“Hitler: An Illustrated Life”, by Robin Cross

 

224 pages, Quercus, 978-1848660205

Yeah, another one; let’s get this over with…one of these days I may just have to write my own biography of Adolf, seeing as what big business it is (hell, how many books have I read and reviewed on the sombitch?) Anyway, Hitler: An Illustrated Life by Robin Cross is only from 2009, proving that the market for books on Der Führer is alive and well. Cross’ book can best be described as a practicable alternative to the dauntingly massive treatises many people don’t have the time or inclination to devote to a decidedly unsavory personage. At a slim 224 pages, Cross has sacrificed depth of exposition in the name of brevity: at times all one gets as background information for the event being discussed is a brief sentence or two, supporting characters pop in and out of the narrative as needed, with little consideration given to the logical continuity of their existence in the broader scheme of things, and enhancing details are, perforce, treated lightly or simply overlooked, while the flow of events is sometimes a bit bumpy. That, alas, is the price to be paid for concise bios; the alternative, of course, is the thousand-plus page magnum opus, of which there are legion. An Illustrated Life is overall a worthy short biography with a very important mission: making Hitler accessible to the layperson as a fellow person, not as an unhuman demon for, sadly, the Little Corporal was all too human.