The life and death of Adolf Hitler

Title:

Author:

Giblin, James Cross, 1933-2016

ISBN:

9780395903711

Publication Date:

2002

Publication Information:

New York : Clarion Books, c2002.

Physical Description:

246 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.

Language:

English

Subject Term:

Heads of state -- Germany -- Biography.

National socialism.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status
Searching... Alondra Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Avalon Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Compton Library	Book	92 HITLER GIBLIN	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Diamond Bar Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Duarte Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... East Los Angeles Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Hawaiian Gardens Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... La Canada Flintridge Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... La Verne Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Lawndale Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Leland R. Weaver Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Maywood Cesar Chavez Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... San Dimas Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... West Hollywood Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Westlake Village Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Wiseburn Library	Book	92 H674	Searching... Unknown

2003 Sibert Medal Winner

Many people believe Hitler was the personification of evil. In this Sibert Medal-winning biography, James Cross Giblin penetrates this façade and presents a picture of a complex person--at once a brilliant, influential politician and a deeply disturbed man.

In a straightforward and nonsensational manner, the author explores the forces that shaped the man as well as the social conditions that furthered his rapid rise to power. Against a background of crucial historical events, Giblin traces the arc of Hitler's life from 1889 to 1945: his childhood, his years as a frustrated artist in Vienna, his extraordinary rise as dictator of Germany, his final days in an embattled bunker under Berlin. Powerful archival images provide a haunting visual accompaniment to this clear and compelling account of a life that left an ineradicable mark on our world. Author's note, bibliography, index.

Reviews: (5)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 7 Up-The most complete and successful biography of the Fhrer available for this audience. It takes courage to write fairly about the person who perpetuated almost certainly the most suffering and misery in the 20th century, and Giblin accepts this mantle and bears it nobly. This "extraordinary villain who promised to restore his nation's honor and dignity" began life very much as an average person. His subsequent transformation into brilliant politician and then cruel war leader and finally humiliated vanquished tyrant is presented seamlessly and realistically. The first chapter establishes the ground rules for the rest of the book as it sets out to explore how such "deadly ventures" happened. As the book continues, the historical perspective is superb. For example, while Giblin portrays Hitler's persecution of certain groups as severe and reprehensible, he also mentions the fact that during this time many nations and institutions, including American universities, had specific anti-Semitic policies. The last chapter, entitled "Hitler Lives," shows how some people to this day are attempting to perpetuate the man's legacy and beliefs. This book maintains focus on the life of its subject-including his pets and love life-and does not, as many others do, stray into areas belonging to books specifically on the Holocaust or World War II. Good-quality photos, political cartoons, and reproductions augment the text. A biography in the truest sense, this is a terrifying must for all libraries.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this accomplished biography, Giblin (Charles Lindbergh) presents the rise and fall of "the most dangerous and ultimately the most destructive twentieth-century dictator." The author begins with Hitler's birth and modest upbringing in Austria and failed artistic aspirations, and follows his years as a WWI soldier and his budding abilities as a political orator (an army superior noted, chillingly, "Herr Hitler is a born people's speaker.... He clearly compels the attention of his listeners, and makes them think his way"). The compelling narrative then traces Hitler's gradual accumulation of power, including his early political associations with the Nazi Party, a failed 1923 coup attempt and subsequent imprisonment (where he penned his plans for political domination and the annihilation of European Jews in Mein Kampf). This insightful historical overview describes the social, political and economic conditions that proved ripe for the dictator's ascent, as it outlines Hitler's life and career, including his iron grip on his adopted "Fatherland" and his commitment to Lebensraum (or additional "living space" for Germany) which triggered the series of invasions that pushed the world into another war. Abundant primary source quotes and well-researched photographs enliven this comprehensive volume. A closing chapter describes the rise of neo-Nazism both in the U.S. and abroad. Giblin offers an absorbing portrait of an enigmatic leader who loved dogs and opera but could also order the extermination of millions of innocent people. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Horn Book Review

