Hitler: A Study in Tyranny

The theme of this book is not dictatorship but the dictator, the personal power of one man. Up to 1934 the book focuses on how Hitler gained power. After 1934, the emphasis is on foreign policy and war-the means by which Hitler attempted to extend his power beyond Germany. At times the figure of the man is submerged beneath the complicated narrative of politics and war (this corresponds to Hitler's own sacrifice of his private life to the demands of his position) but in the last year of his life, as his empire began to crumble, the true nature of the man is revealed in all its harshness.