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Stalingrad | 
 enlarge | Author: Antony Beevor
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy New: £4.95
You Save: £5.04 (50%)
New (23) Used (5) from £4.75
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 5486
Media: Paperback
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0141032405
EAN: 9780141032405
ASIN: 0141032405
Publication Date: October 4, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
A Masterwork September 1, 2008
Mr. Jeremy A. Smyth (France)
The Battle of Stalingrad was, without doubt, one of the most gruesome episodes of WWII. Beevor manages to write not just a well-researched history of the battle, he also manages to draw the reader into its horrors with his marvellous prose and eye-witness accounts. This is a history that comes alive from the pages to leave an indelible sense of anger, horror and, to some extent, shame in the reader's mind - are we really capable of acts such as this? Could we have survived?
Even someone for whom WWII is a remote historical curiosity would be hard-pressed to deny this account's power and immediacy. The book reads like a novel but, unlike a novel, what we're reading is true; it happened; this is what mankind is capable of. Too many books are regarded as important, this one truly is. It is important not only as a fine record of a terrible event but also as a reminder that we human beings can reach levels of degeneracy and cruelty which we all must strive to prevent in the future.
This is not a glorification of war nor is it really a tribute to the combatants, it is a compellingly written reminder that war truly is hell.
Excellent book :o) August 14, 2008
Jan Jensen
This book is very well written - it is storytelling at its best - and 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, and I am looking forward to read his book on Leningrad.
Stunning - jaw dropping stuff ! June 11, 2008
Richard Vasquez
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Getting down to business, everbody should read this book.....
Rarely have I come across a book that sucks you in so quickly. It starts brilliantly and delivers on its promise right to the end. For years I'd heard great reports about this masterpiece and had seen it on many bookshelves. Expections were enormous, but they were wildly surpassed.
The writer paces the book perfectly, layering and building up the story with skill. You journey with the troops, experience their daily hopes and fears. German optimism sinks into despair before spiraling downward into total panic. The Russians endure epic defeat before flipping their enemy over, regroup and drive towards victory. Its all told with amazing clarity and 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 and hope. The writers sense of humanity shines through, giving the work a welcome human touch. He manages to walk the line and 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 December 1, 2007
S. Jones (Oxford, UK)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Beevor has succeeded in weaving a compelling, thoroughly researched piece of work documenting one of the darkest periods in modern history. The enormity of catastrophe that befalls first the Soviet citizen and Red Army following Germany's invasion, right through to the encirclement and starvation of the German Sixth Army, are described in a riveting (and sobering) detail. The earlier chapters of the book deal with the events that lead to the battle of Stalingrad, although obviously in 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 and a storyteller at the height of his powers. He skilfully interweaves political events, battles, enormous acts of cruelty, military incompetence and personal suffering with staggering acts of heroism and self sacrifice. One of the best books I have ever read - and one that highlights why worlds should be moved to prevent war.
Staggering November 26, 2007
K. P. Doyle (Berkshire UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have read and re-read this book because of its brilliance. It is chilling but very very accessible. The humanity and 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 life in the kessel and the slow ebbing away of all hope that the 6th army would be saved. The letters home are particularly sad, many were found in a mail sack of a plane that was shot down by the Russians.
This book should be used in schools to highlight the desperation and reality of war.
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