Richard Overy
The Mind of Evil
The Pursuit of the Nazi Mind: Hitler, Hess, and the Analysts
By Daniel Pick
Oxford University Press 357pp £18.99
Writing in his prison diary in Spandau jail, Albert Speer reflected on his fellow-prisoner Rudolf Hess, serving a life sentence for crimes he could not remember: ‘Now at last he can play the martyr and the buffoon, thus fulfilling the two sides of his personality.’ This was a rough-and-ready analysis. Speer was no psychiatrist, but for years professionals had been trying to unravel the secrets of Hess’s inner mind. They hoped that psychoanalysing Hess would help them to understand the psychological bond that held the German people in thrall to Hitler.
This endeavour forms the core of Daniel Pick’s fascinating study of the mobilisation of psychoanalysis not only for the Allied war effort, but for a postwar world momentarily seduced by the idea that war and violence might be eradicated by a bit of psycho-science. Pick argues that the general rejection
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Are iPhones ruining children's lives? A prominent American psychologist thinks so.
@tiffanyjenkins is not so sure:
Tiffany Jenkins - The Smartphone Pandemic
Tiffany Jenkins: The Smartphone Pandemic - The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an...
literaryreview.co.uk
India's 'festival of democracy', or general election, begins next month. Like every good festival, it looks likely to have its fair share of murders and arrests.
@OwenBennettJon probes the state of democracy in India:
Owen Bennett-Jones - New Delhi Confidential
Owen Bennett-Jones: New Delhi Confidential - The Incarcerations: BK-16 and the Search for Democracy in India by Alpa Shah
literaryreview.co.uk
Where is the world's newest narcostate and why is it thriving?
@AdamBrookesWord investigates Asia's meth mecca.
Adam Brookes - Meth Comes to Myanmar
Adam Brookes: Meth Comes to Myanmar - Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Outwitted the CIA by Patrick Winn
literaryreview.co.uk