by Peter Ross Range
This is a review I submitted to Amazon from whom I bought the book. I have written many book reviews over the years for Amazon and other publishers. The subject of Peter Ross Range’s book is one about which I consider myself to be reasonably well informed. After submitting the review I received a communication from Amazon saying that it conflicted with their standards, though they were not specific what they objected to. I tried to revisit my review but it was not available from Amazon so I could not access it.
Shortly afterwards I received a communication from Amazon saying that not only would they not publish my review but also that they were removing my right to review any other book or product on their website and that all my many existing reviews would be removed, which they have been !
I have protested to the top of Amazon U.K. (Country Manager John Boumphrey) but have received a brush off and their decision stands. All this is for the information of my friends and followers. But I would genuinely like to know if any of you find any part of my review offensive. Can anyone explain why Amazon has taken the action they have?
My Review: This is an academically outstanding book but also a readable page turner. The title really is the message, that the rise of Hitler to dictatorial power so nearly didn’t happen and on the face of it it is unfathomable that it did. Aside from his ambition Hitler had two qualities which took him eventually to the Chancellorship – extraordinary oratorical skills and a fierce, but of course malignant, intelligence.
The Führer was such a monster that we are uncomfortable with acknowledging his cleverness. But, as the author makes clear, he was focused and smart, and very lucky. At almost any point between the mid 1920s and 1933 Hitler could have disappeared from politics never to return. For a long time he wasn’t seen as a serious threat to the Weimar Republic. The Wall Street crash of 1929 changed that as did Weimar’s lack of leadership and failed coalitions. But still even up to and including the week that he gained power he could have fallen. The Nazis had over a hundred seats in the Reichstag but they were not the largest party and it is a stretch to say that they were democratically elected.
Hitler’s evil was there to see but an exhausted Hindenburg chose not to see it. Hitler’s politics were driven by extreme nationalism and a blame culture and one of the most valuable aspects of this book is the warning from history it contains. The rise to highest office of wholly unsuitable people today in Britain, America and elsewhere is scarily reminiscent of the Nazis. This book is history writing at its best. Meticulously researched and detailed without ever being dull. We know what happened between 1933 and 1945. This book tells us how we got to the point in 1933 and beyond that a civilised, cultured, and sophisticated nation like Germany descended into darkness.
Essential reading.
Review by Paddy Briggs
Paddy’s Blogs in a crazy world 
It’s nonsense on stilts, of course, Paddy. Amazon’s corporate logic is simply to use a machine to moderate these public posts. It saves time and money. It’s programmed to highlight certain words that pass their barrier of pre-programed acceptability. Instead of employing a person with a brain to actually read it.
MI5 and MI6 use a similar tactic when covertly monitoring conversations between terror suspects. Just for fun here is my assessment of how I suspect they rejected it.
Hitler had two qualities – extraordinary oratorical skills and a fierce, but of course malignant, intelligence.
To write on a public forum that Hitler had three qualities flags to a machine you are supporting a historical figure who has been deemed a mass murderer. Hence now the machine believes the writer is a neo-Nazi. Then you compounded that by writing he had extraordinary skills. The machine now flags up two compliments of a known monster. Thirdly the machine reads intelligence. Pow! That’s it, three complimentary efforts at positive Hitler propaganda. So, our machine then gets busy blacklisting you in case Amazon is accused of spreading neo-Nazi propaganda.
Amazon exists only to sell stuff not promote knowledge or understanding. They have book reviews to try and sell more books not discuss any understanding of the writer’s subject. My best guess is Amazon on some computer or other has you listed as a far-right extremist.
It’s a similar process to the McCarthy witch hunts in the fifties using Hoover’s black list to expose suspected communists in government. Sad then sad now.
LikeLike
PS: I may buy the book. Not from Amazon.
LikeLike