The Unfathomable Ascent

How Hitler Came to Power

By: Peter Ross Range

Narrated by: Paul Hodgson

Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

The chilling and little-known story of Adolf Hitler's eight-year march to the pinnacle of German politics.

On the night of January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler leaned out of a spotlit window of the Reich chancellery in Berlin, bursting with joy. The moment seemed unbelievable, even to Hitler. After an improbable political journey that came close to faltering on many occasions, his march to power had finally succeeded.

While the path of Hitler's rise has been told in books covering larger portions of his life, no previous work has focused solely on his eight-year climb to rule: 1925-1933. Renowned author Peter Ross Range brings this period back to startling life with a narrative history that describes brushes with power, quests for revenge, nonstop electioneering, American-style campaign tactics, and - for Hitler - moments of gloating triumph followed by abject humiliation.

Indeed, this is the tale of a high-school dropout's climb from the infamy of a failed coup to the highest office in Europe's largest country. It is a saga of personal growth and lavish living, a melodrama rife with love affairs and even suicide attempts. But it is also the definitive account of Hitler's unrelenting struggle for control over his raucous movement, as he fought off challenges, built and bullied coalitions, quelled internecine feuds, and neutralized his enemies - all culminating in the creation of the Third Reich and the Western world's descent into darkness. One of the most dramatic and important stories in world history, Hitler's ascent spans Germany's wobbly recovery from World War I through years of growing prosperity and, finally, into crippling depression.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Peter Ross Range (P)2020 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"A fast-paced tour-de-force that shows how the German republic wrecked itself from within, Peter Ross Range's The Unfathomable Ascent is a must-read for anyone interested in Adolf Hitler's march to power or the tragic fragility of democracy." (David King, New York Times best-selling author of The Trial of Adolf Hitler)

Horrifying Story - Yet So Real

Backroom scheming by petty politicians leads to Hitler’s takeover of Germany and all the horrors of World War 2. Fascinating story well written and very well read.

The material made it a tough listen, fascinating

This was remarkable in terms of the scholarly work that went into it, but also in terms of it describing an amazingly unlikely, horrid event. All along the way the cast of characters were jostling for themselves, dissembling, being their worst possible selves and at the end of that long procession a complete monster emerged on top. This book is not for everyone but it was as it's title suggests unfathomable. I was honestly naive to the true nature of European antisemitism prior to this, I thought it was just Hitler and his toady a-holes. It turns out he was tapping into and amplifying and metastaticizing long held prejudices.

Very interesting read

I learned many things about the early years, that I didn’t know as much about from other books I’ve read. Good read. I just wished it was longer.

The best account of Hitler’s rise to power.

Range’s narrative clarity is created by a prudent selection of the facts and details that count. He avoid unnecessary explication of the well-known and obvious. Range also tells the story by focusing on the interaction of its major player rather than the debate over ideas, a account already well-covered by previous writers. Hodgson’s narration is perfect—his voice drew me from chapter to chapter without any listening fatigue entering in. My strongest recommendation!

Nothing New Here

“The Unfathomable Ascent” is a story that has been told over and over again in almost every biography of Adolf Hitler and story about the Third Reich. The narration is excellent and the length is just right. While the rise if Hitler seems improbable, knowing the state of Germany at the time of Hitler makes it seemingly inevitable. Range wants to make it exceptionally dramatic and unbelievable, but Hitler seized power at a time when Germans were desperate for security and during a time when a leadership vacuum made it possible. Though no one could ever have foreseen all destruction and devastation of his dictatorship. There are no words for this. Woe to humanity.

Very well written

A fantastic synopsis of how this man cane to power in a chaotic and weak Germany.

Very insightful, top notch writing, listenable

This work stands head and shoulders above any other I've seen, telling this story with countless revealing details. The writing just crackles, it is so good. The scenes, the characters, the situations, the flow of events, are all masterfully told and narrated. So many dots are connected.

Ominous tale . . .

of a wolf in wolf's clothing. An important lesson of how not to underestimate an ordinary person with extraordinary mental illness.