetic figure. Eliot, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell and John Berryman all went to visit him at what was perhaps the world's most unorthodox literary salon: convened by a fascist and held in a lunatic asylum. Told through the eyes of his illustrious visitors, The Bughouse captures the essence of Pound the artistic flaiTrade ReviewIt is Swift’s considerable achievement sympathetically to examine an extraordinary, often troubling, tale...an enthralling narrative -- Robert McCrum * Observer *An extraordinary book of real passionate research which keeps surprising and illuminating by turns. -- Edmund de WaalLively and searching… He has an engaging authorial presence and his own hesitations and uncertainties about Ezra Pound, both as poet and personality, lend a certain tension and a pleasing piquancy to his narrative -- Eric Ormsby * Times Literary Supplement *Swift is a sensitive and thoughtful reader of both poetry and human psychology... The Bughouse is also a kind of immersive adventure journalism, in which he retraces Pound's steps and tries to unearth new details about his life -- Adam Kirsch * New Statesman *To understand an artist as compromised by circumstances – and by his own many contradictions – as Ezra Pound, we have to trace a complex path through a maze of half-truths, myth, and simplification. The Bughouse does so with supreme care, critical acumen, and humanity, shedding a whole new light not only on Pound the man, but also on the shape and character of The Cantos, one of the most seriously flawed and truly brilliant artworks of the twentieth century -- John BurnsideA wonderful portrait of Ezra Pound in all his moods - mad, bad and blindingly sane. -- A. AlvarezSwift does a fine job of allowing Pound’s many contradictions to stay in place and reminds us, too, that 45 years after his death there are plenty of contradictions left in the people who admire him -- James Walton * Daily Mail *It is a tribute to the brightness of The Bughouse that Swift has revived my interest in the old monster -- Roger Lewis * The Times *Swift’s strength is his refusal to separate Pound’s writings from the issues of Fascism and insanity... Sharp-eyed and pacey...it highlights memorably the tangled relations between lunatic, lover and poet -- Robert Crawford * Literary Review *[A] remarkable study of [Ezra Pound’s] fertile afterlife -- Suzi Feay * Financial Times *At the heart of this books lies a fascinating debate about poets and society -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *A powerful and very talented writer…dashing and arresting…the greatness in his subject shines through every dark corner -- Peter Craven * Sydney Review of Books *Swift admits that he cannot pin his elusive subject down, but there is no need. By following his instinct he has allowed the poet, with his ‘shifting self-narration’, to lead the way in this marvellous evocation. -- Philippa Williams * The Lady *American poet Ezra Pound… proves an elusive but fascinating subject in this non-linear, impressionistic biography -- Juanita Coulson * Lady *

Read more less

Book SynopsisHalf a century after their deaths, the dictatorships of Stalin and Hitler still cast a long and terrible shadow over the modern world. They were the most destructive and lethal regimes in history, murdering millions. They fought the largest and costliest war in all history. Yet millions of Germans and Russians enthusiastically supported them and the values they stood for. In this first major study of the two dictatorships side-by-side Richard Overy sets out to answer the question: How was dictatorship possible? How did they function? What was the bond that tied dictator and people so powerfully together? He paints a remarkable and vivid account of the different ways in which Stalin and Hitler rose to power, and abused and dominated their people. It is a chilling analysis of powerful ideals corrupted by the vanity of ambitious and unscrupulous men.

