Product Description

Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, cost the lives of nearly two million men and women. It was perhaps the single most important engagement of World War II and signalled the beginning of the end of the Third Reich of Adolf Hitler. Based on 100s of interviews with survivors of the battle, this text presents the story of the bloody battle.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #162967 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Customer Reviews

Great!
This book is an excellent read for anyone interested in the war at ground level. It is basically a collection of stories and personal accounts from both sides and it is fascinating to read the views of German and Russian soldiers as well as civilians. The Russian contribution to the war has, I feel, been somewhat overlooked. In Britain we tend to say we won the war and give the USA credit too, but The USSR played a vital, if not the decisive role in WW2. You must read this book. Also the film Enemy At The Gates with Jude Law is based on one of the personal acocunts in this book.

Good, but a confusion
I very much enjoy examinations of military history, and did find this book to convey much of the detail (including the horror) of the battle for Stalingrad. However, I think that the book did not really display a true historians perspective of the time, and instead read more like a novel than an historical review of information. I also felt that there was insufficient information on the wider implications of the failure of the Germans to capture Stalingrad, and little about the overall impact the battle had on the outcome of the war. Compared to something written by, say, Martin Middlebrook, I thought this was lacking. Overall, recommended, but approach with caution.

A powerful and personal account of the battle of Stalingrad
Stories are always powerful, and personal stories even more so. This book tells the story of the battle of Stalingrad through the voices of those who took part.

Seen through the eyes of both Germans and Russians, it takes us from Hitler and Stalin in their capitals, to field marshals and their aides, through to officers and soldiers and civilians. We move from individual sniper duels and house-to-house fighting to tank armies manoeuvering accross the Russian Steppe, from grand strategy to basic survival in the hunger and cold.

Anthony Beevor's "Stalingrad" was a bestseller in 1999: This book compares favourably as an account of the battle and its strategy. And unlike some military histories, this is not a dry narrative, in the style "and then the General sent in the 13th Division on the right flank".

Instead, the story comes from the participants and their memories, carefully arranged and in chronological order. Like Mark Baker's "'Nam", it is based on interviews with hundreds of survivors. But Craig balances the many vivid incidents with the bigger picture.

We are reminded of the sheer scale of this battle, with its cost of some 2 million lives and involvement of millions more, and of its importance as a turning point in World War II.

We are also shown, at the individual level, something of the struggle and suffering, the heroism and horror.

"Enemy at the Gates" is now a paperback at a paperback price, labelled as "Classic Military History". "Classic Military History" is right.