Enemy at the Gates, A Battle for Stalingrad, by William Craig brought out the truth. He described one of the bloodiest battles in World War II through the eyes of the people in it, not ones that looked at it after. This is one of the many books I have read about World War II, among even more about military acts, but it left a deep mark behind, even after the black back cover was seen. It caused such a deep impact on me. It made me feel that these people were role models, they inspired me to courageous and believe that I should have hope, for they did. The book did this because William Craig brought in stories of the people in there, but he didn¡¦t use it as an excerpt, but as part of his words. He brought in what I thought were imagination about war, to be cold hard facts about war. Another reason why I liked this book was that he never grew soft like some of the authors do. When an infantry hops in with this left leg in this hand, he described it well. He never lets you out on any fact or story about this battle.
I also like this book because he had touched me like no other book had. Many books left you with hatred on why humans were so stupid on having wars, but he didn¡¦t. After you finished the book, you feel that you want to help those trapped men. You want to help them meet their wives, kiss their kids. He does not create an atmosphere with a feeling you should have, but he tells you the facts about the men, reads you their letters of despair, writes the quotes of worried captains and allow you to feel the way you will feel. He touched me using the words of the people there, not of his, but survivors amongst the thousands of victims. He touched my heart, and after reading this book, I too, feel more proud and feel that even in the worse should I have hope.

It seems like every book I read on warfare makes me realize one central theme: Thousands upon thousands of soldier's lives are sacrificed by overzealous military leaders like Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin...case in point: The battle of Stalingrad. I thoroughly enjoyed Craig's book on this famous, yet rarely covered battle of WWII. Most Westerners and the world for that matter, are fed large doses of reading related to D-Day, Pearl Harbor, etc. etc. Significant, history altering battles like Stalingrad are rarely given much light..I considered myself a learned scholar of WWII until I read this book...I then realized I really didnt have the "complete" picture of WWII like I thought...

What I really like about the book was the reader gets to see both sides of the war from the Red Army and Germans perspectives. In the beginning of the book, we relate to the Soviet's tales of horror as the invading German soldiers plunder and pillage their motherland...however, as the tide of the battle turns, we read how the Germans become the victims of the enclosing Soviet armies. I really liked how Craig got deep into the doomed German soldier's mind-set as they came closer and closer to annhialation. The reader really starts to see the German soldier as just another human being like you and I....a farmer from Dresden, a school teacher from Cologne, a mechanic from Stutgart...the list goes on...we really see the German soldiers for what they were, decent men just following orders. Dont get me wrong, there were plenty of Germans who committed such terrible atocities that they do not deserve to be called human beings. On, the flip-side, we see that many of the Soviet soliders themselves were no less brutal than their German counterparts...shooting surrendering soldiers, marching them to death camps, torture etc. etc...in short, we learn that war brings out the worst in man: German, Soviet or otherwise...

I did catch one reoccuring theme in this book, similar to what I have seen in other great WWII books (see books by Ambrose): Adolph Hitler was a terrible military leader who killed thousands of his soldiers because his ego did not let him think rationally...Hitler's famous fallacy of forcing his policy of not giving up an inch of conquered land cost the lives of thousands of German soldiers not only in Russia, but France during D-Day. Therefore, Hitler not only was a racist lunatic, but also a piece of crap military tactician. Stalin was no less, as he ordered thousands of his men to suicidal charges against the German army and even resorted to killing thousands of his own men out of paranoia.

All in all, Enemy at the Gates is a must read for anyone wanting to get the complete picture of WWII. Stalingrad was truly the battle that turned the tide of WWII. From there on, Germany fought a downhill battle...

The movie was excellent (a little Hollywooded out of course), but portrayed the horror of the war through both a German and Soviet Sniper...go see it and read the book!!!!

While most Americans tend to think of WWII mostly in terms of our losses, the Russians lost millions of citizens, both military and civilian, in the war. The Battle of Stalingrad was pivotal in the war; it turned the tide against the Germans and forced them to eventually fight a two-front war that they could not win. Had Stalingrad folded, the war might very well have ended with Hitler on the winning side.