(Middle School, High School) Because the most notorious figure of the twentieth century also remains one of the most enigmatic, it would be unfair to expect Giblin to actually plumb the psyche of Adolf Hitler. Could anyone? Instead we are offered a straightforward if somewhat distant account of Hitler's life from his youth and rather aimless young adulthood to his last, desperate days in the bunker. Most readers will come to this biography with a knowledge of Hitler's "Final Solution"; though his anti-Semitism is clearly addressed, the topic of the Holocaust does not dominate the text. Instead, the book focuses on his wartime role as Führer seeking domination of the European continent, with detailed accounts of specific victories and defeats. Hitler remains a rather remote figure throughout, but an occasional description-"the Führer squealed with delight and slapped his thigh" when he learned of Kristallnacht and "hugged himself for joy when word came that a key Belgian fort had fallen"-comes across with awful clarity. Equally chilling is the final chapter, "Hitler Lives," which provides evidence of the despot's long shadow on today's world: neo-Nazism in Europe and the United States, Internet sites promoting anti-Semitism and hatred, and the Aryan Nations' support for the September 11th attacks. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, the book is well documented with chapter-by-chapter source notes, a bibliography, a glossary of German words, and an index. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

Opening with an overview of dictators through history, Giblin (The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin, 2000, etc.), always a graceful, unemotional stylist, traces the life and actions of the leader of "the thousand year Reich" in a straightforward and lucid manner. His narrative explores three basic questions: "What sort of man could plan and carry out such horrendous schemes? How was he able to win support for his deadly ventures? And why did no one try to stop him until it was almost too late?" Citing Adolf's middle-class childhood, he looks beyond the standard labels of barbarian, savage, or mad man. (These qualities might provide excuse for his political acts: crimes against humanity, genocide, and a world destroyed.) Completing the history of the rise and fall of Germany, the Nazis, Hitler, and his cronies, Giblin follows with information about modern Nazi followers: skinheads, white power groups, Aryan nation members, and the like. The study cries out for much better maps; places like the Rhineland, Sudentenland, the Ruhr, to name a few, are mentioned in the text but not set in their geography-necessary in a time when young people seem to have little knowledge of the globe and its places and peoples. The rest of the illustrations are well chosen in this exemplary twin biography of a man and modern history. In a time when people, young and old, are unaware or have forgotten that people like Hitler, his nation of followers, and his high command existed, Giblin's carefully researched account is more important than ever. It is so readable that it should hold younger readers and educate older ones who may need their brains refilled with the facts of history. An essential purchase. (Nonfiction. 11-15)

Booklist Review

Gr. 7-9. Hitler's cold eyes stare out from the cover photograph of this excellent biography. Much of the book centers on Hitler's early years and rise to power after the First World War, with emphasis on the complicity or, in some cases, naiveteof the German political leaders and industrialists. It also covers the failed appeasement efforts of the British and French in pre-World War II months. Giblin moves beyond political events and delves into the twisted realms of Hitler's strangely contradictory personality, with anecdotes about Hitler's love of dogs, his relationships with women, and his vegetarianism. Giblin wisely avoids cataloging all the battles and events of World War II and keeps the focus on Hitler's personal reaction to these events and his final crazed days in his Berlin bunker. The last chapter deals with contemporary neo-Nazi movements throughout the world. Interspersed with the text are fascinating period photographs. Source notes are provided for each chapter, and the author includes a short informal essay, explaining why he wrote the book and what sources were particularly helpful. --Todd Morning

1. The Most Dangerous Dictator	p. 1
2. Young Adolf	p. 4
3. Homeless in Vienna	p. 12
4. Corporal Hitler	p. 18
5. The Power of Speech	p. 24
6. Launching a Revolution	p. 29
7. Arrested	p. 39
8. Mein Kampf	p. 45
9. A Death in the Family	p. 57
10. The Path to Power	p. 63
11. One Nation, One Party, One Fuhrer	p. 73
12. Triumph of the Will	p. 83
13. "Heil, Mein Fuhrer!"	p. 91
14. On the March	p. 101
15. Triumphant Homecoming	p. 108
16. "Peace in Our Time"	p. 115
17. Before the Storm	p. 126
18. One Conquest After Another	p. 136
19. War on Two Fronts	p. 146
20. The "Final Solution"	p. 157
21. Stalingrad--and After	p. 170
22. A Bomb Under the Table	p. 182
23. The Last Offensive	p. 193
24. Down to the Bunker	p. 202
25. Hitler Lives	p. 214
Glossary of German Words and Terms	p. 225
Source Notes and Bibliography	p. 227
Index	p. 235

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary