I finished Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf late last night, and I scribbled a long essay about it before realizing that I'm absolutely sick of this book--so sick, in fact, that I junked the essay and decided that I'm not going to write about it anymore. But maybe I just need to calm down: I spent seven or eight months slogging through this racist political tract and finished with barely a sigh of relief (actually, I think I muttered, "Fuck you, Addie") and a healthy dose of anger. Increasingly, I was hurling the book across the room, cursing Hitler and his bombastic writing style. But I knew things had gotten really bad when I found myself laughing at certain sections of the book (most notably Hitler's shout-out to Henry Ford).

Just thinking about Mein Kampf is enough to have me seething with contempt towards fascists and racists. I need some democracy: The Federalist Papers (recommended to me by Adam) should do nicely.

Comments

[Stefanie]

Maybe after you've had some time to distance yourself from the book you will post your essay? I've not read Mein Kampf and don't really want to, so I would be interested to hear what you had to say about it. It's one of those cultural books we all know about but hardly anyone reads (anyone that doesn't think Hitler was cool anyway).

[Brandon]

Stefanie: You're right, I need to cool down first. I'll likely do another essay on it, but still just thinking about the book makes me furious, sad, and gives me chills. Reading that book was literally stomach-churning; it brings out all kinds of emotions. It made me very uncomfortable because there were times where Hitler could actually be convincing. That's the scary thing about "Mein Kampf": it still inspires. I think it's an important book, because it reminds us that the Holocaust really happened, that Hitler wasn't just a fluke. We often think of genocide as something confined to poor nations like Rwanda, but as history and "Mein Kampf" show, it can happen in civilized countries as well.

After reading it, though, I realize that it's not necessary to subject yourself to the entire book. "Mein Kampf" can be off-putting, to say the least, so I think I'll offer my views on what parts people should read, if they choose to pick it up.