This book reads like "The Longest Day" (Cornelius Ryan) of the Stalingrad battle, with first person accounts from both the German and Russian sides sewn together into an excellent narrative that holds your attention.

One of the stories in this book has been turned into the current (2001) movie of the same title. It concerns the battle between a Russian sniper who starts a sniper school in Stalingrad; his students go on to exact a huge toll on the Germans. In response, the Germans fly in their own master sniper to "take out" the Russian. The two snipers stalk each other among the ruins of the city, with the loser to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country. The book, however, covers much more ground. If you've seen the movie and want more on the sniper duel, read "War of the Rats" by David Robbins, a fictionalized account of the real-life events that is riveting. Read "Enemy at the Gates" if you want the full view of the battle. I recommend both accounts as superb books worthy of your time and money.

I have this book. I am a Life-Master at the game. I teach chess for a living.

Smyslov is one of the greatest players who ever lived. His craft as an annotator sets himself in a class maybe all by himself. (How many other writers have held the World Championship?)

Simply put this is one of the best books in my library. I have over 2000 chess books, (not counting pamphlets) and this is easily in the Top 100, maybe even the Top 10.

Want to improve your game? Want to study tactics? Positional chess? Endings? It is all in here, 125 of the best annotated games you will ever see. While Smyslov lacks the ability to touch the lowest rating classes like Chernev, anyone who studies these games carefully could not help but improve. Smyslov here probably spent much more time writing this book than you will ever spend reading it ... and it shows.

According to his great rival Botvinnik, Smyslov was the world's best player from 1953 to 1957, although he held the title for only the last of those years. He also kept up great strength when most players have retired. This collection shows why. Smyslov outplayed a string of strong players with masterpiece games. His endgame skill was unsurpassed, and he also had an extremely sharp eye for combinations that took even the best opponents completely by surprise.

His love of music explains the title of Smyslov's autobiography, V poiskakh harmonii (1979) - "in search of harmony". An enlarged and modified English version is 125 Selected Games (1983).

This translation should not have been republished. Firstly, it is both clumsy and full of errors. Secondly, it is based on an incomplete manuscript. Grossman's final, considerably expanded text was published in the Soviet Union in the late eighties. A translation of that text is long overdue!

One of the best books about not only a Soviet reality but also about Russian nationalism and imperialism that still exists today and probably will be "flowing forever".
Highly recommended!!!

A very moving account of the horrors of Bolshevism and Stalinism in Russia.The chapter that touched me the most was the story of a young mother who was taken away from her mother and child to Siberia where she eventually dies of disease and despair No decent human being could fail to be moved by this account of a nightmare that really happened It is told in the rich literary style that can only come from a Russian writer-bringing to life the horrors of Communist tyranny and the beauty of Russian life that survived it

Excellent literature. Rich style and intriguing plot. It is impossible to close the book once began reading. And once its finished, the reader will not remain the same person anymore. The deep emotionality of characters and sometimes seemingly irrational behaviours leave one pondering on the mysteries of human nature and national characters.

1. Fun to read 2. Amazingly prescient -- anticipates CNN, constant media coverage, etc. before these were ever invented in the West -- how someone in state-censored Russia could have anticipated and described it is a wonder. 3. An excellent satire, not just of Russian and communist mores and values, but also of Western mores and values as well. 4. It was haunting to read this book just as the turnover of Hong Kong to China was occurring -- many of the characters' comments in this book anticipated the same things being said 10-20 years later in Time and Newsweek.

This book by Aksyonov is definately nowhere near "crap" like some reader wrote . Ironically , the same reader refferes to A.Rybakov ( !!! ) as a "good Russian modern author". Well , I guess the same reader preffers Pat Boone over Elvis too . Pity, pity, pity on that reader . The Island ( like most of Aksyonov's works ) has a great deal of pain and tortured social and civic selves of the people who are trapped between their love for Russia and grim Communist reality of the USSR . And again , like many other Aksyonov works , the Island might be a bit too difficult to fully understand and relate to for most of the Westerners . It is hard for the one who never experienced the gloom and doom of living in the country of the "proletariat's dictatorship" to fully believe that it was REALLY that bad . In this book the Island is a model of what modern Russia could have been if not for the violent Communist coup of 1917 that brought all the pain and misery in the world to Russia . The Island of Crimea is a great book ,well-written , with enough joy and enough pain to be read and liked by many .

