Rating: 
Summary: A Serious Work
Review: Although Bullock is somewhat detached as an orator, there are condemnations of various people/events which seem unnecessary at times - though considering the material it's forgivable. But chapter seven alone made this a great read for me: Bullock, veering a bit from the historical oratory, apologetically proceeds to dissect Hitler's psyche with a surprising depth. It's one chapter worth reading a few times.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for starting out
Review: Bullock is one of the most well-known of Hitler's biographers, and that for a reason. The UNABRIDGED version of this book is, however, a much better choice and a more interesting read as well. Compared with others (Kershaw, Fest, Maser, etc) this abridged volume comes up short.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding for its time
Review: Contemporary readers may not be as impressed with this biography as they ought to be, as it has been so influential that its conclusions have been widely adopted by subsequent historians. As a result, this book should be read in conjunction with a more recent biography. However, keeping in mind how old the book is, it is still a classic, and Bullock's writing is a pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: A quick overview of the Nazi Era and Adolf Hitler's life
Review: Having read several books about the Nazis, I was interested in picking this title up for a couple of reasons. First of all, in William L. Shirer's book "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," Mr. Shirer made a couple of references to Alan Bullock. And second, I couldn't pass up a book written by another of the "Bullock" type (ha ha). I've got to say this was one of the better written books I've read that concerned the Nazis. He gave detail about the different players in the Nazi Regime (Goring, Goebbels, Himmler, etc) which was nice to finally put some historical information to the infamous people. His vocabulary was sometimes written in simple-man terms, which makes this a good read for people who don't know much about the "Thousand Year Reich." Another thing Bullock did so well was spanning all of the history of the Third Reich equally throughout the book. Although the ending wasn't quite so extensively written as the beginning or middle, I still felt it was satisfactory. In conclusion, "Hitler: A Study in Tyranny" is a great book for both beginners that are learning about the Third Reich and people who already know information about the Nazis.
Rating:
Summary: A quick overview of the Nazi Era and Adolf Hitler's life
Review: Having read several books about the Nazis, I was interested in picking this title up for a couple of reasons. First of all, in William L. Shirer's book "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," Mr. Shirer made a couple of references to Alan Bullock. And second, I couldn't pass up a book written by another of the "Bullock" type (ha ha). I've got to say this was one of the better written books I've read that concerned the Nazis. He gave detail about the different players in the Nazi Regime (Goring, Goebbels, Himmler, etc) which was nice to finally put some historical information to the infamous people. His vocabulary was sometimes written in simple-man terms, which makes this a good read for people who don't know much about the "Thousand Year Reich." Another thing Bullock did so well was spanning all of the history of the Third Reich equally throughout the book. Although the ending wasn't quite so extensively written as the beginning or middle, I still felt it was satisfactory. In conclusion, "Hitler: A Study in Tyranny" is a great book for both beginners that are learning about the Third Reich and people who already know information about the Nazis.
Rating: 
Summary: history as narrative - a lost art
Review: I am not a scholar of Nazism or the Holocaust, but I read quite a deal of history. Just recently I ploughed through Orlando Figes celebrated '97 history of the Russian revolution, 'A Peoples' Tragedy'. Figes' aim was as ambitious as Bullock's: to write the defining history of the period in a book that would be as long as the subject warranted. But where Figes' delivers a competent and rewarding, if still patchy reading experience - which is still better than 99% of histories - Bullock's 'Hitler' delivers a dense and compelling book of magesterial sweep and narrative drive of nearly Tolsoyian proportions. Having not read too many histories of the Third Reich, I cannot claim with assurance that this is the definative tract: but I very much doubt anyone could better it. A great and very satisfying read.
