Customer Reviews
Excellent book :o) - By: Jan Jensen, 14 Aug 2008 
This book is very well written - it is storytelling at its best - & therfore for the general reader - but also an amateur historian like me found it a great pleausure to read. Beevors Berlin book is recommendable as well, & I am looking forward to read his book on Leningrad.
Stunning - jaw dropping stuff ! - By: Richard Vasquez, 11 Jun 2008 Getting down to business, everbody should read this book.....
Rarely have I come across a book that sucks youin so quickly. It starts brilliantly & delivers on its promise right to the end. For years I'd heard great reports about this masterpiece & had seen it on many bookshelves. Expections were enormous, but they were wildly surpassed.
The writer paces the book perfectly, layering & building up the story with skill. You journey with the troops, experience their daily hopes & fears. German optimism sinks into despair before spiraling downward into total panic. The Russians endure epic defeat before flipping their enemy over, regroup & drive towards victory. Its all told with amazing clarity & passion. The book shocks the senses, you can't read this book with sense of detachment.
Beevor skillfully changes perspective, sweeping from grand battles to individual stories of horror & hope. The writers sense of humanity shines through, giving the work a welcome human touch. He manages to walk the line & resists the urge to take sides, so the book resonates with honesty.
Its a thrilling ride which leaves you breathless. I finished it much too quickly, the best complement I could pay any book. Suffering withdrawal symptoms, I've already ordered Beevor's book on the Spanish Civil War.
An outstanding book - By: S. Jones, 01 Dec 2007 Beevor has succeededin weaving a compelling, thoroughly researched piece of work documenting one of the darkest periodsin modern history. The enormity of catastrophe that befalls first the Soviet citizen & Red Army following Germany's invasion, right through to the encirclement & starvation of the German Sixth Army, are describedin a riveting (and sobering) detail. The earlier chapters of the book deal with the events that lead to the battle of Stalingrad, although obviouslyin much less detail than the battle itself (or else the book would span volumes). Where the book really shines, is it's readability - Beevor has the rare qualities of being both an expert historian & a storyteller at the height of his powers. He skilfully interweaves political events, battles, enormous acts of cruelty, military incompetence & personal suffering with staggering acts of heroism & self sacrifice. One of the best books I have ever read - & one that highlights why worlds should be moved to prevent war.
Staggering - By: K. P. Doyle, 26 Nov 2007 I have read & re-read this book because of its brilliance. It is chilling but very very accessible. The humanity & inhumanity is so well written that it appears almost to be a work of fiction. You do not need to be an avid war historian to enjoy this book as I found most of the interesting parts to be on the day to day lifein the kessel & the slow ebbing away of all hope that the 6th army would be saved. The letters home are particularly sad, many were foundin a mail sack of a plane that was shot down by the Russians.
This book should be usedin schools to highlight the desperation & reality of war.
Compelling and Easy Read - By: Aj Hendley Jnr, 29 Oct 2007 One of the best war books I have ever read. Incredibly accurate, detailed & full of emotion & flair. This is by no means a slog to read, reads like a very interesting novel, flows perfectly. You will be shocked at how quickly you are able to read it. A must buy for any loves of history or people who just have an interestin war books.