This is a very interesting book. It traces Alexyev's story from childhood through about 1977. It also briefly touches upon the careers of John Davis, Doug Hepburn, Norbert Schemansky, Paul Anderson, Alexis Medvedyev, Yuri Vlasov, and Leonid Zhabotinsky.It covers 1970-1977 fairly thoroughly, and even has a list of the world superheavyweight records from 1954-1977 for the press, snatch, clean and jerk,and total. It has approx. 45 black and white pictures in the back. The reasons I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 are these:1. It says nothing of the year 1978, when the world championships were Alexeyev's to take but he injured himself on the winning clean and jerk. 2. It says nothing of his year of rehab(1979). 3. It says nothing of his bombout, and end of his competitive career in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. 4. It was written in Russian, and however translated it into English left it in a very stilted style. A good proofreader with a sensitivity for modern English would have been nice. 5. All of the pictures are in black and white and separated into one back section, instead of interspersed throughout the book, like we would do here in America.
All of this said this still is the best book I have ever found on Alexeyev! It is readable and tells alot of his meets attempt by attempt.

THIS BOOK WAS ALL I HOPED IT WOULD BE , IT PORTAYS THE RISE TO WORLD CHAMPION OF ONE OF THE GREATEST LIFTERS IN HISTORY. THE BOOK STARTS BY GIVING SOME DETAILS OF ALEXEYEVS CHILDHOOD AND UPBRINGING THEN GOES STRAIGHT INTO HIS EARLY CONTESTS, THE AUTHOR A NOTED LIFTER HIMSELF REALLY SEEMS TO CAPTURE THE AUORA THAT SURROUNDED THE GREAT MAN IN HIS HEYDAY ,AND YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY OTHER GREAT COMPETETORS ALLWAYS SEEMED TO LIFT BELOW THEIR BEST WHEN UP AGAINST ALEXEYEV. THE BOOK PLOTS HIS CONTESTS UP TO THE TIME OF PUBLICATION AND HAS A VERY GOOD PHOTO SECTION AT THE BACK, ALL IN ALL THE BOOK IS ONE I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A WEIGHTLIFTER OR SPORTSMAN , EVEN THE FORWARD BY ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER IS INTERESTING READING, A THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE FACTUAL INSIGHT INTO A GREAT ATHLETES LIFE.

This story about a journalist who meets with a family that has lived for 50 years all alone in a tiny primitive shack in the Siberian wilderness is fascinating. It appeals to our human fascination with "lost people" or people who have shut themselves away from the world. The descriptions of the family and their lives is an astonishing read. The reader comes off still very puzzled, however, at why they did that. Understandably, even the author did not find the true answer, but after our fascination with the situation is over, we have more questions than are answered. When three of the five family members suddenly die within a month of each other there is little explanation and it takes up only a page of story. I recommend this book, but I should warn that after the story is over, you will have many unanswered questions. The book does not give those of us untutored in Russian history sufficient explanation of the facts of people like this family.

'Victory goes not to the side with the biggest guns, but to the side with the best shots...'

Staged against the backdrop of the shattered city of Stalingrad, War of the Rats is both a cold-sweat thriller and a heart-rending glimpse at one of the pivotal battles of the second world war. The real events on which the book is based have be alternately dramatised since; in the Jude Law film, Enemy at the Gates. This novel however is far more engaging, chock full of nail-biting cat and mouse encounters as the two patriotic snipers duel to the death.