Read more less

Book SynopsisGitta Sereny is one of the world''s most respected journalists and historians. This book gathers together the best of her writing on Germany from over sixty years. It amounts to an extraordinary portrait of the country and its people, how they have come to terms with their Nazi past, both collectively and in specific instances - and how the burden of their guilt has altered the national identity. She writes about key individuals - Stangl, Speer - and the questions which their lives raise. Thepenetration and conviction of her writing throughout is startling and she constantly reminds us why it is important to consider the questions she addresses - war guilt, holocaust denial and the temptations of obedience.Table of ContentsBeginnings; my friend, a heroine of France; stolen children; generation without a past; colloquy with a conscience; men who whitewash Hitler; the Hitler wave; fakes and hoaxes - the Hitler diaries; the great Globocnik hunt; private lives; the three sins of Syberberg; "the truth is, I loved Hitler"; Leni; Kurt Waldheim's mental block; the man who said "no"; Albert Speer; children of the Reich; the case of John Demjanjuk; a last witness to Hitler; final reflections.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''The most comprehensive history in any language of the disastrous epoch of the Third Reich'' Ian Kershaw, author of Hitler''The most gripping account I''ve read of German life before and during the rise of the Nazis'' A.S. Byatt, Times Literary SupplementThe Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany explores how the First World War, the Weimar Republic and the Great Depression paved the way for Nazi ruleThey started as little more than a gang of extremists and thugs, yet in a few years the Nazis had turned Germany into a one-party state and led one of Europe''s most advanced nations into moral, physical and cultural ruin and despair. In this consummate and compelling history, the first book in his acclaimed trilogy on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, Richard Evans reveals how and why it happened, questions whether the rise of Hitler was inevitable and dramatically re-creates the maelstrom of disorder, economic disaster, violence and polarization that gave rise to the terror of the Third Reich.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe second book in his acclaimed trilogy on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, Richard J. Evans'' The Third Reich in Power: How the Nazis Won Over the Hearts and Minds of a Nation explores how Hitler turned Germany from a vibrant democracy into a one-party state. Before Hitler seized power in 1933, Germany had been famous for its sophistication and complexity. So how was it possible for a group of ideological obsessives to re-mould it into a one-party state directed at war and race hate? How did the Nazis win over the hearts and minds of Germany''s citizens, twist science, religion and culture, and transform the country''s politics to achieve total dominance so quickly? From the Nuremberg Laws to the Olympic Games, Kristallnacht to the Hitler Youth, this gripping account shows how a whole population became enmeshed in a dictatorship that was consumed by hatred and driven by war. ''Impressive ... perceptive ... humane'' &nbsp

Read more less

Book SynopsisToday the word ''fascist'' is usually an insult aimed at those on the right, from neocons to big business. But what does it really mean? What if the true heirs to fascism were actually those who thought of themselves as being terribly nice and progressive - the liberals?Jonah Goldberg''s excoriating, opinion-driving, US bestseller explains why. Here he destroys long-held myths to reveal why the most insidious attemps to control our lives originate from the left, whether it''s smoking bans or security cameras. Journeying through history and across culture, he uses surprising examples ranging from Woodrow Wilson''s police state to the Clinton personality cult, the military chic of 60s'' student radicals to Hollywood''s totalitarian aesthetics, to show that it is modern progressivism - and not conservatism - that shares the same intellectual roots as fascism.This angry, funny, smart and contentious book looks behind the friendly face of the well-meaning liberal, and tTrade ReviewLove it or loathe it, Liberal Fascism is a book of intellectual history you won't be able to put down - in either sense of the term * Tom Wolfe *Deliciously amusing...witty intelligence that deals in ideas as well as insults * The New York Times *Brilliant, insightful and important * New York Sun *Bold and witty...insightful and honest * New York Post *Deliciously amusing...witty intelligence that deals in ideas as well as insults * The New York Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE 2020A DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019A revelatory new biography of Adolf Hitler from the acclaimed historian Brendan SimmsAdolf Hitler is one of the most studied men in history, and yet the most important things we think we know about him are wrong. As Brendan Simms''s major new biography shows, Hitler''s main preoccupation was not, as widely believed, the threat of Bolshevism, but that of international capitalism and Anglo-America. These two fears drove both his anti-semitism and his determination to secure the ''living space'' necessary to survive in a world dominated by the British Empire and the United States. Drawing on new sources, Brendan Simms traces the way in which Hitler''s ideology