About the Author

Alan Bullock is the author of Hitler: A Study in Tyranny, The Life and Times of Ernest Bevin, The Liberal Tradition and The Humanist Tradition in the West. He is also the co-editor of The Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thinkers, The Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought and of the multi-volume Oxford History of Modern Europe series. In 1960, Lord Bullock became Founding Master of St Catherine’s College, Oxford and was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford between 1969 and 1973. He was made a life peer in 1976.

Reviews

This absorbing masterpiece of historical exposition and biographical art compares the lives of 20th-century Europe's two worst dictators, yielding a new perspective on evil. Illustrations. (Jan.)

This is a huge and masterful dual biography of two of the most monstrous personalities of this century. Bullock, whose Hitler: A Study in Tyranny ( LJ 2/15/64) truly deserves its designation as a classic, has produced a smoothly written study of how these two lives ran parallel and how they intertwined to affect the lives of millions in the first half of this century. One would expect Bullock to know Hitler, but his grasp of Stalin and his times is also impressive. In chapters alternately dealing with Hitler and then Stalin, Bullock analyzes how each man achieved and then used power for his own twisted goals. It is chilling to realize that both men rose within legitimate institutions, each ``playing the game'' by the established rules. Hitler's evil empire collapsed with his death, Stalin's would live on to haunt the Soviet Union for decades. Essential for anyone seeking to understand the history of the West in this century. Highly recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/91.-- Ed Goedeken, Purdue Univ. Libs., West Lafayette, Ind.