In this novel by John Wilson set during the Battle of Stalingrad, three participants -- two fighters and a boy -- are caught in its horrors. Their story is told over seven days of fierce and deadly street-by-street fighting. Vasily is a patriotic Russian soldier determined to rid his country of the hated Nazi invaders -- if he can stay alive long enough. Conrad is a German tank officer, part of the seemingly unstoppable force sweeping eastward over the steppe, expecting a quick victory over Stalin's ill-trained and badly equipped army. Between them is eight-year-old Sergei, whose home is the maze of rubble that used to be the city of Stalingrad. None of them can know that their fates will be intertwined as the cataclysm engulfs them.
When I read in schools, kids often ask: "Have you always wanted to be an author?" The simple answer is no, I was 43 when my first book (WEET) was published, but I have been an author as long as I can remember. Growing up in Scotland I compensated for a lonely childhood by making up stories in my head and all I do now is write those stories down.
History is the trigger for my stories: WWI (Shot at Dawn, And in the Morning), WWII (Flames of the Tiger, Four Steps to Death), or the Wild West (Written in Blood). I firmly believe that the decisions a Roman Legionary (Germania), or a Medieval Crusader (The Heretic's Secret Trilogy), had to make were just as confusing and frightening as any of the decisions we have to make today. That's what I try to bring out in my thirty plus fiction and non-fiction books for kids, teens and adults.
Check out my website at: johnwilsonauthor.com
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