emerged after the First World War. The United States and the British Empire were, in his view, models for Germany''s own empire, similarly founded on appropriation of land, racism anTrade Review[Hitler] challenges some of our longstanding ideas about the man who ruled Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945 ... Highly provocative. -- Robert Gerwarth * Financial Times *If many Hitler books are scarcely worth reading, this one commands attention through its originality and sheer intelligence ... A thoroughly thought-provoking, stimulating biography which all historians of the Third Reich will have to take seriously. -- Richard Overy * Irish Times *Casts new light on the dictator ... Crisp, well-written, extensively researched ... A valuable contribution. -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *[Simms] builds on previous scholarship to make a bold thesis - that Hitler's principal obsession was not communism but rather 'Anglo-America' and global capitalism ... A vigorous, original study that adds to the ongoing scholarship. * Kirkus *A radically new assessment of the Fuhrer's world view and the motivation for his plunging the world into a terminal struggle for survival. * Daily Mail *Impressive and intriguing ... By drawing our attention to the centrality of historical emigration to Hitler's racial vision of a Great Germany, Simms adds a new dimension to our understanding of the thinking that drove history's most notorious figure. Crisply written and well-researched, there is much in this book that enlightens and stimulates. * The Interpreter *Compelling and original. -- Christopher Clark * London Review of Books *Essential reading. -- Christopher Bray * The Tablet *Simms ... challeng[es] much recent scholarship ... A preoccupation with Anglo-American capitalism, he contends, drove the Third Reich's ideology in its formative years, more than the oft-cited obsession with Bolshevism ... He has made sound use of the Bavarian archives. * The Observer *Hitler: Only The World Was Enough is modern political history at its very best: thorough, impeccably well researched, and opinionated without descending into histrionics. The Dublin-Cambridge historian writes with authority, flare, style and convincing conviction - consistently favouring thematic analysis over the simple retelling of facts. -- JP O'Malley * Irish Independent *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2021 DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORYA DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020From an acclaimed military historian, the definitive account of Italy''s experience of the Second World WarWhile staying closely aligned with Hitler, Mussolini remained carefully neutral until the summer of 1940. Then, with the wholly unexpected and sudden collapse of the French and British armies, Mussolini declared war on the Allies in the hope of making territorial gains in southern France and Africa. This decision proved a horrifying miscalculation, dooming Italy to its own prolonged and unwinnable war, immense casualties and an Allied invasion in 1943 which ushered in a terrible new era for the country.John Gooch''s new book is the definitive account of Italy''s war experience. Beginning with the invasion of Abyssinia and ending with Mussolini''s arrest, Gooch brilliantly portrays the nightmare of a country with too sTrade ReviewJohn Gooch knows more about 20th-century Italy than perhaps anyone else in Britain ... He paints a record of appalling brutality, epic incompetence ... There are echoes of the madness of Benito Mussolini in outpourings that we hear daily from several world capitals, among them Washington. Listen, and be afraid. -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *A meticulous, skilful account ... it is hard to imagine a finer account, both of the sweep of Italy's wars, and of the characters caught up in them. -- Caroline Moorhead * Guardian *An important book, adding much to our knowledge of Italy's baleful contribution to the conflicts of the 1930s and 1940s ... a work of meticulous scholarship. -- Saul David * The Times *Lucid ... diligently researched ... an exceptionally detailed portrait. -- Ian Thomson * The Spectator *Excellent ... This detailed military history shows the long arc of strategic ineptitude. -- Richard Overy * Times Literary Supplement *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Superb'' David Aaronovitch, The Times ''A punchy account that is a proper page-turner'' Financial Times ''The last days of the Third Reich have often been told, but seldom with the verve, perception and elegance of Volker Ullrich''s rich narrative'' Richard Overy, author of The Bombing War 1 May 1945. The world did not know it yet, but the final week of the Third Reich''s existence had begun. Hitler was dead, but the war had still not ended. Everything had both ground to a halt and yet remained agonizingly uncertain. Volker Ullrich''s remarkable book takes the reader into a world torn between hope and terror, violence and peace. Ullrich describes how each day unfolds, with Germany now under a new Führer, Admiral Dönitz, based improbably in the small Baltic town of Flensburg. With Hitler dead, Berlin in ruins and the war undoubtedly lost, the process by which the fighting would end remained horrifyingly unclear. MTrade ReviewSuperb ... excellent and admirably succinct. