The author is qualified to write this book for he was born in St. Petersburg, escaped with his family during the revolution and lived in Russia from 1942-1948. Above all, he wishes to remind the current generation (book written in 1964) and future generations of Russia’s importance in defeating the Nazis (although he does say Stalin stated Russia could not win the war against the Nazis by herself). He wants to tell the story of the common people and not just military history. Author declares his book to be least of all a formal history of Russia’s part in WWII for it is not possible for such to be written by one man. The author, British war correspondent, a native Russian speaker, writes a balanced report of Russia’s part in the war. He was allowed unprecedented access to conflict zones and conducted interviews with thousands of individuals both civilian and soldiers. He doesn’t criticize the Red Army or Stalin or decisions made by the Soviet government; he lets the reader draw their own conclusions. The corpus of work he draws from for his bibliography is immense, wide ranging in scope, sequence, and authorship. It is quite likely the most accurate book on Russia’s part in WWII to ever emerge from the Soviet Union. ( )

This is the first book I read focussed on the eastern front. It has always seemed to be an adequate exploration of the largest armed conflict on this planet. ( )

Russia at War 1941-1945
Alexander Werth
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
I read this book many years ago, but have been sampling and browsing over the past two nights. I cannot decide if I want to give it away; I originally selected it to make room for more Folio volumes, but as I review the book, I think I will keep it. Werth was a correspondent during the Second World War, and his book has personal recollections, as well as an exhaustive history of the war. There are many quotes from reminiscences and contemporary news reports, and interesting maps. ( )

An account of Russia's role in World War II written by a correspondent who actually lived in Russia during the war. Originally published in 1964 during the most frigid depths of the Cold War, and at a time when much of the information about this particular aspect of the war was locked down in Soviet secrecy, the sweeping account tells the story from a balanced, but clearly Russian viewpoint. This book is to the Russian role in World War II what William L. Shirer's, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is to Germany's, and deserves serious if not equal praise. ( )