Thoughts about Ian Kershaw?

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Futurist
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Thoughts about Ian Kershaw?

#1

Post by Futurist » 14 Aug 2016, 09:46

What exactly do you think about the work of the historian Ian Kershaw? After all, I am currently reading a couple of his books (Hitler: 1889-1936 and Fateful Choices) and I certainly enjoy his writing style a lot. :)

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Re: Thoughts about Ian Kershaw?

#2

Post by Futurist » 14 Aug 2016, 23:50

Anyone?


Boby
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Re: Thoughts about Ian Kershaw?

#3

Post by Boby » 15 Aug 2016, 00:03

I found him biased and boring.

Regards

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Re: Thoughts about Ian Kershaw?

#4

Post by Futurist » 15 Aug 2016, 01:18

Boby wrote:I found him biased and boring.

Regards
Biased in favor of whom, though?

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Jeff Leach
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Re: Thoughts about Ian Kershaw?

#5

Post by Jeff Leach » 15 Aug 2016, 08:31

I've read his book the 'The End: Germany, 1944-45' and found it insightful and an enjoyable read. It is possible there are other posts about this author - roughly, his later works have a different tone than his earlier ones.

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Re: Thoughts about Ian Kershaw?

#6

Post by Mori » 15 Aug 2016, 08:37

I've read "The End" too, and used it critically for my own work: it's a solid piece of historical research, well documented and easy to read.

I've also read "Fateful Choices", which I found an un-necessary book. It is made of successive political sequences, which Kershaw describes based on other people's work. It does not bring much if you happen to know the topic already. It is accurate though (no mistake, state of the art perspective), but the reader wonders what exactly the value add of the book is.

HR715
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Re: Thoughts about Ian Kershaw?

#7

Post by HR715 » 02 Apr 2017, 01:02

I would have to say I enjoyed his two book biography of Hitler, it was excellent, of the two ,Hubris (Vol.2) I enjoyed most.
Fateful decisions - again an excellent read as was "the End".
"The Hitler Myth" - to me one of his best works, you can pick it up open read and enjoy at any point.
His book on Perceptions of the Third reich , to be honest I found it heavy going.

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Re: Thoughts about Ian Kershaw?

#8

Post by Panzermahn » 21 Apr 2017, 04:40

Boby wrote:I found him biased and boring.

Regards
Kershaw is a disciple of Martin Broszat, who is one of the leading historians of the IfZ Munich. So if you said Kershaw is biased, yes he is indeed biased to the viewpoints of Broszat.

Kershaw's book is indeed boring (I would say second to Richard Evans in the list of the most boring historical works ever written in the history of humanity) although it is well researched especially his biography on Adolf Hitler. I have a couple of his books and suffice to say that it is good source of information but I will never re-read it again entirely because it is too bland, too academic, too dry to enjoy reading it.

Kershaw lacked the writing prose sophistication of Antony Beevor's (Stalingrad, Berlin: The Downfall), Perry Biddiscombe (The SS Hunter Battalions) whose latter books would make you read and re-read and still enjoy it very much even if it is a serious historical work.

If there is a English version of Rolf Hinze's level of blandness in the history of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw would certainly be the undisputed choice

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