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *Ullrich delivers a punchy account that is a proper page-turner ... there is still plenty to say about immediate postwar Germany. -- Giles MacDonogh * Financial Times *Strongly written and deeply researched ... a vital and often vibrant account of eight days when people all across Europe were suspended in confusion and chaos. * Kirkus *The last days of the Third Reich have often been told, but seldom with the verve, perception and elegance of Volker Ulrich's rich narrative. For Western nations that have never faced comprehensive and destructive defeat, this is an instructive lesson in how societies cope with the devastating reality of a surrender that they grimly await. -- Richard OveryA fast-paced, brilliant recounting of the turbulent last days of the Third Reich. With all the energy and chaos of a Jackson Pollock canvas, Eight Days in May evokes the complete and utter chaos of a collapsing society. -- Helmut Walser Smith, author of Germany: A Nation in its TimeThe last chapter of the Nazi regime, just before its fall, is perhaps the most interesting. And Volker Ulrich manages to cover the days after Hitler's suicide with brilliant prose, and excellent original research. -- Norman Ohler, author of Blitzed: Drugs in the Third ReichUllrich's compact, gripping narration brings to life the death throes of the Nazi regime as individual acts of delusion, desperation and resignation. This vivid mosaic of German reactions to defeat is a suspenseful account and original depiction of the ambivalence and disbelief of those who had been spellbound by Hitler. -- Wendy Lower, author of The Ravine

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisMussolini in myth and memory. Paul Corner looks at the brutal reality of the Italian dictator's fascist regime and confronts the nostalgia for dictatorial rule evident today in many European countries.Trade ReviewElegant and well-argued ... Corner's dissection of Fascism, its rhetoric and legacy, is trenchant and highly readable * Phil Cooke *Timely, balanced, succinctly argued and thoroughly convincing. * Tony Barber, Financial Times *Timely * Timothy Garton Ash, Financial Times *Enlightening * The Economist *A brilliant book * Robert Fox, Evening Standard *Paul Corner has authoritatively shown [that the] history of the Italian dictatorship was based on violence, corruption, and calamitous inadequacy in fighting Italy's Second World War (as the "ignoble second" of Adolf Hitler and his Nazis). * Richard Bosworth, History Extra *If you want to get a better understanding of the rise, fall and persistence of fascism this is a good book to start with. * Tim Brinkhof, New Humanist *A fluid, engaging read for the lay person that reawakens an Italy that will be far less familiar than the last holiday taken in Tuscany. * Richard Lofthouse, QUAD *A warning, a revelation, a profound study of the realities of dictatorships which with time, can merge into acceptable and appealing myth. * Margaret Graham, Frost Magazine *A balanced picture of Benito Mussolini and of the regime that he led. A seasoned scholar in this field, Corner expertly balances the task of chipping away at the accretion of falsehoods and forgetfulness, while not rushing to the opposite extreme by simply subsuming Italian fascism into the broader history of fascist movements. * John Foster, The Battleground *Written with admirable lucidity and assured knowledge * Sean McGlynn, Quadrant *A vital corrective to the quicksand of Fascist revisionism, where nothing is solid and all debate is sucked downwards into 'whataboutery'... this great academic take-down allows the reader to see and understand the tricks that [Mussolini] is still, posthumously, playing on the Italian people. * Tobias Jones, Engelsberg Ideas *This book could not be more timely. * Francis Ghiles, ESGlobal *No one knows more about Mussolinian Fascism than Paul Corner does. In this succinct but magisterial account, Corner gives clear-sighted judgment on Mussolini's brutality, failures and fraud. He simultaneously displays the foolishness and error of that memory, especially within Italy, which is still inclined to see the Duce as well-meaning or effective. * Professor R.J.B. Bosworth, Emeritus Fellow, Jesus College, University of Oxford *A timely and astute account of how the fallibilities of memory have underwritten the rehabilitation of Fascism and Mussolini in contemporary Italy. Corner issues an eloquent plea for the obligation of history to correct the selective amnesias and seductive myths that are eroding the violent reality of past dictatorships. * Jane Caplan, Emeritus Professor of Modern European History, University of Oxford *As one of the foremost scholars of the Fascist era, Corner (emer., Univ. of Siena, Italy) is perhaps the best person to contextualize and destroy the many misconceptions regarding Benito Mussolini. * Choice *Table of Contents1: History, memory, and amnesia 2: 'Kind-hearted' Fascism: exploding the myth 3: Italy: a nation of Fascists? 4: Things were better when HE was in charge... 5: Mussolini: twentieth century statesman? 6: Mussolini as moderniser: a developmental dictatorship? 7: Mussolini: myth and memory

Read more less

