The Unfathomable Ascent Audiobook By Peter Ross Range cover art

The Unfathomable Ascent

How Hitler Came to Power

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Unfathomable Ascent

By: Peter Ross Range
Narrated by: Paul Hodgson
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $28.79

Buy for $28.79

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

The chilling and little-known story of Adolf Hitler's eight-year march to the pinnacle of German politics.

On the night of January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler leaned out of a spotlit window of the Reich chancellery in Berlin, bursting with joy. The moment seemed unbelievable, even to Hitler. After an improbable political journey that came close to faltering on many occasions, his march to power had finally succeeded.

While the path of Hitler's rise has been told in books covering larger portions of his life, no previous work has focused solely on his eight-year climb to rule: 1925-1933. Renowned author Peter Ross Range brings this period back to startling life with a narrative history that describes brushes with power, quests for revenge, nonstop electioneering, American-style campaign tactics, and - for Hitler - moments of gloating triumph followed by abject humiliation.

Indeed, this is the tale of a high-school dropout's climb from the infamy of a failed coup to the highest office in Europe's largest country. It is a saga of personal growth and lavish living, a melodrama rife with love affairs and even suicide attempts. But it is also the definitive account of Hitler's unrelenting struggle for control over his raucous movement, as he fought off challenges, built and bullied coalitions, quelled internecine feuds, and neutralized his enemies - all culminating in the creation of the Third Reich and the Western world's descent into darkness. One of the most dramatic and important stories in world history, Hitler's ascent spans Germany's wobbly recovery from World War I through years of growing prosperity and, finally, into crippling depression.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Peter Ross Range (P)2020 Hachette Audio Europe Germany Politicians Politics & Activism Socialism Soviet Union Latin America

Critic reviews

"A fast-paced tour-de-force that shows how the German republic wrecked itself from within, Peter Ross Range's The Unfathomable Ascent is a must-read for anyone interested in Adolf Hitler's march to power or the tragic fragility of democracy." (David King, New York Times best-selling author of The Trial of Adolf Hitler)
Meticulously Researched Narrative • Engaging Storytelling • Revealing Historical Details • Clear Political Analysis
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Backroom scheming by petty politicians leads to Hitler’s takeover of Germany and all the horrors of World War 2. Fascinating story well written and very well read.

Horrifying Story - Yet So Real

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was remarkable in terms of the scholarly work that went into it, but also in terms of it describing an amazingly unlikely, horrid event. All along the way the cast of characters were jostling for themselves, dissembling, being their worst possible selves and at the end of that long procession a complete monster emerged on top. This book is not for everyone but it was as it's title suggests unfathomable. I was honestly naive to the true nature of European antisemitism prior to this, I thought it was just Hitler and his toady a-holes. It turns out he was tapping into and amplifying and metastaticizing long held prejudices.

The material made it a tough listen, fascinating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Range’s narrative clarity is created by a prudent selection of the facts and details that count. He avoid unnecessary explication of the well-known and obvious. Range also tells the story by focusing on the interaction of its major player rather than the debate over ideas, a account already well-covered by previous writers. Hodgson’s narration is perfect—his voice drew me from chapter to chapter without any listening fatigue entering in. My strongest recommendation!

The best account of Hitler’s rise to power.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I learned many things about the early years, that I didn’t know as much about from other books I’ve read. Good read. I just wished it was longer.

Very interesting read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In politics, being a great showman and making lots of promises can bring someone from obscurity to prominence. Hitler’s rise to power was completely unexpected until it happened, and people have been trying to figure out how ever since. He arrived in Germany in 1919 as an immigrant from Austria with nothing. He had served in World War I but in a minor post without having to fight. In Germany, he attended an extremist German Worker’s Party meeting and found his place. His flamboyance and oratory soon earned him its leadership. By 1923, the party, now the German National Socialist Workers Party, had grown to 50,000 members. He launched the infamous “Beer Hall Putsch,” which failed and sent him to prison but gave him and his party a lot of publicity. Released in 1924, he resumed leadership. Despite his racist rhetoric keeping him in the news, the party had little influence as Germany’s economy was doing well until the US Stock Market Crash of 1929 changed everything. But how did Hitler stay in the spotlight during those years and rise to power?


