Ullrich Volker is a prize-winning historian and the author of Hitler: Ascent, 1889–1939, Hitler: Downfall, 1939–1945, and Eight Days in May: The Final Collapse of the Third Reich. He lives in Hamburg. Jefferson Chase has translated works by Thomas Mann and Wolfgang Schivelbusch, among others. He lives in Berlin.
"Well researched and clearly written, recounting the putsch and the events leading up to it with authority and verve . . . [Ullrich] writes in enviably engaging and flowing prose (ably translated here by Jefferson Chase) and makes excellent use of a rich range of diaries and memoirs covering the events.--Richard J. Evans ""The Nation"" What readers will find is a warning from the past with lessons still apposite today: crisis breeds crisis; democracy is hard work; scapegoating needs to be addressed early; norms, once broken, are hard to repair; the socio-economic effects of inflation can be deadly.--Charles Emerson ""Financial Times"" Ullrich shows that the psychological and political effects of hyperinflation were profound. Reality seemed to be breaking down . . . . Conservatives believed that they could invite Hitler into their governing coalition and benefit accordingly. Such opportunism was breathtakingly cynical--and horrifically na�ve. As Ullrich puts it at the end of his book, 'The notion that they could harness the Nazi leader for their own reactionary interests and control the dynamic of his movement would be revealed as a tragic illusion.'--Jennifer Szalai ""New York Times"" An exemplary, sober book about an intoxicating time: Volker Ullrich brings order to the historical chaos of a year that fascinates as well as frightens--and is closer to us than we might like it to be. Formidable.--Norman Ohler, New York Times best-selling author of Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich Comprehensive . . . this captivating account sheds much light on a complex and consequential era. WWII history buffs should take note.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" An exemplary book of history with no lack of uncomfortable lessons for today.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"""