Search results for ""Author Ian Kershaw""
Penguin Books Ltd Personality and Power: Builders and Destroyers of Modern Europe
One of the great historians of our age asks: how far can a single leader alter the course of history?The modern era saw the emergence of individuals who had command over a terrifying array of instruments of control, persuasion and death. Whole societies were re-shaped and wars fought, often with a merciless contempt for the most basic norms. At the summit of these societies were leaders whose personalities had somehow given them the ability to do whatever they wished.Ian Kershaw's new book is a compelling, lucid and challenging attempt to understand these rulers, whether operating on the widest stage (Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini) or with a more national impact (Tito, Franco). What was it about these leaders and the times they lived in that allowed them such untrammelled and murderous power? And what brought that era to an end? In a contrasting group of profiles, from Churchill to de Gaulle, Adenauer to Gorbachev, and Thatcher to Kohl, Kershaw uses his exceptional skills to think through how other, strikingly different figures wielded power.
£14.99
Penguin Books Ltd Roller-Coaster: Europe, 1950-2017
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE 2020'Brilliant ... a historical masterpiece' The Times Literary SupplementFrom one of Britain's most distinguished historians and the bestselling author of Hitler, this is the definitive history of a divided Europe, from the aftermath of the Second World War to the present.After the overwhelming horrors of the first half of the 20th century, described by Ian Kershaw in his previous book as having gone 'to Hell and back', the years from 1950 to 2017 brought peace and relative prosperity to most of Europe. Enormous economic improvements transformed the continent. The catastrophic era of the world wars receded into an ever more distant past, though its long shadow continued to shape mentalities. Europe was now a divided continent, living under the nuclear threat in a period intermittently fraught with anxiety. Europeans experienced a 'roller-coaster ride', both in the sense that they were flung through a series of events which threatened disaster, but also in that they were no longer in charge of their own destinies: for much of the period the USA and USSR effectively reduced Europeans to helpless figures whose fates were dictated to them by the Cold War. There were striking successes - the Soviet bloc melted away, dictatorships vanished and Germany was successfully reunited. But accelerating globalization brought new fragilities. The impact of interlocking crises after 2008 was the clearest warning to Europeans that there was no guarantee of peace and stability.In this remarkable book, Ian Kershaw has created a grand panorama of the world we live in and where it came from. Drawing on examples from all across the continent, Roller-Coaster will make us all rethink Europe and what it means to be European.
£18.99
Penguin Books Ltd Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis
Winner of the Wolfson Prize for History, Ian Kershaw's Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis is the concluding second volume of one of the greatest biographies of modern times. No figure in twentieth century history more clearly demands a close biographical understanding than Adolf Hitler; and no period is more important than the Second World War. Beginning with Hitler's startling European successes in the aftermath of the Rhineland occupation, from Czechoslovakia to Poland; addressing crucial questions about the unique nature of Nazi radicalism; exploring the Holocaust and the poisoned European world that allowed Hitler to operate so effectively; and ending nine years later with the suicide in the Berlin bunker, Kershaw allows us as never before to understand Hitler's motivation and impact. 'Magisterial ... anyone who wishes to understand the third reich must read Kershaw, for no on has done more to lay bare Hitler's morbid psyche' Niall Ferguson, Sunday Telegraph 'An achievement of the very highest order ... a marvellous book' Michael Burleigh, Financial Times 'No previous biographer has examined Hitler's devilishness in Kershaw's detail ... his book is so comprehensive, so richly documented and so judicious that it will not soon be superseded' Daniel Johnson, Daily Telegraph Ian Kershaw's other books include Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis, Making Friends with Hitler, Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions that Changed the World 1940-4 and The End: Hitler's Germany, 1944-45. Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis received the Wolfson History Prize and the Bruno Kreisky Prize in Austria for Political Book of the Year, and was joint winner of the inaugural British Academy Book Prize.
£19.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Nazi Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation
'Unquestionably the most authoritative, balanced, readable, and meticulously documented introduction to the Third Reich.' - International History Review Sir Ian Kershaw is regarded by many as the world’s leading authority on Hitler and the Third Reich. Known for his clear and accessible style when dealing with complex historical issues his work has redefined the way we look at this period modern European history. The Nazi Dictatorship is Kershaw’s landmark study of the Third Reich. It covers the major themes and debates relating to Nazism including the Holocaust, Hitler’s authority and leadership, Nazi Foreign Policy and the aftermath, including issues surrounding Germany’s unification. The Revelations edition includes a new preface from the author.
