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The End of War

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Once again, David L. Robins has produced a work that is not only riveting, but is packed with gems of historical fact that opened this readers eyes to the politics of World War II. This tale is more than the stories of heroic struggles of fighting men on various fronts, it reveals the behind the scenes intrigue between the world leaders of the time and how their personlities and private agendas have formed the world we live in today. With this knowledge comes the unfortunate revelation that we, as Americans, through our leadership of the time, allowed the dark and bloody hand of communism free reign. This however, I believe is not the intent of the author. Mr. Robins is careful to leave the reader with hope. This hope stems from knowldege, which is power. As we all have heard, "those who do not know history are bound to repeat it" This book is a "must read" for all, even if your not a "history buff." Putting the seriousness of the subject matter aside for a moment, this book is very entertaining and moving. Mr. Robins charactors are truely alive and three dimensional. As with all great writers, the reader becomes a part of the book. Transported to the time and place and becoming a charactor themselves, if you will. I found the ending to be, not only surprizing, but a masterful twist from the genius of the author, which was both compelling and very moving.

The novel gets you hooked the moment you finish reading the first few pages. I have seen a lot of World War-II movies but none that talks about the end of war in this detail and presents so many different view-points. I think its an excellent read.

This is the second book by Mr. Robbins that I've read. The End of War is an extremely well-researched, eloquently written, gripping story describing the lives of several different characters toward the end of WWII. The author does a splendid job of describing the brutality of the war (on both the Eastern and Western fronts) and its effect on disparate characters while both staying within the bounds of historical fact as well as keeping the reader highly engrossed. Fans of either Mr. Robbins previous novel, War of the Rats, or of the war genre in general will find this a fascinating read.

Mr. Robbins has once again written a great novel that while fictional is built around a core of History. I commented on historical fiction and its thresholds for accuracy when I posted my thoughts on his book, "War Of The Rats", so I will not repeat it all here. As I have read a number of books on each of, "The Big Three", I know this book portrays the primary historical characters with absolute dead on accuracy. The Author knows the type of cigarettes Stalin dismantled to smoke in his Dunhill Pipe, and even more noteworthy he knows the nickname that Churchill's Family had given to the pocket watch he carried. The latter detail I have only come across when reading Sir Martin Gilbert's Official Biography Of Sir Winston Spencer Churchill.

The, "Big Three", and Mr. Truman have to appear in any book about the closing events of World War II, however what I very much enjoyed were the people that did not replace the familiar leaders as much as they at times reflected their ideas in well conceived ways. The people, through whom we experience the final stages of World War II, range from a photographer for Life magazine who understands the importance of Berlin better than both General Eisenhower and a terminally ill Roosevelt. The President who's arrogance prevented him from including Truman, when he was as ill as he was, thus leaving Truman with virtually no knowledge handed down, or experience to equip him to deal with Stalin.

A Russian Soldier who leads us from Stalingrad to Berlin. He has been stripped of rank and is serving in a penal company, however he embodies the perfect infantryman that Stalin would have made divisions of had he the chance. When this same soldier reaches Berlin his Humanity is regained like his rank has risen, and were Stalin to know he would remove him from the living with the infamous checkmark.

A young German Woman, a classical musician enjoys the privileges her talents secure for her, and that keep some distance between her and the reality of Berlin. As the War comes to a close her world deteriorates until she is forced to live with her Mother, a woman who takes the most dangerous risk for reasons that are hers, and is rewarded with her Daughter's condemnation. Her cello ensures her a better albeit temporary security. For when Berlin falls she is there to be victimized at will. She fights to reconcile the opportunities her position presents for her, and the obligations she feels toward her Mother, as well as what the Nazis' have ingrained in her versus the reality of their crimes.

This is the second work by a very talented writer who to date has brought stories involving the Second World War. It will be interesting to see whether he continues with this genre, or directs a deftly held pen toward other events in History.

Reading time very well spent, recommended without condition.

