The Epitome of Evil - Hitler in American Fiction, 1939–2002

This groundbreaking study argues the figure of Adolf Hitler has become a powerful trope in American culture and explores the implications of this original argument. Focusing on fictional texts that feature Hitler as a character, but taking film and political discourse into account as well, The Epitome of Evil traces the trope's shifting cultural work from World War II to the 'war on terror.' This analysis centers on the proliferation of the use of Hitler in art since 1968 and the transformation from a means of left-wing critique into a rhetorical device of right-wing politics.