Description
Book SynopsisIn this fascinating biography of the infamous ideologue Erich Ludendorff, Jay Lockenour complicates the classic depiction of this German World War I hero.
Erich Ludendorff created for himself a persona that secured his place as one of the most prominent (and despicable) Germans of the twentieth century. With boundless energy and an obsession with detail, Ludendorff ascended to power and solidified a stable, public position among Germany''s most influential. Between 1914 and his death in 1937, he was a war hero, a dictator, a right-wing activist, a failed putschist, a presidential candidate, a publisher, and a would-be prophet. He guided Germany''s effort in the Great War between 1916 and 1918 and, importantly, set the tone for a politics of victimhood and revenge in the postwar era.
Dragonslayer explores Ludendorff''s life after 1918, arguing that the strange or unhinged personal traits most historians attribute to mental collapse were, in fact, integral
Trade Review
Meticulously researched and lucidly argued, Dragonslayer reveals the true extent of Erich Ludendorff's impact on the political cultures of the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. It is a must read for scholars of the First World War and for curious readers interested in understanding the evolution of Germany from nascent republic to Fascist dictatorship in the lead up to the Second World War.
* New Books Network *
Table of Contents1. Mythic Life
2. Victor of Liège and Tannenberg
3. The Feldherr
4. Putschist
5. Prophet: Tannenberg League and Deutsche Gotterkenntnis
6. Duelist: Ludendorff, Hindenburg, Hitler
7. Ludendorff in the Third Reich
8. Siegfried's Death
9. Epilogue: Kriemhild's Revenge
