The Psychopathic God: Adolph Hitler

This is the first and only book that I have read that actualy attempts to understand the mental inner-workings of the greatest political mind in the past hundred years, and through that,understand how he was able to accomlish his goals. Robert Waite's thorough analysis of Hitler's beleifs, personality, mindset, and methods finally explains the inexplicable; how can one man convince an entire country, nay, a continent, to abide by his childish whims and maniacal will, to accomlish what certainly must be considered one of the most horrific, if not the most horrific, acts of all time. The question is a burning one that begs for an answer, and Mr. Waite strives mightily to do just that. Through intense and delicate research, as well as some speculation on his part, he traces Hitler's family origin, the sources of his beliefs, and most importantly, his psyche, and molds them into a very viable theory that is at once enlightening and sickening. This is an excellent book, written by a first class historian. It is without question required reading for any individual that wants to know the "how" of the Holocaust. My only small complaint is that in his immense dislike for his subject, Waite finds it impossible to refrain from sarcasm and showing his disdain at certain points in the reading. I might add, however, that these instances are usually very entertaining.

It's usually best to take so-called "psychobiographies" with a grain of salt, especially when they are heavily Freud-dependent (like this one.) Nevertheless, this is a classic that presents a kalidescopic array of facts and speculations about its terrible subject. You may not buy it all, but you won't be able to stop reading. Waite's interpretations of the art produced by, enjoyed by, and inspired by Hitler are quite illuminating, including the haunting portrait on the cover.

I really liked this book. The author really gets his point across without boring the reader to death. This should be require reading for all world history buffs...I plan on reading it again.

The Negative Aspects Firstly, the organization of the information in this book could have been more effectively structured. The author runs circles in his various dissections of Hitler at certain points, creating a sense of deja vu for the reader, and somehow thinks that Germany's history deserves its own section at the end of the book, after many references to Hitler in history have already been made. Secondly, the book's implementation of its goals gives the sense that the author is doing someone else's job: the author's style and presentation of facts lends to the idea that he decided to become a pyscho-analyst on a whim and thus produced this book, and would have been more comfortable presenting his knowledge under some other pretense. The Positive Side Assuming one can keep in mind that they are not reading actual psycho-analytical literature written by an actual psycho-analyst, the book is a gem. As his jacket states, the author's "ultimate aim is historical", and in the historical sense, the book excels: every chapter is a joy to read, looking at Hitler in many light as a little boy, an angst-ridden teen and a political thug, while being supplemented by historical facts, anecdotes and personal insights. The Final Say The Psychopathic God is a valuable addition to any modern history, Holocaust, WWII or Hitler literature collection. I would recommend it to anyone who may be interested in learning about Hitler and his various realtionships in depth.

Waite strips Adolf Hitler down to the core, revealing in his childhood explanations for not only why Hitler was who he was, but also revealing in general the reasons the German volk followed him down the fiery path of the Holocaust. His fascinating analysis of the routine and horrifying abuse that passed for normal child-rearing methods in middle European countries tears away the the curtain that has shrouded the motivations of Hitler and his countrymen, and makes it clear that the Holocaust was not an abberation in Germany--it was an inevitability. Read this with Alice Miller's "For Your Own Good" and Wolff's "Child Abuse in Freud's Vienna," and you'll get the picture.