Russia at War: 1941-1945 - Softcover

Werth, Alexander

4.33

481 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786707224 ISBN 13: 9780786707225

Publisher: Basic Books, 1999

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

In this widely acclaimed history of a country at war, Alexander Werth unfolds in startling human terms the story of the Russian people and their leaders in the Soviet conflict with the Nazis from the disasters of the Second World War to the beginnings of the Cold War. Himself an eyewitness to the shattering historical drama he vividly records, Werth offers an intensely detailed chronicle of the events that exceeded in savagery and hatred any other on Russian soil. From the hardships of the citizenry to the sweep of massive military operations to the corridors of diplomacy, this modern classic captures every aspect of the grim but heroic Soviet-German war that turned Russia into the most powerful nation in the Old World.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Alexander Werth (1901–1969) was a British journalist. He was a war correspondent in Russia for the Sunday Times and the Guardian and a commentator for the BBC from 1941 to 1948. He was one of the first outsiders allowed into Stalingrad after the battle and one of the few journalists to visit the Majdanek concentration camp. Russia at War was his best-known work.

Nicolas Werth, the son of Alexander Werth, is a historian of the Soviet Union and an internationally-known expert on communist studies. He lives in Paris, France.

Review:

"Magnificent . . . . It fills a great void. . . . the best book we probably shall ever have in English on Russia at war."
—William Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

"This is not merely a history (although it happens to be an excellent one). It is not a collection of personal reminiscences (although it incorporates many). It is not a scholarly examination of Russia during the critical years 1941–1945 (although it puts under close analysis many events during that period). . . . [Werth's] Russian panorama has the depth and vividness of a Vereshchagin warscape. His descriptions of Nazi atrocities . . . are almost too terrible to read. . . . [Russia at War] overflows with the contradictory, the half-understood, the mysterious, the impossible to explain. . . . It bears comparison with William L. Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich as a work of scope and power. . . . One of the most important books yet written about WWII . . .superbly dramatic."
—Harrison E. Salisbury, The New York Times Book Review

"There is no book in any language with which to compare this monumental but exceedingly readable history of the Nazi-Soviet war . . . in savagery and hatred it was the biggest war in history . . . an engrossing and terrifying book."
—Life

"Engrossing history . . . spellbinding narrative."
—Newsweek

"Monumental and absorbing. . . . An epic work that will fascinate the ordinary reader."
—Saturday Review

"An illuminating book."
—Elbridge Colby

"Alexander Werth was one of the greatest war correspondents of the Second World War."
—Antony Beevor

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.