#81, "Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography"

"Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography"
By John Toland

This is by far the largest book I have read this year; probably it will remain the largest as I go through the remainder of the year. Toland tells the story, year by year, month by month, day by day, and occasionally hour-by-hour, of Adolf Hitler: his origins, his childhood, his formative teenage years, experiences in the First World War, his pledge to join politics, his rise to power as head of the National Socialist Party, his leadership of Germany as chancellor and Fuhrer, the actions that he took to lead to the Second World War, and finally the inevitable defeat of Germany and his suicide in the final year of the war. The amount of information is staggering, as is Toland's exquisite attention to detail. He leverages historical documents, public domain as well as personal interviews, photographs, personal letters and government paperwork to bring every point of Hitler's life to light. There is almost no editorializing, speculating, or prescribing. Toland is a pure scholar, and faithfully reports facts. You can really feel his painstaking devotion to presenting each moment as an artifact, without allowing his subjective opinions to color it. He achieves this scholarly aim as well as any historian can. In fact, occasionally you think, "Good God, he has to have a comment on THIS insanity." But he rarely comments at all. I think that puts the burden of opinion, on analysis and critique, on the reader. You aren't told how to think. You are given facts, and expected to come to your own conclusions. That makes for a great history.

Hitler was fanatical. That word is used over and over again in the book to describe his thoughts, motivations, and deeds. Once he had decided the path his life would take, he followed it with incredible, unyielding passion and drive. The result is that his life is, arguably, the most influential single life that existed in the 20th century. Without Hitler, Germany would have taken much longer to recover in the aftermath of World War I. Without Hitler, National Socialism would have been just one of hundreds of insignificant political parties in the 1920's and 30's that sought to reclaim Germany's former glory and re-establish her place in the global community. Without Hitler, the names Goering, Goebbels, and Himmler would all be standard German names, without their modern historical weight. The United States as it stands today would not exist, as its current status as a superpower was born in the destruction of the WWII. Paradoxically, as Toland points out, the Jewish state of Israel would probably not exist without the turmoil brought on by Hitler's extreme antiSemitism and the Holocaust. These things, and a thousand others, mark Hitler's life as one of distinction. He changed the course of history. Persistence makes a difference, and I think there must be some lesson in the unrelenting doggedness of his fanaticism. If only those who seek truth, justice, goodness, righteousness were so unmovingly driven! What might be done in such a life? As it was, his crusade was one of death, of suffering, of horrifying tragedy at every level. The dangers of fanaticism are as clear to see as the benefits.

I had so many thoughts as I read this book and learned about this man, possibly the most reviled name in any tongue and in any history. One thing I wanted to say that stood out to me was on the nature of national pride. Today, we hear lots of talk of patriotism, of being proud of our country and our heritage. Proud to be an American, we say. I see in the life of Hitler the dangerous extreme of nationalism, an extreme that, as I analyze the world day by day, becomes more and more normalized in America. We should--no, we must make ourselves cognizant of where national pride can lead to if not held in check. Hitler thought first and only of his people; their racial purity and supposed superiority to other peoples, their economy and borders at the expense of other nations, Germany-first, Germany-only. His message of victimhood resonated with the common people of Germany in 1924. His party, rooted in Germany pride, went from less than a dozen people to over half of the country in less than ten years. It then devastated the entire world. National pride can bring us community and common goals. It gives us protection, and it recognizes the sacrifices made in order to bring us to where we exist today. Yet when it brings a nation to the point of despising other peoples, it cannot anymore be legitimized. In this time of flux and continuous change, we are not merely citizens of one nation. We are truly citizens of the world. We must take the lessons of Nazi Germany--the lessons of history--and apply them to our our times, or else we fall in danger of following in similar paths. National pride is shameful if your nation exists only to belittle, subjugate, and control others. Therefore be wary of being too proud of your nation. I say this especially as a Christian, and now I write to the Christian reading this: We are first citizens of heaven, not of any arbitrary borders written by man. Do not allow blind nationalism to distract you from your true citizenship. Hitler wanted to rekindle Germany's greatness after being "betrayed" by world. His nationalist spirit controlled his every move, and led to horrors the earth has yet to recover from.

The Eve of War

I am a little over halfway through this biography, and am now just to the events of summer 1938 to August 1939--those leading to the very edge of what would become the most destructive war in human history. I am struck by Hitler's success in essentially blackmailing the world, in order to annex first Austria, then the German-Czechoslovakian territory of the Sudetenland, and then Czechoslovakia itself, all in the space of less than a year. The European nations were so afraid of another war, such as what they endured in 1914-18, that they sought appeasement at nearly all costs. The result, of course, was only to strengthen Germany's position and truly set the stage for the next conflict.

