<p></p><h2>&apos;This is a book of big themes, big ideas and world changing events [...] It&apos;s a masterpiece&apos; <i>History of War Magazine</i></h2><p></p><p>At the beginning of 1940 Germany was at the pinnacle of its power. By May 1945 Hitler was dead and Germany had suffered a disastrous defeat.</p><p>Hitler had failed to achieve his aim of making Germany a super power and had left her people to cope with the endless shame of the Holocaust.</p><p>In <i>The Hitler Years ~ Disaster 1940-1945</i>, Professor Frank McDonough charts the dramatic change of fortune for the Third Reich, and challenges long-held accounts of the Holocaust and Germany&apos;s ultimate defeat.</p><p>Despite Hitler&apos;s grand ambitions and the successful early stages of the Third Reich&apos;s advances into Europe, Frank McDonough argues that Germany was only ever a middle-ranking power and never truly stood a chance against the combined forces of the Allies.</p><p></p><h2>Praise for Frank McDonough: </h2><p></p><p>&apos;Superbly scholarly and just as readable&apos; <b>Dan Snow</b></p><p>&apos;<i>The Hitler Years ~ Disaster</i> and its companion volume, <i>The Hitler Years ~ Triumph</i>, are not just informative on a nearly encyclopaedic level, they are well-researched, well-structured, and well-written. What&apos;s more, they are relevant and challenging. Through questioning the myths that still exist, they encourage the reader to think in a new way, not just about the past, but about the present and the future&apos; <b><i>Get History</i></b></p><p>&apos;McDonough has provided fascinating insights into the experiences of Germans in a fickle and frightening world&apos; <b><i>The Times</i>, on <i>The Gestapo</i></b></p>