Hitler

   I just finished reading Hitler’s Charisma: Leading Millions into the Abyss by Laurence Rees. The fact that some of the account was familiar didn’t reduce its novelty, since the story is told with the focus on Germany. It’s a good book and convincing.

   For most of his career, Hitler’s power is effectively unlimited. Some years ago I was asked to name the most influential 20^thcentury personages. Einstein was easy, but Hitler who was the second, was not. But there is no question about his remarkable effectiveness. I think that Rees makes it easy for himself by trotting out “charisma” periodically. Does that really explain much of anything? More analysis of the German response is called for—probably to be found in dozens of books I won’t read

   I saw Hitler once, riding in an open car on the highway that went through Heidelberg—at a moderate speed, not racing. That was not all that long before we left Germany in early 1939.