Hitler: Only the World Was Enough Paperback – 3 Sept. 2020

This is historical writing at its finest. In tandem with a gripping narrative history of Hitler's rise to power and beyond, Simms provides forensic insight into the poisonous brew of wild abstract notions that motivated Hitler on his extraordinary path of destruction. Far from being 'revisionist', the book masterfully frames an obvious truth: from his first political statement to his last, via everything in between, Hitler was a racist socialist.

Very well written ...very much gets the reader into the complexities of Hitler, I enjoyed the book very much and am confident anyone else who is interested in 20th century history would agree.

The book was a Christmas present.

What is interesting in this book is the author's insistence on Hitler's views as an anti-Semitic, anti-capitalist, anti-democratic politician who regarded himself as very much a socialist. I guess the clue to this is in the name he selected for his party. Although the author can't quite bring himself to say it - and who can blame him, he being a Cambridge academic and thus likely to face career suicide if he did - Simms is quite clear in placing Hitler as a man of the Left, sitting in the space between the Communists and the Social Democrats. His genius lay in his ability, once the Communists had been defeated, to absorb ever more elements of the right, such as the Stahlhelm, who were attracted to the nationalist, anti-Versailles, anti-reparations aspects of his programme. It's also interesting to read that Hitler dismissed Bolshevism as being a tool of the Jewish World Conspiracy - which already controlled Britain and the USA in his warped intellect - and paid almost no attention to the USSR which he again dismissed - probably quite rightly - as weak and barbaric. In the end, the author argues that the two main aims of Hitler were 'race and space' - the improvement of the German racial make-up to match that of the superior British and Americans and the gaining of lebensraum from a weakened Russia which would allow him to match the territorial size of the British Empire and the North American continent.Why not a 5 star? Simply because Simms backed out from nailing Hitler for what he was - a thoroughly unpleasant socialist anti-Semite who belongs firmly in the line up with Stalin, Trotsky, Lenin and Mao rather than the place the Left have ascribed him as a Right Wing Bogeyman.Dr Damian O'Connor, author of 'A Short Guide to the History of South Africa 1652-1902 and 1902-1989.

I've seen negative reviews of this book who claim that Simms isn't a Hitler expert. I think that's an advantage when you're trying to write a balanced account of someone whom 90% of the world think they know. A mad psychopath who somehow got control of Germany and destroyed it for narcissistic glory. This book debunks all that by looking at what Hitler's ideas were. The hypothesis is that Hitler saw the unstoppable rise of consumer capitalism, of share trading and finance controlled economies. In that he was prescient. His idea that this was all caused by an international Jewish conspiracy and his solution to that, were false and killed millions. However this book kills off many popular ideas about Hitler. Was he mad? No. Did he believe in the German master race? No, he thought the English much tougher. Was he implacably opposed to Britain? Definitely not, he tried to make peace with Britain many times and even at the end hoped for a Germany subsumed into the British Empire, with London as the Capital city. Did he invented the idea of subsidiarity? Yes. Was he a control freak? Definitely not. Did he foresee the power of cheap automobiles? Yes (after seeing the effects of Henry Ford). Was he a brilliant tactician? I think yes in many ways. Did he realise from the start that victory was impossible? I think yes. Did he misunderstand where liberal democracy and capitalism get their motive power from? No, and he fought heavily against these forces believing them to be corrupting, when ask capitalism does is harness private vices for public virtue. Was he a brilliant politician? Yes. Did the West misunderstand how the Jews were originally kept as hostages, and then killed when they were no longer needed? Maybe. Certainly at some level Hitler seems to have seen people as mere pawns in a grand historical battle of ideas and races. It's too easy to see Hitler through the scene in Downfall where he rants at his generals in the bunker. Likely on lots of medication. However most of his decisions up till that point appear carefully thought out and consistent with his admittedly very strange view of capitalism. If we don't try to understand Hitler then we will find ourselves with another one like him. Maybe we already do with Putin.

Not being a student of 20th century history, my understanding of WW2 and the main players came from high school and the media, so I was very interested to learn more about this man who had such a huge impact on our recent history. I was not disappointed. It is very interesting indeed, as it takes you from when Hitler was a soldier in WW1 and leads you through the development of his ideas and beliefs - which are quite unexpected when you consider what we think we know about him. It is a frightening logic that created so much destruction and something it is important to understand. If we don't learn from history we are destined to keep repeating it.. This is an academic book so it takes a little bit of work to take on, but it's worth it.