1924: The Year That Made Hitler Peter Ross Range Little, Brown and Company 2016 336 Pages $28.00 ISBN: 978-0316384032

There are two types of historical biographies. The first is the sweeping look at a long life. The second type is a small, shortish look at a particular part or event in a life. Adolf Hitler's life and the 12 Year Third Reich is closely examined, for instance, in William Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". A smaller segment of Hitler's life, though, is examined quite thoroughly in "1924: The Year That Made Hitler", by Peter Ross Range.

The year 1924 was quite important in Adolf Hitler's rise to power. He and a small band of Nazis - along with General Erich Ludendorff and others in the disbanded post-war German army - tried to take power in Munich on November 8-9, 1923. Proclaiming their "putsch" in the large beer hall - the Bürgerbräukeller, and then out in the street - Hitler and his crew planned badly and the putsch was put down. Hitler was put in Landsberg prison, while awaiting his trial for treason. As the year began, Adolf Hitler was ensconced in fairly fancy quarters in the prison. Peter Ross Range gives a lot of detail to the putsch and subsequent trial, where Hitler, acting often as his own lawyer, gave hours-long political speeches, under the guise of defending himself. Despite his defense - or maybe because of it - Hitler was sentenced to five years imprisonment, which was immediately reduced to six or so months.

Hitler returned to Landsberg to complete his shortened prison term and spent most of the time writing his memoir, "Mein Kampf". Legend has it that he dictated the book to also-imprisoned aide Rudolf Hess, but the truth is that Hitler wrote the first volume, using a Remington typewriter.
Hitler's life in prison was made even easier by the constant gifts of food made by his supporters. All in all, a fairly pleasant and productive way to spend a year behind bars. Hitler was released in December of 1924, and Peter Ross Range ends his book by looking at how he remade his personal political identity, as well as the Nazi party.

Range is a very easy writer, with a wonderfully fluid style. According to his Amazon listing, he has written a couple of crime books. This is his first historical biography and I hope he writes more.