Book SynopsisHistories you can trust.At age thirty in 1919, Adolf Hitler had no accomplishments. He was a rootless loner, a corporal in a shattered army, without money or prospects. A little more than twenty years later, in autumn 1941, he directed his dynamic forces against the Soviet Union, and in December, the Germans were at the gates of Moscow and Leningrad. At that moment, Hitler appeared however briefly to be the most powerful ruler on the planet. Given this dramatic turn of events, it is little wonder that since 1945 generations of historians keep trying to explain how it all happened.This rich history provides a readable and fresh approach to the complex history of the Third Reich, from the coming to power of the Nazis in 1933 to the final collapse in 1945, distilling our ideas about the period and providing a balanced and accessible account of the whole era.Trade ReviewHaving assembled an impressive group of experts, the volume proceeds thematically to address almost every aspect of the Third Reich. All ten chapters are well informed by contemporary scholarship but accessible to a lay audience. Politics, culture, war, society, and economy all receive their due. * Robert Dassanowsky, Journal of Modern History *While focusing on various aspects of the Nazi years, all the writers effectively highlight the brutality of the regime toward its internal and external enemies. For a reader who wishes to choose one source to learn about the Third Reich this book is a good choice. * Paul Bookbinder, European History Quarterly *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Matthew Stibbe: The Weimar Republic and the Rise of National Socialism 2: Hermann Beck: The Nazi 'Seizure of Power' 3: Hedwig Richter and Ralph Jessen: Elections, Plebiscites, and Festivals 4: Jonathan Petropoulos: Architecture and the Arts 5: David F. Crew: Photography and Cinema 6: Peter Hayes: The Economy 7: Omer Bartov: The Holocaust 8: Dieter Pohl: War and Empire 9: Julia S. Torrie: The Home Front 10: Robert Gellately: Decline and Collapse Further Reading Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 'Different Drummers', Michael Kater explores the underground history of jazz in Hitler's Germany using archival records and assembled interviews. He offers a frightening and fascinating look at life and popular culture during the Third Reich, showing that for the Nazis, jazz was an especially threatening form of expression.Trade Review"In this admirable and well-researched study, Michael Kater explores the ambiguous relationship that jazz had to the National Socialist state and society, and in the process problematizes the liberating qualities that jazz supposedly possesses. Even more significantly, the manner of the new cultural hsitory, Kater uses his study to illuminate and investigage a number of social, political and cultural issues that engage the interests of specialists in the period."--German Studies Review"Outstanding....a fine mix of archival research with the collection of oral and written testimonies. It is virtually encyclopedic in its effort to convey the life stories of so many contributors to German jazz; to evaluate the sound of particular musicians; to analyze the audience--generally urban, young, middle-class--and the business; to identify the personal connections and the main locales."--American Historical Review"Most people would assume that jazz was completely stamped out at home by the fascist government in the 1930s. Michael Kater's remarkable book paints a very different picture and deals in great detail with a little-known chapter in jazz history....There is not a jazz fan, no matter how knowledgeable, who will fail to learn a great deal by reading this important book."--Scott Yanow, Jazziz"Kater's superbly researched story is fascinating and horrifying, yet in a sense rewarding, since it shows the lengths to which young Germans would go to keep the faith with a music that was their common link."--The Los Angeles Times"Richly rewarding, challenging, provocative, and eminently insightful."--The Jazz Report"Meticulous scholarship and...astute use of oral testimony."--London Times Higher Education Supplement

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the untold story of how some of Germany''s top aristocrats contributed to Hitler''s secret diplomacy during the Third Reich, providing a direct line to their influential contacts and relations across Europe -- especially in Britain, where their contacts included the press baron and Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere and the future King Edward VIII. Using previously unexplored sources from Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and the USA, Karina Urbach unravels the story of top-level go-betweens such as the Duke of Coburg, grandson of Queen Victoria, and the seductive Stephanie von Hohenlohe, who rose from a life of poverty in Vienna to become a princess and an intimate of Adolf Hitler. As Urbach shows, Coburg and other senior aristocrats were tasked with some of Germany''s most secret foreign policy missions from the First World War onwards, culminating in their role as Hitler''s trusted go-betweens, as he readied Germany for conflict during the 1930s -- and latTrade ReviewA fascinating page-turner about Hitler's secret diplomacy in the 1930s, which was intended to secure British amity and then neutrality when he led Germany to war ... Urbach combed her way through archives across Europe to construct this image of a decaying aristocracy using their connections in the cultivation of appeasers in Britain. They were not without influence. * Lawrence Goldman, Books of the Year 2015, History Today *[An] excellent book... Urbach has alighted upon a little studied and rather fascinating phenomenon; that of the aristocratic amateur ambassador, the titled back-stairs diplomatist. * The Times, Roger Moorehouse *Just when one thinks every possible aspect of this war has been covered, along comes a surprise. Such is Karina Urbach's highly original new book, Go-Betweens for Hitler... an unsurpassable