Like good Clancy or Crichton, Robbins' novel cleverly balances historical and technical fact with dramatic fiction, thrusting the reader into the thick of the action. Its not all gunplay however, and perhaps the real strength of this book is the chilling human realism given to the quieter moments...one can't help but feel a shudder of grief at the thought of the main, and supporting characters surviving day by day amidts the horror of war.

Despite that last comment, this isn't really a 'war is hell' novel, and there's nothing preachy thrown in to upset the pace. What you do get is gritty, often brutal action and believable empathetic characters. I'd highly recommend this to any WW2 buff, but equally to anyone after a cracking good thriller.

Set in the hell of the Battle of Stalingrad, Mr. Robbins give us a novel that poignantly explores what it means to preserve one's humanity in a bitter struggle for survival. Not a simple "war story" or a Tom Clancy-like obsession with the technical details of warfare--although plenty abound in this book--"The War of the Rats" vividly confronts us with real people caught up in a desparate effort to cling to life and love. Robbins brings us an intimate portrait of the human condition set against the broader canvas of the devastation of war at its most brutal . His characters are real; the narrative is gripping; and the satisfaction one feels on reading the book is immense. Robbins brings home, through the device of a sniper duel between the master snipers of the Red Army and the SS, what Stalingrad meant to those who fought the battles and bled and died in the greatest single confrontation of World War II. Despite whatever minor technical flaws one may find in the novel, Robbins is a master of his craft. His achievement will be come a classic of the genre alongside "The Red Badge of Courage" and "All Quiet on the Western Front."

If you like wartime novels this is a book for you. You will want read it straight through, but you won't want it to end. This is as close to being in the hell that was Stalingrad as you can get without having been there yourself. You will feel that you are crawling through the demolished buildings, keeping your head down to avoid the instant, unseen death that snipers deliver. Indeed, this book is about the ultimate sniper duel. The top snipers from Germany and Russia are sent to kill one another - if Stalingrad doesn't kill them both first. Here you will see both points of view, you will experience the desperation of trying to survive the winter and the war, and you will know what it is like to be a sniper. The stalking, the waiting, the shot, and then you move - before you become another sniper's victim. The book is based on real-life events and extensive research. Details are presented in such a way as to not interfere with the well-developed characters and story line. The entire Stalingrad expereince is present, including the way many of the fighters simply vanished into the fighting or the Russian winter.

This book purports to be a 20th century analog of War & Peace. Unfortunately the author transposes entire scenes from Tolstoy's novel. Characters are one-dimensional, wearing labels such as "Decent Citizen Doctor," "Starry-Eyed Young Jewish Communist" or "Cynical Careerist".
The translation is goofy. No doubt jocular or slang terms for any manner of things sound just fine in the Russian, but using slang for the same word in English often sounds risible. Thus food is usually referred to as "grub," clothes as "duds," and so on.
Then there are the downright errors. Polish names for example are grossly misspelled; names of major streets in Warsaw are chewed up and spit out as names for non-existent neighborhoods.
Stalin and Beria were bad men and their purges were terrible events. That doesn't mean you've got to write bad books about them.

"Generations of Winter" is an interesting history of the early Stalinist period in Russia. While using the vehicle of the well-to-do, privileged Gradov family to describe the era, the book is, however, nothing but a fictionalized tale of the history of those tumultuous times in Russia. Author Vassily Aksyonov does write in an engrossing style which enables the reader to have feeling and empathy for the Gradov family members during their trials (rarely do they have triumphs). The reader will want to finish the book to see how everything is resolved.

The interesting, but unrealistic, fact that the extended Gradov family was personally involved in every significant historical happening of this period will provide the casual reader with an insight into the times, but it merely whets the appetite of those desiring a complete picture. To cite examples: - father Dr. Boris resolves the well-known crisis of Stalin's "constipation"; - daughter Nina participates in pro-Trotsky, anti-Stalinist demonstrations when Stalin was consolidating his power (but, curiously, never is arrested for this); - son Kirill, the doctrinaire Marxist, is arrested and sent to the gulag during the Terror; - son Nikita rises in the military, is arrested during the purge of the military, and then is rehabilitated during World War II and rises to become a Marshall of the Army; - nephew Nuygar, a Georgian thug, becomes a Major General and right-hand man to Lavrenty Beria, the head of what has become the KGB; - son Kirill and daughter-in-law Celia first meet in rural Russia during the de-kulakization of the countryside; - adopted grandson Mitya is drafted into the Soviet Army, is captured by the Germans, and joins the Russian Army of Liberation to assist the Nazis in their attack on Russia; - daughter-in-law Veronika emigrates to the United States; - etc., etc., etc.