Rating:
Summary: Hitler, A Study In Tyranny
Review: I really don't know how to rate this book since I am currently rereading the unabridged version which I was forced to obtain from Amazon.com.uk. It is an excellent work and I can not imagine why Americans are not permitted to order it from the US. Does Amazon US think Americans are too lazy to read the original? I would give it 5 stars if it were the unabridged version. I will never know what the abridged said or left out.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely dated and at times inaccurate: He's bettered this
Review: I'll be brief here because this is more of a warning than an admonition. Alan Bullock's Hitler: A Study Of Tyranny was, at the time of its release (let's cast all the way back into the 50's for that) quite imposing in its achievement: a lengthy, scholarly tome appraising Hitler, and for awhile the best Hitler biography out there (though I personally hold Konrad Heiden's 1944 (! ) The Fuhrer in high esteem, as do almost all modern Hitler biographers, who pay tribute to his impressive perceptiveness). Now, however, this work has dated very badly, especially in its remarkably unsatisfactory portrait of the psychology of Hitler himself. To say, as Bullock does in this history, that Hitler was basically without an ideology is to make a mockery of his disturbing weltanschauung and to commit an enormous gaffe in apprehending his basic character. That's one of the most noticeable issues, but there are many lesser ones involving sourcing issues, mixed-up chronologies, and a simple lack of information (at this point, the Nazi archives were only just being sifted through). I don't mean to impugn Bullock as a historian or a writer - his prose is perhaps less engaging that Joachim Fest's masterful style, but certainly never parochial or pedantic, and his historical errors and misjudgments are to be blamed more on a lack of information at the time than any laziness on his part - but this is NOT the place to go for a Hitler biography. Instead, go to Joachim Fest's Hitler (written in 1972, but still perhaps the single best long-form study of Hitler available, despite a lack of focus on the Holocaust), or Ian Kershaw's new series of works, the second of which should be due sometime soon. Bullock himself improved his Hitler biography immensely with his 1996 Hitler & Stalin, a work which sets the two leaders in parallel with each other to good effect. I'd recommend that one above this anyday, as it effectively represents a revision of his original views.
Rating:
Summary: Straight Forward, Comprehensive Study
Review: In "Hitler: A Study in Tyranny," Alan Bullock stated that, as an author, he has no axe to grind. He adhered to that statement. Bullock offered a very balanced and plausible account of Hitler's life atempting to understand the dictator not as a demon but as a human being. Readers interested in tantalizing controversy will be disappointed with this book. Bullock chose not to assert blame for such things as the Reichstag fire. Bullock dismissed the popular claim that Hitler changed his name from Schicklgruber (man, I got tired of my teachers reiterating that bit of misinformation) and the myth that Hitler resorted to astrology in decision-making. As for Geli Raubel, Bullock finds her best to be left as "a mystery." Bullock took a conservative stance in his analysis focusing only on the known fact's about Hitler's life. Bullock offers a thorough study of Hitler's days in Vienna before the First World War and the ways in which this experience formed his political views. Hitler is presented not as the originator of future Nazi principles but as a product of the anti-rational, anti-intellectual, and anti-Semetic ideas that had been circulating in Europe for the previous hundred years. His understanding of propaganda, oratory skills, and pratical exposure to street politics helped Hitler gain a following. Ultimately, it was Hitler's determination that prompted him to turn down enticing offers of political position by Franz von Papen and Bruening that were less than what he sought: the Chancellory. During the Second World War, Hitler's "warlord" image was transformed: "the human being disappears, absorbed into the historical figure of the Fuehrer." Bullock also pointed out that this devotion to power led eventually to Hitler's downfall. Although this book may be a little burdensome for pleasure reading (I doubt I will read it again), it is a very readable biography that would be appropriate for the college student who needs to learn places, events, etc. The lack of an index in this edition does pose a problem when one is trying to find information, however. Another criticism I have is its title "A Study in Tyranny." I was expecting the work to go more into an analysis of Hitler's tyrannical personality and the susceptibility of the German people to it. Maybe I was expecting a little psychology. This book, however, is a straight foward biography with not a lot of interpretation. The works of Ian Kershaw may be consulted if a reader wants more depth.
Rating:
Summary: Good in its time now a little dated
Review: The unabridged version was the first major work dealing with Hitler in the English speaking world. As such it was widely read for years and made compulsory for many university students. Hitler is not that difficult a person to write a biography of. This can be contrasted with figures such as Stalin who was able to control the materials about his life and manufacture a range of untruths. The defeat of Germany and the discrediting of Nazism meant that little was hidden. Despite that there are some things which have occurred since this book came out which date it a little. Kershaws recent book on Hitler is thus superior simply because of this but Bullocks work is by no means badly dated. These are to some extent a matter of emphasis but they include. (a) Hitler seems to have falsified some aspects of his background. He exaggerated his poverty in Mein Kampf which was the source of Bullers material. (b) Hitlers rise to power depended more on the circumstances around him rather than his own actions. Hitler seemed to be rather lazy (c) During his last years Hitler spent most of his time with military personal. They portrayed him as a man who was the archetypal mad dictator. A good deal of this seems to have been made up to shield military leaders from their own actions. Despite that Bullers work is readable and comprehensive
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