work on this intriguing subject. * Daily Telegraph, Simon Heffer *engrossing and well-researched * Richard J Evans, London Review of Books *Urbach has written a book that is as stimulating as it is entertaining, and one which deserves a wide readership. * Christopher Dowe, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung *To be sure, Go Betweens For Hitler may essentially be based within the parameters of a scholarly undertaking, but it almost reads like that of a John Le Carre or Robert Littell novel. In and of itself, this speaks volumes. * David Marx, Book Reviews *From peace-feelers in the First World War to appeasers on the eve of the Second World War, this unique book makes fascinating reading * Coryne Hall, European Royal History Journal *Table of ContentsPART I: GO-BETWEENS BEFORE HITLER; PART II: HITLER'S GO-BETWEENS; ABBREVIATIONS; NOTES; ARCHIVES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe period from 1900 to 1945 was one of the most dramatic in Italian history. It embraced two world wars, the crisis of the liberal state, and the advent of a new form of dictatorship destined to leave an imprint on the whole history of Europe. It was also a period in which Italian economy and society began to undergo that process of transformation which led to the modern, industrialized Italy of today. Italian writers and artists responded creatively to change and the contribution to European culture of such figures as Croce, Gramsci, D''Annunzio, Pirandello, De Chirico, or the Futurists was one of primary importance. This volume discusses these developments in depth, paying particular attention to the social and moral conflicts resulting from modernization, war, and the impact of the totalitarian experiment of Fascism. The interaction between foreign and domestic policy is also explored. The final chapter considers three strands of cultural life: visual arts, literature, and social tTable of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. State and society ; 2. Church, state, and Catholicism ; 3. The economy ; 4. Italy and the crisis of the international order ; 5. Fascist Ideology, foreign policy, and war ; 6. The totalitarian experiment ; 7. Modernization and daily life ; 8. The visual arts ; 9. Literature ; 10. Social and political thought ; Conclusion ; Maps ; Further Reading ; Chronology

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe complete story of the Wannsee Conference, the meeting that paved the way for the Holocaust.Trade Review... it's a difficult intellectual task to place Wannsee in the context of the overall development of the Holocaust. But Longerich - a world-renowned historian of the Nazi period succeeds brilliantly... Skilfully translated from the original German by Lesley Sharpe and Jeremy Noakes, Longerich's Wannsee is a masterful crash-course on the decision-making process of the Holocaust. * Laurence Rees, Daily Telegraph *A detailed, scholarly account Mr. Longerichs in-depth deconstruction yields unparalleled insight into the Nazi regimes blood-soaked goals. * Diane Cole, Wall Street Journal *... Longerichs latest book offers the opportunity to examine differences of interpretation of the Wannsee Conference and the wider background of Nazi Germanys last steps to the extermination of the Jews of Europe. * Christopher R Browning, New York Review of Books *This scholarly account of a handful of Nazi murderers goes as far as it can in exposing the kind of thing that happens when the moral structure collapses, and in its fine and unstated way it is also a penance. * David Pryce-Jones, National Review *Debate about the meaning of Wannsee will doubtless continue, but Longerich's contribution is remarkable in its detail and depth. His book will remain indispensible to anyone interested in the topic. * Alun David, Jewish Chronicle *... an austerely sober, concise, yet comprehensive account... painstakingly precise * Sheldon Kirshner, The Times of Israel *Longerich's book provides context and analysis to that important document to plausibly explain the convergence of diverse decisions by components of the Nazi regime into the enormity of a radical solution the Holocaust. * Janet Levy, Jerusalem Post *Longerich's book provides context and analysis to that important document to plausibly explain the convergence of diverse decisions by components of the Nazi regime into the enormity of a radical solution-the Holocaust. * Janet Levy, American Thinker *For Holocaust scholars, this a must-read. A well-researched study of the meeting that determined many major decisions about the Holocaust. * Kirkus Reviews *Wannsee is a useful, thorough overview of small but significant slice of history, and should certainly be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about the obscenity that was the Nazi effort at a 'final solution'. * , Complete Review *The mere fact that Peter Longerich ...has thoroughly investigated a most disgraceful period in Germanys history, and brought this book to bear to begin with, is resoundingly commendable. * David Marx, DavidMarxBookReviews.com *A brilliant interpretation of the Wannsee Conference, where Nazi leaders hatched one plan among others for the 'final solution'. * Robert Gellately *Table of ContentsPrologue 1: The Background to the conference: the 'Removal of the Jews', 1933-1941 2: The Wannsee Conference 3: The 'final solution' becomes a reality 4: Conclusion: The Wannsee Conference in historical context Appendix Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisBased on documents collected in six European countries, European Socialists Respond to Fascism: Ideology, Activism and Contingency in the 1930s is a transnational study of largely parallel developments in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Spain in the years 1933-1936.Table of ContentsList of Abbreviations 1: Introduction 2: The Itineraries of the LSI and the Comintern 3: An International United Front? 