The Language of Violence ― Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf

Rash (German, Queen Mary, U. of London) notes that Hitler brought little new to the rhetoric of hatred. He simply concentrated the nationalistic discourse around him and used every linguistic device he could to create a very personal vision. She concentrates on his use of the "images of the enemy," starting with the historical and biographical background behind Mein Kampf and moving briskly to Hitler's language, including its antecedents in National Socialism, its rhetoric, its role as propaganda for racial hierarchy, and what it tells us about Hitler. The bulk of her analysis centers on metaphors as varied as biblical events, container metaphors, movement and the lack of it, the human anatomy, lights and colors, natural forces, and personification. The appendices include sample texts and rhetorical devices, including repetition, irony, pauses, addressing the reader, colloquialisms, enumeration and sarcasm. Rash has done significant work in analyzing evil. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)