The Hitler Fact Book

The Hitler Fact Book easily caught my eye (maybe I was hypnotically stared enough!) because of the title and the picture of Adolf Hitler with his madman eyes, so I knew I had to buy it. Before I read the book, I knew very little about the once leader of the Third Reich because I hadn't bothered to care. After reading it, I can safely say that I came away knowledgeable about starting with his mustache and then from his facial features to meaning of German phrases such as Sieg Heil and Third Reich. Then, the book attempts to debunk myths (Hitler's sexuality and perverse sex tendencies) while leaving some confounding speculations (did Hitler have one testicle?) up in the air. At the same time, the author explores questions such as why didn't anyone attempt to kill Hitler, was he really an Anti-Semitic (a question that I had to ask because I felt that Hitler just used the angle just simply to secure a purpose for greatness), and did Hitler really invent the Volkswagen. It also explores what Hitler ate, his hypochondriacal personality, and what books he read (and was he a true lover of knowledge?). Really, there is so much information about Hitler in the book that I got surprised to learn. One of them was that he had blue eyes, something that I never knew because of the black/white photographs. Another one which dispelled a myth that Hitler didn't do anything in World War I astounded me as well. Moreover, there is a brief mention of an assassination attempt in the book about Colonel Claus con Stauffenberg, and right now, there is a new movie coming out about that starring Tom Cruise called Valkyrie (which probably will stink). To explore further the information contained in the book, the author has, in the end pages, nicely listed the specific parts with specific pages corresponding with the books in the bibliography. All in all, The Hitler Fact Book is a very enjoyable read yet amusing in a This Is Spinal Tap way.

I don't think you could come up with any question about Hitler -- no matter how silly, serious or obscure -- which isn't answered in this book. You can try, but you probably won't succeed. My young nephew was assigned this book in a college level history course. When I was in college, none of the history books we were forced to read were anywhere near as entertaining (if I can use that word about Hitler) and down-right fascinating as this one. It is carefully researched and documented, scholarly, without ever being the least pedantic. Even if you think you already know enough about Hitler, I highly recommend you read this book.

There were a number of favoriable reader reviews here at one time. What happened to them? Why were they dumped?