Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War [Hardcover]

Svetlana Aleksievich (Author), Julia Whitby (Author), Svetlana Alexievich (Author), Robin Whitby (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 1979-1989 Soviet war in Afghanistan, as Russian author Alexievich remarks in this oral history, wrenched boys from their daily life of school or college, music and discos, and hurled them into a hell of filth. She conveys that hell here through the grotesque memories of infantrymen, helicopter pilots, tank crewmen, medical corpsmen and political officers who survived the ordeal, plus those of widows and mothers of fighters--zinky boys brought home in zinc coffins. In his moving introduction, Heinemann (Close Quarters) points out the uncanny similarities between the Soviet war in Afghanistan and the American war in Vietnam. The reality of being a soldier, as this powerful book demonstrates, is everywhere dismally and remarkably the same: grueling, brutal and ugly. Most affecting are the mother scenes, especially one in which mothers of zinky boys meet regularly at a local cemetery and talk about their sons as though they are still alive.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The price of modern war on the character of its people is something America already knew when the decade-long Soviet involvement in Afghanistan began in 1979; any comparison, only briefly mentioned in promotional material for this work, must be supplied by the reader. The Russian aspect of these recollections, with their unfamiliar allusions (partly explained in the footnotes), does not hide a similar sense of disillusionment and suffering. Alexievich uses first-person accounts to illustrate the style of conflict the Soviet soldier faced, as well as to reveal the enormity of the betrayal of the ordinary Soviet citizen that may have contributed to the end of the U.S.S.R. A powerful, lyrical, and poignant portrait of a brutal chapter in modern history. For general reading and any military collection with a Soviet emphasis.
- Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 197 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st Us Edition edition (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393034151
• ISBN-13: 978-0393034158
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,401,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Story about Soviets in the Afghan War, September 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War (Hardcover)

This book is the absolute best I've ever seen on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. When I picked it up, I was expecting a collection of dull narratives with occasional interesting ones. I was VERY wrong. Every story presented is fascinating and gives a human side to the Soviets who participated in the long Afghan war. The reader will learn of the zinc coffins supposedly carrying remains of dead soldiers winding their way home to families. However, these coffins often didn't contain anything. The reader will learn of the savagery of combat in the Afghan War and recoil at the mutilations done to Soviet prisoners. The reader is also exposed to the inhumanity and corruption of the Soviet government. For example, the government abandoned its soldiers in depots in central asia and made the troops (many of whom were from the eastern part of the Soviet Union) make their back as best they could. No paid transportation, nothing. Also the government forced secret funerals to be held for the dead so that the general public wouldn't find out about the war's growing casualty list. I highly recommend this book to all history buffs and to those who just want to understand what was going through the minds of average Soviets during a war often remembered by those outside Afghanistan and Russia as a blurb on the nightly news.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Beg To Differ, April 15, 2006

By 

Natasha Gurtner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War (Hardcover)

R. Chapulina needs to read this book again.
Aleksievich does not have compassion for Afghanistan vets? She accuses them of being murderers and baby-killers? Absolutely not! That's the best thing about this book - it does not judge, just tells you of how it really was.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timely info for all Americans and Brits!, October 5, 2001

By 

"curioandrelic" (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War (Hardcover)

I read this book last year, long before the September 11th attacks on the US. At times I had to put the book down because it was too disturbing. Top brass at the Pentagon and Fort Bragg, as well as prospective recruits in UK and US, need to read this book soon as it is one of a few books available from the grunt perspective. The information in this book aligns with what we are now hearing from US and British operatives who worked against the Soviets for ten years. For historical reinforcement read THE YOUNG BRITISH SOLDIER by Rudyard Kipling!