Adolf Eichmann was at the center of the Nazi genocide against the Jews, yet he remained an obscure figure until his capture by the Israeli Secret Service in Argentina in 1960 and his trial in Jerusalem. From 1941 to 1945 Eichmann organized the mass deportation and extinction of Jews in Europe. This book, the first account of Eichmann's life to appear in over forty years, reveals a surprising portrait of the man once seen as epitomizing the "banality of evil." Drawing on recently unearthed documents, historian Cesarani explores Eichmann's early career when he learned how to become an administrator of genocide, and shows how Eichmann developed into the Reich's "expert" on Jewish matters, becoming ever more hateful and brutal. This sobering account deepens our understanding and challenges our preconceptions of Adolf Eichmann, and offers fresh insights into both the operation of the "Final Solution" and its most notorious perpetrator.--From publisher information.