£25.99
Oxford University Press The 'Hitler Myth': Image and Reality in the Third Reich
Few twentieth-century political leaders enjoyed greated popularity among their own people than Hitler in the 1930s and 1940s. This remarkable study of the myth that sustained one of the most notorious dictators, and delves into Hitler's extraordinarily powerful hold over the German people. In this 'major contribution to the study of the Third Reich' (Times Literary Supplement), Ian Kershaw argues that it lay not so much in Hitler's personality or his bizarre Nazi ideology, as in the social and political values of the people themselves. In charting the creation, rise, and fall of the `Hitler Myth', he demonstrates the importance of the manufactured 'Führer cult' to the attainment of Nazi political ends, and how the Nazis used the new techniques of propaganda to exploit and build on the beliefs, phobias, and prejudices of the day.
£13.99
Penguin Books Ltd Hitler
Now available in a single, abridged paperback, Ian Kershaw's Hitler is the definitive biography of the Nazi leader. Ian Kershaw's two volume biography, Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris and Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis, was greeted with universal acclaim as the essential work on one of the most malign figures in history, from his earliest origins to the final days of the Second World War. Now this landmark historical work is available in one single, abridged edition, tracing the story of how a bitter, failed art student from an obscure corner of Austria rose to unparalleled power, destroying the lives of millions and bringing the world to the brink of Armageddon. 'Supersedes all previous accounts. It is the sort of masterly biography that only a first-rate historian can write' David Cannadine, Observer 'The Hitler biography for the twenty-first century' Richard Evans, Sunday Telegraph 'I cannot imagine a better biography of this great tyrant emerging for a long while' Jeremy Paxman 'Magisterial ... anyone who wishes to understand the Third Reich must read Kershaw, for no one has done more to lay bare Hitler's morbid psyche' Niall Ferguson, Sunday Telegraph 'For the present generation, Kershaw's Hitler stands out as a clear beacon of truth, illuminating a dark age of terror and mendacity' Mail on Sund 'An achievement of the very highest order' Michael Burleigh, Financial Times Ian Kershaw (b. 1943) was Professor of Modern History at the University of Sheffield from 1989-2008, and is one of the world's leading authorities on Hitler. His books include The 'Hitler Myth', his two volume biography Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris and Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis, and Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions that Changed the World, 1940-1941. He was knighted in 2002.
£18.99
Greenhill Books Britain's Plot to Kill Hitler: The True Story of Operation Foxley and SOE
Operation Foxley was the name of the secret plan supported by Winston Churchill to assassinate Hitler in 1944-45. More than 75 years after its conception, the assassination plan remains shrouded in mystery. Eric Lee's new book is the product of painstaking research and sheds more light on this plan. Lee also asks what would have happened if Foxley had been executed successfully. Concocted in 1944 by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), Foxley's objective was to kill Hitler and any high-ranking Nazis or members of the Fuhrer's entourage who might have been present at the time. Different methods of assassination had been considered by the SOE, but were ultimately deemed too complicated. These methods included derailment and destruction of the Hitler's personal train, the Fuhrerzug, by explosives, and also clandestine means such as slipping a tasteless poison into Hitler's drinking and cooking water. Some of the ideas were considered quite bizarre, including one scheme to hypnotise Rudolf Hess and return him to Germany to kill Nazi leaders. The Americans and Soviets had their own plans to kill Hitler too, with some equally strange ideas (including injecting female hormones into the Fuhrer's vegetables). Eventually, after intel gathered revealed that Hitler took a routine, solitary walk every morning to the Teehaus on the Mooslahnerkopf Hill from the Berghof residence, a plan was created to assassinate Hitler using a sniper rifle fitted with a silencer. A perfect investigation for readers who enjoy reading about modern historyl, and the Second World War in particular. It is also tailored to those with an interest in the secret war , covering topics like the SOE, and military intelligence.
£20.00
Greenhill Books The Young Hitler I Knew: The Memoirs of Hitler's Childhood Friend
August Kubizek met Adolf Hitler in 1904 while they were both competing for standing room at the opera. Their mutual passion for music created a strong bond, and over the next four years they became close friends. Kubizek describes a reticent young man, painfully shy, yet capable of bursting into hysterical fits of anger if anyone disagreed with him. The two boys would often talk for hours on end; Hitler found Kubizek to be a very good listener, a worthy confidant to his hopes and dreams. In 1908 Kubizek moved to Vienna and shared a room with Hitler at 29 Stumpergasse. During this time, Hitler tried to get into art school, but he was unsuccessful. With his money fast running out, he found himself sinking to the lower depths of the city: an unkind world of isolation and constant unappeasable hunger. Hitler moved out of the flat in November, without leaving a forwarding address; Kubizek did not meet his friend again until 1938. The Young Hitler I Knew tells the story of an extraordinary friendship, and gives fascinating insight into Hitler's character during these formative years. This is the first edition to be published in English since 1955 and it corrects many changes made for reasons of political correctness. It also includes important sections which were excised from the original English translation.
£14.99