As such, then, there is no real plot as we would normally think of a fictional plot, but rather a set of seemingly unrelated vignettes revolving around the history of Russia which become related only because of the omipotent Gradov family and their incredible impact upon Russia's history.

Mr. Aksyonov periodically resorts to a "cutsy" technique of interjecting into the text parenthetical sentences to seque into the vignettes, such as "How did it happen that Mitya Sapunov, who in July 1943 had joined the Dnepr partisan detachment, again found himself in a group of "traitors to the Motherland".....? This technique appears to be necessary because the vignettes are rather unrelated, except for the family connections.

Mr. Aksyonov also periodically includes anthropomorphic "Intermissions" where various things such as the Gradov family dog, a squirrel, and an oak tree provide us with, so Mr. Aksyonov must believe, some intellectual insight into something. These Intermissions add nothing whatsoever to the novel. Perhaps, as another Amazon reviewer noted, these are a holdover from Mr. Aksynovov's attempts in the past to confuse the Russian censors who might actually read them and try to determine what is being said.

All-in-all, "Generations of Winter" left this reader interested in the Gradov family and wanting to read the follow-on novel "The Winter's Hero" depicting the end of the Stalinist era to see if anything really positive could happen to the family during that time. However, readers will be left with an empty feeling if they are looking for a sweeping view of Russia during the Stalinist period. Each of the vignettes of history depicted in this novel deserve a separate detailed study.

Yes, it helps if you've read "War & Peace", but even if you don't know your Rostovs from your Raskolnikovs, "Gens. of Winter" is a must. Funny, wrenching, profound, and above all totally original, "Gens." is a masterpiece I have been reading and rereading for five years. Aksyonov alternates a straightforward, gripping, family-history narrative, full of densely layered, palpably real characters, with quotations-- many of them hysterical -- from magazines like 'Time' and 'Pravda', as well as occasional short chapters from the point of view of a squirrel, a dove, a houseplant, and of course a dog. Far from being bewildering or pretentious, however, this point-of-view smorgasbord coalesces into one vision of startling clarity. This book won't please the fundamentalist or the PC (lots of drinking, smoking, sexual activity), not to mention apologists for Stalin if there are any still alive. If, however, you crave exciting, challenging, world-expanding fiction, with a compelling story line and dialogue so real, you're practically wiping the characters' spit off your face -- if you like the idea of historical fiction but can't bear ponderous, talentless bores like James Michener -- if you've ever wondered what was going on in Russia during all those curtained years, put "Generations of Winter" in your shopping cart and click CHECK OUT. The book is long, the print is small, and the experience can't be surpassed. One of the formative books of my life -- and, could be, yours!

The author Vassily wasn't forced out for un-pure blood, he forced out of Russia after too many clashes with the government. After reading about him the only thing I found him guilty of was having a talent and using it to make a difference. I think we all know that any establishment, government or not, does not want their faults or wrong-doings pointed out... even if it is in the best interest of others. For those of us who have fought the good fight, it was most likely a small establishment or department we dealt with, but with Vassily it was a entire country -- I admire him. In my opinion, Russia's loss is our gain. Vassily is a talented, skilled writer.

The novel THE NEW SWEET STYLE starts when Alexander Korbach reaches America on August 10, 1982, it's his 43rd birthday. Alexander Korbach isn't his real name and he isn't really Jewish. As a child he was known as Sasha Izhmailov. He was born and raised in Russia with his parents, a mother that loved him and a father who didn't. He also has a younger brother and sister. He tells us of a family secret that came out when he noticed his grandmother would come bearing gifts for him only when his father left, and how she seemed to behave as if she had some sort of ownership over him. Now in America Alexander tries to make a life for himself as and singer and playwright. He meets and woman named Nora and finds himself in a relationship with her and New York City.

