German historian Volker Ullrich (born 1943) wrote a two-volume biography of Hitler, the first edition was published in German in 2013 and was translated into English in 2016 (Hitler - A Biography, Volume 1: Ascent 1889-1939). He depicts Hitler as a narcissist who was both clownish and deceitful and who rose to power using slick propaganda at a time the German elite was too dysfunctional to realize the danger he posed.[25]