Robbins has taken the story of the closing days of WWII in Europe, which is fascinating on its own, and fleshed it out with characters caught up in the struggle so that we see and feel the personal costs of being on the wrong side of history. He takes us inside the minds of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill as they cold-bloodedly make political decisions about the fate of Berlin and Europe, then shows how those decisions play out in ordinary peoples' lives. An American photographer is caught up with US troops hoping not to be last ones killed but charging for Berlin; two Russian soldiers, also hoping to survive, are part of the last great offensive of the European war. The battle scenes are vivid and dramatic, harking back to Robbins earlier book, War of the Rats. Finally, we see the impact of the three leaders' decisions on a young German woman who litterally faces her own personal Gotterdammerung, the end of her world, in the form of Allied bombs, Russian artillery, die-hard Nazis and the approach of the Russian Army with the associated stories of rape and mayhem. A great story of people caught in a dying city, well told.

While shocking in it's depiction of the horrors of war, David L. Robbins' "The End of War" is both sad and triumphant in it's portrayal of the people and events that shaped our world's history. Seamlessly weaving fact and fiction together, Robbins brings the spirits of Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin to life and teams them with an unforgetable cast of characters, whose lives will forever be affected by World War II. Although written as an ensemble piece, few of the characters can match the heartbreaking intensity of Lottie, a German musician, who hides behind her music in order to survive While another character, Charles Bandy, an American Photographer on the front lines of battle, risks his marriage and his life to record the horrors of war on film. The outcome of the war is well known to all of us, but the surprising twists and turns that confront the characters, as well as the behind the scenes dealings involving real-life players, make this book a glorious achievement for Robbins and a must read for everyone else.

This is a very exciting work of prose. What I like most about it was its unique perspective, much of the novel takes place on the Eastern front from the russian point of view. That was where the real war was fought. That was where it was won. I would very much like to see this made into a big hollywood movie one day. Its nice to show the Russian soldier as brave and heroic man that has to fight both the Nazis and the brutal Stalinist regime in order to stay alive. Communism was evil but the soldiers of the front were true heros then and forever. Its nice to know that at least someone in the West accepts that fact.

The previous book by David Robbins, WAR OF THE RATS, based on the German siege of Stalingrad during World War II, is an exceptional war novel. THE END OF WAR, using as a backdrop the last few months of the war against Hitler's Third Reich, is equally riveting and compelling.

The legions of the Western Allies are advancing to the Rhine, and the Red Army juggernaught is poised to invade Poland from across that country's eastern border. The logical goal of both: Berlin.

The characters in the second echelon of this fictional work are 20th century giants of political and military history: Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, and generals Eisenhower and Zhukov. It is their ideology, pride, suspicion, and desire for glory that determines the paths of armies. It's history that Berlin was taken by Zhukov and the Soviets. Because Robbins apparently did extensive research from a long bibliography to recreate the high-level decisions that directed that outcome, I like to think that much of what I read was factual. But, never mind. The value of THE END OF WAR lies in its fictional characters, the first echelon, who live under the greasy arrows drawn on the warlords' battle maps.

Ilya is a former Soviet Army major, a hero of Stalingrad, reduced to enlisted status in a penal battalion because an uncle, a general, angered Stalin. Lottie is a young cello player of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, cowering with her mother under the daily (and nightly) rain of British and American bombs. Charley Bandy, whose aspiration is to enter Germany's capital with the first Anglo-American force to get there, is an American photographer working for LIFE magazine.

This novel is one that virtually demands to be read at one sitting. All characters are expertly brought to life, and the dialog is consistently arresting and believable. Above all else, the images Robbins brings to mind are powerful and unforgettable. It's almost as if you're there smelling Winston's cigar, or the brick dust of Berlin's rubble. Consider the scene ...

Ilya commands several Red Army soldiers escorting sixty captured Germans to the rear. On a road far from anywhere, far from any witnesses, one of the POWs collapses to the ground exhausted. The Soviets gather round, exhorting the man to get up with curses and kicks. Suddenly the episode escalates as the guards begin shouting at all the prisoners.

