Russia's War: A History of the Soviet Effort: 1941-1945

If you are primarily looking for battlefield action look elsewhere. If you want insight into Soviet characters at the top and various military and political situations then this book is for you, even if first published as long ago as 1997 (i.e. 25 years ago as of this review). A short, sharp and concise treatment of Russia's (big part in the) war from start to finish and many of the behind the scenes power plays. Ideally one should read this book first to make sense of the Russian 'stance / mindset' before delving into other books that focus on particular battles throughout the war. However, even if you have read other books on the Eastern Front and the fall of Berlin, this book still contains some 'enlightening' background information. It also contains uncomfortable facts oft left unsaid in other works. An excellent book in my opinion, unless of course one finds the truth hard to stomach. The book is worth the buying simply for the last chapter (10) and the epilogue alone, i.e. The Cult of Personality: Stalin and the Legacy of War: and the epilogue; Russia's War: Myth and Reality.

I had started to read this book, borrowed from a friend, in Hardback and was immediately interested in the context, style and detail incorporated by the author. When I purchased this book in paperback I was surprised in the difference in type setting and found it harder to concentrate on the detail and material content of the book. For someone who is interested in this type of historical research I would have liked a better summary of the content because the only reason I had bought it was to continue what I had started when I had shared a friend's book.The summary given by Amazon would not have sold me the book. It did not grab me with a taste of some of the breathaking facts the book contained. The attempted extermination of the Jews by the Nazis is within the knowledge of most people yet the decimation of the Russian and satelite peoples since the Russian revolution and at the hands of Stalin, the enormity of which is almost beyond comprehension, is also not withion the knowledge of many. It is this omision of that impact from the summary that does not sell the book as well as it could.

Well written,well researched and a great read. Everything you’d expect from Richard Overy.

Probably one of the best books to read as a starting point on the Eastern front, Overy is able to dilute down a lot of complex debates and adequately explains the strategic and tactical complexities. Well recommended as a whist-stop guide to the Eastern Front before you move onto weightier tomes by authors such as Glantz.I can say that as a third year university student I've used this for every one of my essays on the subject and its always been a extremely useful starting point.

We may have thought we had a bad time of it but almost unimaginable what happened in Russia even the fact that Stalin murdered so many of his own people wow that takes some getting your head round,a really good book a must read

This is one of the books that Mr Beevor should have read before producing his narratives on Stalingrad and Berlin (good though they are).It dispells so many myths about the USSR's war but also provides the evidence to back it all up. Just read the section on the Warsaw uprising and you'll soon understand more about the unfortunate circumstances there than a whole heap of other 'reliable sources' could tell you.The horror of the NKVD terror, Stalin's paranoia, the titanic efforts of the average Red Army soldier, it's all there.Well worth buying and keeping. I think it's fantastic.

A very well researched account of the war on the eastern front from the Soviet perspective. The descriptions of Stalin and the Soviet regime were fascinating albeit disturbing. The account of Stalin's last days were particularly nteresting. Overall an excellent read.

Good book