Reviews
The book is good, but Kyobo orders arrive dented or marked. I noticed a diagonal crease on this cover; another book in the shipment was badly folded and had to be exchanged. The replacement was packaged differently, and I wish they had packed everything well from the start. Disappointing. They could use bubble wrap like Aladin.
I bought this after watching a program about Hitler, hoping it would help me learn more about him. I’m looking forward to it.
The title drew me in immediately. I’m participating in an advance-comment event, and this intriguing title makes me curious.
Though it’s a hefty book, I’m finding it surprisingly enjoyable. The translation is smooth. I think the design would fit the content better without Nazi imagery.
I knew Hitler only as a failed aspiring painter, so it was fascinating to learn how seriously he took art. I applaud the author’s extensive research and organization of painting, architecture, music, and other topics. Readers interested in Hitler or aesthetics should enjoy it. The translator also deserves praise: every sentence was clear on the first read and flowed naturally, as if originally written in Korean.
Frederick Spotts: Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics
A prominent Jewish leader responded to a proposed film about Hitler’s youth: “We know what kind of person he was and what he did. What more do we need to know?” That is true if the aim is to find humanity in Hitler; his hatred, violence, war, and genocide remain facts. His motives are more complicated. Dictators have used art to control the public, win admiration, display power, and memorialize themselves. Hitler went further, using aesthetics to justify his rule culturally. Destruction and ethnic cleansing were a path to new construction. Art was a means to power and ultimately the end toward which power should aim. He sought to make the Third Reich a cultural nation without precedent. This book records Hitler as an artist rather than a politician, showing how a distorted aesthetic ideal can bring misery. It explores how art can give a dictator an aura and how destructive a dictator can be when absorbed in art. Readers may be unsettled by Hitler’s artistic side, but will see the historical tragedy as a whole.
Korean title: 히틀러와 미학의 힘
Korean author: 프레더릭 스팟츠
Korean publisher: 생각의힘
ISBN-13: 9791193166536
Reviews
The book is good, but Kyobo orders arrive dented or marked. I noticed a diagonal crease on this cover; another book in the shipment was badly folded and had to be exchanged. The replacement was packaged differently, and I wish they had packed everything well from the start. Disappointing. They could use bubble wrap like Aladin.
I bought this after watching a program about Hitler, hoping it would help me learn more about him. I’m looking forward to it.
The title drew me in immediately. I’m participating in an advance-comment event, and this intriguing title makes me curious.
Though it’s a hefty book, I’m finding it surprisingly enjoyable. The translation is smooth. I think the design would fit the content better without Nazi imagery.
I knew Hitler only as a failed aspiring painter, so it was fascinating to learn how seriously he took art. I applaud the author’s extensive research and organization of painting, architecture, music, and other topics. Readers interested in Hitler or aesthetics should enjoy it. The translator also deserves praise: every sentence was clear on the first read and flowed naturally, as if originally written in Korean.