4: The Era of United Fronts 5: The Promise of the Plan 6: The Nature of a Popular Front 7: Transnational Consciousness Within the European Left 8: Piston-Box and Steam 9: Contingency in the Historical Process Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisHitler''s Collaborators focuses the spotlight on one of the most controversial and uncomfortable aspects of the Nazi wartime occupation of Europe: the citizens of those countries who helped Hitler. Although a widespread phenomenon, this was long ignored in the years after the war, when peoples and governments understandably emphasized popular resistance to Nazi occupation as they sought to reconstruct their devastated economies and societies along anti-fascist and democratic lines. Philip Morgan moves away from the usual suspects, the Quislings who backed Nazi occupation because they were fascists, and focuses instead on the businessmen and civil servants who felt obliged to cooperate with the Nazis. These were the people who faced the most difficult choices and dilemmas by dealing with the various Nazi uthorities and agencies, and who were ultimately responsible for gearing the economies of the occupied territories to the Nazi war effort. It was their choices which had the greatest imTrade Reviewmeticulously researched ... Hitler's Collaborators takes a much-needed fresh look at the complexities of collaboration during the Nazi era. * Zoë Waxman, Times Higher Education *Collaborating with an occupying power is a tangled skein of complex motives: opportunism, survival, fear, a sense of professional responsibility. That is Morgan's subject in this solid and accessible account of Germany's occupation of western Europe from 1940 to 1944 and the occupation's reverberations in the various countries of Europe. Morgan (Univ. of Hull, UK) moves carefully and thoroughly, country by country. He examines not only governmental officials in powerful positions but also bureaucrats, businessmen, educators, and others who played a critical role in supplying the Nazi war machine. * CHOICE *The reader is left wanting to know more about how the changing course of the war influenced the calculations of state officials and industrialists. More might also have been said about the relationship between resistance and collaboration. Morgan sometimes presents the relationship in binary terms: collaboration or resistance. Yet considerable space conceivably existed between the two, and one way to probe this space is to examine not only the constraints operating on officials and industrialists, but also their room for maneuver. * Talbot C. Imlay, Journal of Modern History *A subject as contentious and divisive as the Nazi occupation of wartime Europe deserves a historian of Philip Morgan's stature... Hitler's Collaborators is meticulously researched. There is a wealth of empirical detail, much of which demonstrates the complexities of the interaction between business and politics in a fraught wartime situation. * Andrew Moore, Labour History *In Hitler's Collaborators: Choosing between Bad and Worse in Nazi-Occupied Western Europe, Philip Morgan provides an essential synthesis of wide-ranging Nazi occupation policy across Western Europe from a base of secondary sources in several languages. * Jadwiga Biskupska, H-War *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: Dealing with the Past 1: Starting at the End: Liberation and the Post-war Purges of Collaborators 2: The Nature of the Beast: the Nazi New Order, and the Nazi Occupation of Northern and Western Europe 3: Collaboration with the Grain of Occupation, 1940-42 4: Economic Collaboration,1940-42 5: The Collaboration of Officials, 1940-42 6: Collaboration against the Grain of Occupation, 1942-44: the Deportation of Jews 7: Collaboration against the Grain of Occupation, 1942-5: the Deportation of Workers Conclusion: Officials will be Officials Notes Bibliography Acknowledgements Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe essays in this Handbook, written by an international team of distinguished scholars, combine to explore the way in which fascism is understood by contemporary scholarship, as well as pointing to areas of continuing dispute and discussion. From a focus on Italy as, chronologically at least, the ''first Fascist nation'', the contributors cover a wide range of countries, from Nazi Germany and the comparison with Soviet Communism to fascism in Yugoslavia and its successor states. The book also examines the roots of fascism before 1914 and its survival, whether in practice or in memory, after 1945. The analysis looks at both fascist ideas and practice, and at the often uneasy relationship between the two. The book is not designed to provide any final answers to the fascist problem and no quick definition emerges from its pages. Readers will rather find there historical debate. On appropriate occasions, the authors disagree with each other and have not been forced into any artificial ''cTrade ReviewThis valuable collection brings readers the latest research and thinking and will prove invaluable to students of the twentieth century. * Contemporary Review *...offer[s] the reader access to many complex and fascinating episodes and aspects in fascism's history... * Roger Griffin, English Historical Review *An expert, and up-to-date representation of the "state of the art" of research into fascism, this is a volume that serious scholars of Europe's "Age of Extremes" will want to have on their bookshelves. * Andrew G. Bonnell, Australian Journal of Politics and History *Because of its breadth and depth, this lucid and in many ways excellent handbook will be one of the first ports of call for anyone interested in the history of fascism. * Christian Goeschel, H-Soz-u-Kult *Table of ContentsIDEAS AND FORMATIVE EXPERIENCE; THE FIRST FASCIST NATION; THE NAZI COMPARISON; OTHERS; REFLECTION AND LEGACIES