"The guards hurl more names at the Germans. Names of prison camps, Rovno, Ternopol, Zitomir; names of occupied villages, Braslav, Balvi, Vigala; names of death camps, Auschwitz, Sobibor, Treblinka; names of dead comrades ...; names of fathers and mothers, brothers, women. The Red soldiers vent themselves on the Germans ... They have debts to collect ... One of the Germans mutters in Russian, `Bastards' ... All of these men hate. Back and forth, volleys of loathing ... Two of the Germans reach to the ground to lift their comrade. They put the man on his feet and release him with care. He stays erect, shaking. The rest of the prisoners move by instinct closer, penned animals do the same ... One of the Russians raises his rifle to his cheek, ridiculous, as though he needs to aim this close to his targets ... Ilya's mouth is bone dry. He could speak ... He could say, what? ...Another crow dispatches his voice from the trees ... Ilya turns his back."

Can you see it in your mind's eye, the palpable animosity on that stretch of dusty, country road? Oh, my.

If you enjoy novels of men and women in the firestorm of war, buy this book.

Robbins'novel of the Battle of Stalingrad ("War of the Rats") received justifiable criticism for its misinformation, lack of attention to detail, poorly-developed characters, and ambiguous ending. As though in compensation, his latest work is a vast improvement. "The End of War" is an engrossing novelization of the Allies' race for Berlin. Meticulously researched consulting an impressive variety of reference sources (in particular "The Last Battle" by Cornelius Ryan and "Shadows Over My Berlin" by Heidi Scriba-Vance), the story presents the final weeks of the War through the eyes of its participants. It is written in the third-person present-tense, an unusual literary style which requires a few chapters to get comfortable with. But the style works surprisingly well with this author's penchant for delving into the intimate thoughts of his characters. Convincingly revealed are the driving forces behind the actions of Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, and their Generals. Better yet are the characters of the ordinary people affected by these leaders' awesome global struggle -- a pair of Soviet soldiers, an American journalist, a German civilian mother and daughter and the Jewish refugee they clandestinely shelter. How these peoples' destinies are intertwined and how their outlooks are changed by their experiences gives a human face to events which shaped the latter half of the 20th century. To anyone wanting a comprehensive historical account, I'd still recommend "The Last Battle" or Andrew Tully's "Berlin: Story of a Battle". But for a novel, "The End of War" is as good as it gets.

In The War of the Rats, Robbins took three real people and fictionalized their story of the seige of Stalingrad. It made for very powerful reading that haunts me weeks after reading the book. He grows a bit more venturesome in The End of War with somewhat more mixed results.

There are still three very real people in fictionalized form in this book. The tough part is that they are Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill. He also adds three fictional stories - Russian soldiers, an American photojouralist and a mother and daughter in Berlin. In the audiotape interview he states that his intention is to borrow from the Greek tragedy structure of the Gods orchestrating from above and the impact of their decisions on the mortals.

In an overall sense, Robbins is very successful at explaining the mix of loftly and petty motivations behind the Allies decisions in the Spring of 1945. On one hand, there are thoughtful decisions but there are also big decisions made for very human reasons. For example, at a point when the Americans and the Russians are both about 60 miles from Berlin, Roosevelt acquieses to letting the Russians take Berlin in an unspoken trade for the Russians' participation in Roosevelt's dream - the United Nations. Imagine what the world might have been like if the Americans had liberated Berlin.

The actual reading experience of the book is good but not great. The six plotlines rotate along the timeline of history. Sometimes the transitions flow but others are abrupt. There's also so much potential material in each sub-plot that none of them feels fully developed. Robbins' prose is solid with some very dramatic scenes.

Bottom-line: A good read for fans of historical fiction. If you can, try to listen to the interview at the end of the Recorded Books unabridged tape. It provides some great insights on Robbins research and his message.