I think there's a lesson there.

Hitler Biography

I've begun a large and long biography of Adolf Hitler, by Pulitzer Prize winner John Toland. It's an extraordinary book. It is subtitled "The Definitive Biography," and with good reason. Nearly every year of Hitler's life is given detailed attention--in the audio version I'm listening to, each year is roughly an hour long (more or less). I think I will give periodic reflections during the course of the book, and one final review at its conclusion, in order to capture my thoughts along the way.

Hitler, I'm finding, was a truly remarkable man. Very little about him was ordinary, even from childhood. I knew previously that he was a painter, but I didn't realize that art and architecture were his passions as a boy and a teenager. He nearly went to a fine arts academy, but they rejected him. He spent his late teens in abject poverty, splitting profits as a street painter 50/50 with a Bohemian who hawked his art to rich tourists. He joined the Bavarian army and volunteered consistently for the hardest and most dangerous missions. He is described over and over in the book as "fanatical," an extreme German nationalist whose goals were always with Germany and Germanness at the head. He hated Marxism, Communism, and Jews; a trio that he frequently conflated together, and whom, along with many Germans in the aftermath of the first World War, he blamed for the humiliating defeat and post-war national turmoil that engulfed the country. You can start to see the threads coming together to form the man who, arguably, was the most influential person on the century.

#66, "The Art of Eric Carle"

"The Art of Eric Carle"

Eric Carle

Eric Carle is a wonderful illustrator, one of the most creative and original artists in the realm of children's literature of any era. This book is part-biography, part-autobiography, part-survey of his life, style, and influence. It is comprised mostly of essays about the artist and his work by his editors, publishers, and others who have journeyed with him, though Carle himself writes a rather lengthy life-story as well as a rambling transcription of a talk he gave about creativity and inspiration.

The essays are good, not great. The best parts of the book are Carle's autobiography, which is witty, informative, and traces parts of his life that, maybe, some less brave might not include (such as his experience as a child in pro-Nazi Germany prior to the 2nd World War) through to his entry into the career of a children's book author and illustrator. I also was very interested to get an inside view of how he creates his illustrations. I enjoyed the story of the origins of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" the first time; it was shared several more times after that, making me wish that some other stories had been told. There are needless repetitions throughout, though I suppose that might be a function of the compiled essay format--each author just thought to include the same thing, perhaps. Fortunately, they are all well-written. Even better, Carle's vibrant and engaging artwork is showcased throughout--the real standout of the book. The final quarter is entirely selections of his 50+ year career as a professional illustrator, and brilliantly demonstrates his one-of-a-kind style. Overall, a fine read for fans of Eric Carle's work.

#whatIreadin2017

2017 Book #35, "Between Heaven and the Real World"

"Between Heaven and the Real World: My Story"

Steven Curtis Chapman

Steven Curtis Chapman is one of my heroes, in music as well as faith. Through this autobiography, SCC (as he is referred to in my house) opens his life in its triumphs, failures, and tragedies, letting the stories of his music and family point the way ultimately to his faith in Jesus. It is an easy read, meant, I think, for an average reader, with many relatable anecdotes to balance the occasional step into slightly more technical musical jargon (of which there are only a few). It is only focused on his music in that it has been one of the centerpieces of his life, as his job and ministry; SCC speaks as much, or more, about his journey as a man, a son, a husband, a father, all which resonate deeply with me as I begin to experience my own path in these areas. Then, of course, are the stories of the songs that I've known my whole life, the albums that have been with me since I was a boy, and the circumstances that surround many of them. I was surprised, a little, that a few albums were mentioned only in passing. I expected a more detailed look at each and every one, though perhaps because there are so many there simply wasn't enough time or room. I'm not sure about that, but what is there is insightful and enlightening. Finally, reading about the faith journey that SCC has gone through is truly inspiring and has, I dare to say, lit a mini-revival in my own life, both spiritually and musically. He doesn't pretend to be perfect or to know all the answers; indeed, he writes again and again that being hyper-spiritual has proven to be one of his weaknesses and failing points. Seeing this transparency and honesty combined with the humility of one of the great songwriters of all Christian history is humbling and inspiring.

#whatIreadin2017

2017 Book #22, "Miles: The Autobiography"

"Miles: The Autobiography"
Miles Davis

Davis tells the story of his life with no sanitation or whitewashing, from the drug-soaked world of music where he used, abused and quit heroin and cocaine, to the dizzying number of women that he slept with, dated, married, divorced, to his explosive views on racism in America and the music industry and his wideranging opinions of musicians from good to bad. It's quite a ride. He changed the sound of jazz and arguably modern music, several times and made some of the most important contributions to the genre in it's history. His life is not one that I would emulate, however. #whatIreadin2017