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Mark of Cain fleshes out a history of conversations that contributed to Germany''s coming to terms with a guilty past. Katharina von Kellenbach draws on letters exchanged between clergy and Nazi perpetrators, written notes of prison chaplains, memoirs, sermons, and prison publications to illuminate the moral and spiritual struggles of perpetrators after the war. These documents provide intimate insights into the self-reflection and self-perception of perpetrators. As Germany looks back on more than sixty years of passionate debate about political, personal and legal guilt, its ongoing engagement with the legacy of perpetration has transformed its culture and politics. In many post-genocidal societies, it falls to clergy and religious officials (in addition to the courts) to negotiate and create a path for individuals beyond the atrocities of the past. German clergy brought the Christian message of guilt and forgiveness into the internment camps where Nazi functionaries awaited prosTrade ReviewKatharina von Kellenbach's analysis is strong medicine. In this extensive case study she exposes the inability of rank and file Nazi perpetrators to confront their own responsibilities for the crimes they committed serving the Nazi cause. Their own words and denials become a modern day mark of Cain, warning future generations of the compounding power of personal, cultural, religious, and ideological identities to justify unspeakable violence to others. * Henry F. Knight, Director of the Cohen Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies, Keene State College *Table of ContentsForeword ; Chapter 1: The Mark of Cain ; Chapter 2: Guilt Confessions and Amnesty Campaigns ; Chapter 3: Faith under the Gallows: Spectacles of Innocence in WCP Landsberg ; Chapter 4: Cleansed by Suffering? The SS General and the Human Beast ; Chapter 5: From Honorable Sacrifices to Lonely Scapegoats ; Chapter 6: "Understand my Boy this Truth about the Mistake": Inheriting Guilt ; Chapter 7: "Naturally I will stand by my husband": Marital Love and Loyalty ; Chapter 8: "Absolved from the Guilt of the Past": Memory as Burden and as Grace ; Biographical Appendix ; Abbreviations of Archives ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA study of Communism and a history of the myth of Communism as perpetuated by its admirers. This book illuminates how the support for Communism and its embodiment, the Soviet Union, became virtually synonymous with anti-Fascism and how this strategic arrangement reverberated through the West.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFirst published in 1944, this book looks at political philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, and economics.Trade Review"A version of a recognized classic text that provides a full and rich context from which to understand its emergence and eventual powerful impact on the course of events and ideas in the twentieth century. . . . The University of Chicago Press and Bruce Caldwell have done an excellent job in dressing up this classic book for both the general reader and scholars in a variety of disciplines and the hiostory of ideas."--Steven Horwitz "EH.Net " "It takes courage, or something like it, to declare one's offering 'The Definitive Edition'. . . . I have no hesitation, though in describing this as an excellent edition."--Roger Kimball "New Criterion " "In my opinion it is a grand book. . . . Morally and philosophically I find myself in agreement with virtually the whole of it: and not only in agreement with it, but in deeply moved agreement." --John Maynard Keynes

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom 1940 to 1942, French arrested many spies working for Germans and executed them despite the Vichy government's declared collaboration with the Third Reich. This book chronicles the Vichy regime's attempts to maintain sovereignty while supporting its Nazi occupiers. It also illuminates the complex agendas that characterized the collaboration.Trade Review"The pungent details give Kitson's book a particular force: the incidents of head-shearing, the intimations of torture, the leakages back to the German authorities of the places where the spies were held, the contempt of the Vichy secret services for British agents.... All these elements make an English edition of the book a necessity." - Rod Kedward, Times Literary Supplement, on the French edition "Simon Kitson has drawn from intensive study of French archives the first full picture of Vichy's counterintelligence activities. We can now see more clearly how Vichy France tried (ultimately unsuccessfully) to collaborate with Nazi Germany as a sovereign and neutral state, master of its own territory and administration." - Robert O. Paxton, author of Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order"

Read more less