THE NEW SWEET STYLE is a mature novel, in the sense that Vassily has his hero landing in New York, so we can expect the usual mature predicaments with the hero and those he comes in contact with. I found the presentation of the book different in that the narrator doesn't just talk to the the reader, he also directs him and points things out. Be ready for a factual, interesting, lengthy read.

I picked up this book wth great antipication. I arrived at the bookstore and was thrilled to see a new Aksyonov novel in the just-released fiction section. After reading the jacket-cover I left with great anticipation. Perhaps my great anticaption fueld my ultimate disappointment. The first third of the book was compelling and well-written. I devoured the this part in rapid fashion. Unforunately, I became mired in and not a little confused by the author's flights of fancy, spinning off from the text in all directions, a frolic of its own. Others may find the diversions delightful. I found it increasingly difficult to focus as I worked through the book. It also occured to me that I was "working" through the book in an effort to finish it rather than devouring each page. There were delights to be found in the latter two-thirds of the novel. In my opinion, those sporadic delights do not overcome the rather esoteric complexities of major portions of the work. As always, others may be delighted by the tone and content of the novel.

One would think that more attention would be paid to a writer with Vassily Aksyonov's history. Author of an anthem for his generation ("Ticket to the Stars"), he rankled his government so much with his phantasmagoric subsequent works ("The Burn," "The Island of Crimea") that he was compelled to emigrate. On US shores, he expanded his repertoire to include more straightforward fiction and created historical novels of the Stalinist era ("Generations of Winter," "The Winter's Hero"). In our post-Soviet age, however, the sex appeal of credentials like these has faded. Perhaps that was part of the inspiration for his latest novel, "The New Sweet Style." In it, Alexander Korbach, a leading figure of the Moscow cultural scene who models himself after Dante Aligheri, finds himself forced out of his country and underwhelmed by America's disinterested reception. While Korbach is occasionally bemused by his new surroundings, he's amost always amused; Aksyonov is similarly open-armed. His prose delights in idioms and puns of the sort that madden translators, and the novel ranges from reportorial descriptions of parking lots in Venice, California to lyrical speculations on cosmology, placing itself squarely in the class of loose, baggy monsters. Assisted by considerable authorial interruption, Korbach lurches from a seedy Inferno in 1980s California toward a unique Paradiso, a ridiculously sublime millennial reunion in Israel with the mummified remains of his earliest ancestor. It's impossible to discredit the work for its lack of cohesiveness, though, given its good-natured refusal to meet that expectation: "We do take leaps, even into the past, within our chapters--modernism is a contagious disease, ladies and gentlemen!" One of these leaps finds Korbach returning to the USSR to lead a revolution. Aksyonov somehow manages to equate totalitarianism with traditional realism, so that when we root for the hero to face down a tank, we're simultaneously rooting for the success of Aksyonov's sweet, idiosyncratic style.

Not much of this book sticks in the mind, atypically for an Aksyonov novel. The titanically horrific events of the preceding volume, _Generations of Winter_, practically carried the story along without help. The comparatively (but only comparatively) milder post-war times in the Soviet Union don't leave much for historical fiction to hinge on. So Aksyonov chooses to emphasize the degradation that the long years of war, terror, and compulsory adulation of Stalin and the Party inflicted on the Soviet people. He doesn't pull it off; it's the story and the reader that get degraded. Stick with the first volume of this tale.

This book is really every bit the equal of its predecessor (Generations of Winter), to paraphrase Kirkus Reviews. I actually prefer this volume and Generations over most of Aksyonov's other "fantantic" tales, primarily because I'm more fond of the realistic and essentially optimistic tradition in Russian literature. These two books are practically in the same league as the great novels of Tolstoy and Sholohov.