Summer, 1939. Hitler was at the zenith of his power. The Nazis had consolidated political control in Germany and a series of foreign-policy coups had restored Germany to the status of a major world power. He embarked on his lifelong ambition: to provide the German people with the resources they needed to flourish and to exterminate those who stood in the way. Despite stunning initial triumphs, Hitler's decision to invade the Soviet Union in 1941 turned the tide for good. Ullrich offers new insight into Hitler's character and personality, vividly portraying the insecurity, obsession with minutiae, and narcissistic penchant for gambling that led Hitler to overrule his subordinates and then blame them for his failures. Ultimately, when he realized the war was not winnable, Hitler embarked on the annihilation of Germany itself in order to punish the people who he believed had failed to hand him victory. -- adapted from jacket.

Unleashing the War --Poland 1939-40 : prelude to a War of annihilation -- Decision in the West? -- Strategic stalemate -- Operation Barbarossa -- The war turns, 1941-1942 -- The road to the Holocaust -- Stalingrad and the battle for oil -- Total War and ethnic-popular community -- On the defensive -- Operations Overlord and Bagration -- The Berghof during the war -- The Stauffenberg assassination attempt and its aftermath -- Final rally -- Decline of a dictator -- Staged exit -- The final days in the bunker -- Hitler's place in history.