How did a former Austrian corporal in the Bavarian army with no apparent gift for leadership or strategy become the leader of one of the most civilized countries in Europe and turn it into a nightmare state? Even as Hitler's troops forged a relentless path across Europe, attempts were being made to find out what was going on in his mind. To an outside observer it was clear that, perhaps more than any other world leader in modern times, Hitler was living out his own pathological psychodrama on the global stage. This illustrated book presents revealing insights into one of the world's most murderous dictators. Nigel Cawthorne draws on sound psychological principles and the latest research into the causes and nature of aberrant personalities to discover what impelled him to commit such terrible atrocities.