I recently finished "The Unfathomable Ascent: How Hitler Came to Power," by Peter Ross Range, which offers a meticulously researched and gripping narrative of the eight critical years from 1925 to 1933, after his release from prison, when Adolf Hitler rose from obscurity to absolute power in Germany and it’s quite a story.


There are many biographies of Hitler, but few focus on this critical period. Range tackles the tough question of how a nation like Germany, with its Reformation history, intellectual legacy, top-tier universities, and love of freedom and order, allowed Hitler to come to power. Yes, Germany faced harsh post-WWI reparations and struggles, but how does that explain Hitler? Range vividly brings to life the crucial steps and missteps that led to one of history's darkest periods and the world’s most devastating war.


Range's strength lies in unraveling the complicated world of Weimar politics. After Hitler's failed 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, he returned to a shaky Germany, gathered loyal followers, and spread his extreme nationalist and anti-Semitic views. Despite setbacks, Hitler's relentless campaigning and strategic use of propaganda, violence, and threats gradually increased his influence. Range captures these twists and turns with a flair that keeps you hooked.


One standout aspect of Range's narrative is his depiction of the Weimar Republic's downfall. By 1928, Hitler seemed politically insignificant, but the Great Depression changed everything. With Germany's economy in ruins, desperate people turned to extremist ideas. The Nazis capitalized on the chaos, securing 6.4 million votes in the 1930 elections, becoming the second-largest party in the Reichstag and the largest by 1932. However, the Nazis never won a majority in any election, topping out at around 37%, though no other party did either.


Range also highlights the backroom deals and political blunders that helped Hitler rise. He explains how the Nazis exploited the weaknesses of the Weimar political system without winning an electoral majority. His portrayal of figures like Franz von Papen and Kurt Schleicher, whose political maneuverings inadvertently paved the way for Hitler, adds depth to the narrative. Conservative politicians, thinking they could control Hitler, pushed for his appointment as chancellor in 1933. With help from key figures like Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, Hitler quickly took over, using events like the Reichstag fire to crush opposition and seize total power. As the Nazis dominated the political right and refused to compromise, the Communists held the left and also rejected compromise. Both were always in opposition to the center, which had previously ruled but could no longer stand a chance. Despite many opportunities, Hitler's enemies could never unite enough to get rid of him.


Despite covering complex historical events, Range's book is highly readable and balanced. He keeps the narrative clear and engaging, avoiding the heavy detail that can make some history feel like a series of events and dates. He also avoids oversimplifying Hitler’s rise, instead telling a story that helps you understand how Hitler's ascent was both shocking and, in many ways, preventable.


In short, it's an excellent read for anyone curious about how a country as advanced as Germany could fall under the spell of such an evil leader. Range's book is both an eye-opening history lesson and a cautionary tale for our times. To understand the dynamics that led to one of the most catastrophic regimes in history, this book is a must-read. Hitler’s politics were driven by extreme nationalism and a blame culture, and this book highlights the warning from history and its parallels to today. Conservatives thought Hitler could bring them to power while they controlled him. But we know what happened between 1933 and 1945.

How? And could it happen again

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This work stands head and shoulders above any other I've seen, telling this story with countless revealing details. The writing just crackles, it is so good. The scenes, the characters, the situations, the flow of events, are all masterfully told and narrated. So many dots are connected.

Very insightful, top notch writing, listenable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
of a wolf in wolf's clothing. An important lesson of how not to underestimate an ordinary person with extraordinary mental illness.

Ominous tale . . .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
“The Unfathomable Ascent” is a story that has been told over and over again in almost every biography of Adolf Hitler and story about the Third Reich. The narration is excellent and the length is just right. While the rise if Hitler seems improbable, knowing the state of Germany at the time of Hitler makes it seemingly inevitable. Range wants to make it exceptionally dramatic and unbelievable, but Hitler seized power at a time when Germans were desperate for security and during a time when a leadership vacuum made it possible. Though no one could ever have foreseen all destruction and devastation of his dictatorship. There are no words for this. Woe to humanity.

Nothing New Here

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A fantastic synopsis of how this man cane to power in a chaotic and weak Germany.

Very well written

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.