Russia at War: 1941-1945 [Paperback]

Alexander Werth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1999

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1136 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 2 edition (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786707224
• ISBN-13: 978-0786707225
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 2.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most incredible books I've ever read, January 14, 2000

By 

Sven Bjornholm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russia at War: 1941-1945 (Paperback)

Russia at War: 1941-1945 by Alexander Werth is one of the most incredible history books in existence. Eyewitness accounts of the aftermath of barbaric Nazi occupation and interviews with survivors of German captivity are haunting and unforgettable. With its maps, contemporary press clippings and excerpts from memoirs by Nazi and Russian officers the book appears to be an invaluable repository of second world war facts put in concise, popularly accessible form. To a modern day revisionist, Cold War warrior or russphobe, some of Alexander Werth's accounts may seem to be overly pro-Soviet (or rather too unsympathetic to the Nazis - the complaint one hears most frequently) and the style with which he described certain events as insensitive and even callous (like his stunning narration of the last days of the German army at Stalingrad), however to most people reading Alexander Werth's Russia at War will uncover a new honest perspective both on the events leading to the WWII and on the actual meaning of the allied Victory at its conclusion. This fascinating book is so well written, that comparing it to other books on the same subject is difficult and perhaps unfair to their authors, one can compare reading Russia at War: 1941-1945 by Alexander Werth to playing an addictive (computer) game: once started, it is almost impossible to stop.

30 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History for Russophiles, July 29, 2000

By 

Chapulina R (Tovarischi Imports, USA/RUS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russia at War: 1941-1945 (Paperback)

Alexander Werth has sometimes been accused of being a Soviet-apologist. But in his superb history of the Eastern Front, it is the Russian (and Belorussian, Siberian, Ukrainian, etc)*people* who are the true heroes. Published in 1964, the work is undeniably free of the Russophobia of an accelerating Cold War period, probably due to its focus on the human drama and trauma of the War. The Russian people endured horrific loss and suffering, no small part of which was brought on by the policies of Stalin himself. But because Stalin was savvy enough to appeal to Slavic pride and national loyalty -- even to simultaneously procuring the blessings of the Orthodox Church and resurrecting the pagan image of Mother Russia -- ordinary Russians were willing to give everything for their "People's Sacred War". This massive book (nearly 1100 pages) is extremely "readable", being divided into numerous small chapters of 10 - 20 page length. Poignant first-person interviews with combatants and civilians, survivors of battle and siege, give the reader appreciation for what the Russians accomplished, and admiration for them as a people. The author has three other books, out of print but worthy of reading, "Russia: Hopes and Fears", "Russia: The Post War Years", and "Russia Under Krushchev".

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Introduction to a Massive Subject, March 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Russia at War: 1941-1945 (Paperback)

At the opening of the D Day museum a few years ago, historian Steven Ambrose made an incredible statement during his remarks. He said the democracies of the United States, Britain, and France (yes France) defeated Nazi Germany. Well...yes, in a way, but....

Of course that statement completely overlooks the horrific sacrifice the people of the Soviet Union made to battle Germany in WWII. If it can't be said that the Allies could never have defeated Nazi Germany without the Soviet Union, it certainly can be said that the casualties on the Western front would have been much much higher (particularly for the United States).

For Ambrose, a noted WWII historian, to committ such an oversight is inexcusable. For the average American, it is perhaps understandable. The American perception of the Soviet contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany has been downplayed at best, grossly distorted at worst, particularly during the Cold War. Werth's massive (but very readable) tome, written during the height of the Cold War, should be required reading for anyone interested in this subject. And who wouldn't be? This is history on a massive scale. The largest armies ever seen battling to the death on a front extending for thousands of miles. A titanic clash of ideologies. Incredible blundering by political leaders on both sides. Incredible bravery on the part of ordinary soldiers (and civilians). And Werth keeps the pace moving, blending an incredibly intricate war into a very readible history.

Even this book's shortcomings (the description of the Battle of Leningrad left me strangely unmoved) are more than compensated for by its many achievements (I have never read a better description of the desparation during the Battle of Stalingrad).

If you are not familiar with this aspect of WWII history, you owe it to yourself to begin with this book.