Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 | 
 enlarge | Author: Antony Beevor
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
List Price: $18.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  242 reviews
Sales Rank: 15672
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 560
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 1.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 0140284583
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5421785
EAN: 9780140284584
ASIN: 0140284583
Publication Date: May 1, 1999
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Book Description
This gripping history is the definitive account of the battle that shifted the tide of World War II.
Historians and reviewers worldwide have hailed Antony Beevor's magisterial Stalingrad as the definitive account of World War II's most harrowing battle. In August 1942, Hitler's huge Sixth Army reached the city that bore Stalin's name. In the five month siege that followed, the Russians fought to hold Stalingrad at any cost, then caught their Nazi enemy in an astonishing reversal.
As never before, Stalingrad conveys the experience of soldiers on both sides as they fought in inhuman conditions, and of civilians trapped on an urban battlefield. Antony Beevor has interviewed survivors and discovered completely new material in a wide range of German and Soviet archives, including reports of prisoner interrogations, desertions, and executions. The battle of Stalingrad was the psychological turning point of World War II; as Beevor makes clear, it also changed the face of modern warfare. As a story of cruelty, courage, and human suffering, Stalingrad is unprecedented and unforgettable.
"A fantastic and sobering story . . . fully and authoritatively told." -Richard Bernstein, The New York Times
Amazon.com
Hitler made two fundamental and crippling mistakes during the Second World War: The first was his whimsical belief that the United Kingdom would eventually become his ally, which delayed his decision to launch a major invasion of Britain, whose army was unprepared for the force of blitzkrieg warfare. The second was the ill-conceived Operation Barbarossa--an invasion of Russia that was supposed to take the German army to the gates of Moscow. Antony Beevor's thoughtfully researched compendium recalls this epic struggle for Stalingrad. No one, least of all the Germans, could foretell the deep well of Soviet resolve that would become the foundation of the Red Army; Russia, the Germans believed, would fall as swiftly as France and Poland. The ill-prepared Nazi forces were trapped in a bloody war of attrition against the Russian behemoth, which held them in the pit of Stalingrad for nearly two years. Beevor points out that the Russians were by no means ready for the war either, making their stand even more remarkable; Soviet intelligence spent as much time spying on its own forces--in fear of desertion, treachery, and incompetence--as they did on the Nazis. Due attention is also given to the points of view of the soldiers and generals of both forces, from the sickening battles to life in the gulags. Many believe Stalingrad to be the turning point of the war. The Nazi war machine proved to be fallible as it spread itself too thin for a cause that was born more from arrogance than practicality. The Germans never recovered, and its weakened defenses were no match for the Allied invasion of 1944. We know little of what took place in Stalingrad or its overall significance, leading Beevor to humbly admit that "[t]he Battle of Stalingrad remains such an ideologically charged and symbolically important subject that the last word will not be heard for many years." This is true. But this gripping account should become the standard work against which all others should measure themselves. --Jeremy Storey
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| Customer Reviews: Read 237 more reviews...
 How totalitarian dictatorships mishandle leadership August 5, 2008
Matter-of-fact telling of a fantastic story--the double disaster of Stalingrad in during World War II, where the German army crushed the Russians (army and civilians alike) and drove them back into the destroyed city, then were themselves surrounded, besieged, and crushed by an encircling Russian force that cut them off from Germany and its supply lines.
Not always pleasant reading, but instructive in the way in which totalitarian dictatorships mishandle leadership.
 Historical July 5, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I appreciated the historical events in this book. I was also astounded by the cruelty an total power of Hitler and Stalin. The disdain for human life was unbelievable. Million were killed. Ghastly
A Haunting Story June 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Beevor has written a tour de force here. Two things I'd like to add: once you begin this book, it's impossible to put it down. Another is that the scenes linger in your head long after you've read it. A haunting, unforgettable, tragic story, beautifully told.
Awesome Book May 7, 2008
This is a great book that tells the story of probably the most significant and decisive battle of World War II. I could not put it down. The story telling, anecdotes, and research are all first class.
I saw another review that complained that the book took a German perspective on the setting and consequences and there is probably a little truth to that. However I felt it did not detract from the overall impact of this book. To get a little better sense of the Soviet perspective of the times in relation to the battle of Stalingrad, I would highly recommend reading "Life and Fate" by Vasily Grossman (who Beevor quotes extensively). Although this is a work of fiction, it really gives you a sense of what was at stake here for the Soviet Union and how they rose to the challenge.
The Fateful Siege April 13, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I thought this was an excellent look at the battle of Stalingrad. Antony Beevor covers all the bases from countless accounts from soldiers in the trenches (& ruins) - both German & Russian, to events involving a few soldiers to entire divisions. Then he explains how some of the major players on the Russian front made their decisions & acted under pressure.
The detailed information doesn't stop there - much of the book details the almost personal battle between Stalin & Hitler and all that Stalingrad represented to both sides. Antony Beevor does a great job of describing what was going on in other parts of the European theater of war & how they tied into this great battle. This was a pivital battle that affected the future of every country touched by world war 2. Worth reading.
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