1) Read the 2 books linked below. The books are from google books and are only previews, but there is enough information for the paper. Please actually read them.
BOOK#1: https://books.google.ca/books?id=jCiGWtxyQv0C&lpg=PP1&dq=Robert%20Gellately%2C%20Backing%20Hitler&pg=PT2#v=onepage&q&f=false
BOOK#2: https://books.google.ca/books?id=Qg6pZ01Eu_8C&lpg=PP1&dq=Steven%20Kotkin%2C%20Magnetic%20Mountain%3A%20Stalinism%20and%20a%20Civilization&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

2) Read each book and provide an analysis. Here are some main points to consider:
-what is the thesis of the book? (what is the author’s main argument?)
-how is the book structured/organized? Are there many chapters? Does the structure help the author prove the thesis and if so, how?
-Without getting too detailed, give a sense of the book’s main topics/key points.
-What sources does the author use? Primary? If so, identify what kind – government records? Personal letters or diaries? Does the author use a lot of secondary sources and are there detailed footnotes? -What is the approach and the methodology? For example, is the book a “history from below” about ordinary people? Is it political history? Cultural or social history? Military History? Is the focus narrow or broad? Does the author consider different perspectives and points of view? Is the book more of an overview or a focused study of something specific within the theme in question?
-What is the author’s “bias”? -What are the strengths and weaknesses of the book? Is the argument convincing, and why?
— What do you learn from it?

3) After analyzing each of the books individually, it is time to combine them for the final part of the essay. Note the differences between author approaches and arguments, the disagreements (if any) they have with each other, and the relative merits of each in comparison with the others. Finally, tell the reader what, collectively, the books tell us about the event or topic they all consider.

**Notes: – You don’t need a thesis of your own, but you do need to identify the thesis of each author and then note what we learn from the books when they are taken together. – Chicago style. No outside sources are allowed. Only the 2 books.