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Summary: Soldiers stories of Stalingrad
Review: Enemy at the Gates is the best book I have encountered about the battle of Stalingrad. It shows the perspective of individual soldiers (on both sides) and describes their experiences in the setting of this amazing and crucial battle. First rate and highly recommended.
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Summary: The movie should have been based on this book!
Review: "Enemy at the Gates" is out of print, but it shouldn't be a problem to locate a copy at a library or through one of Amazon's affiliates. It is worth the trouble! This was the first book to put a human face on the Battle of Stalingrad. Because the account was compiled from interviews and memoirs of participants, the book often reads like an exciting novel. In this respect, it closely resembles Andrew Tully's or Cornelius Ryan's accounts of the Battle of Berlin. When I learned of the upcoming film "Enemy at the Gates", I was ecstatic to think that this excellent book would at long last come to the big screen! Alas, only the title is taken from "Enemy at the Gates" -- the screenplay is based on David Robbins'novel "War of the Rats". The movie's focus will be on the historically dubious sniper battle and the hysterically bogus romantic interest. What a pity. For the real flavor of Stalingrad, get the real "Enemy at the Gates" and Antony Beevor's "Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege".
Rating:
Summary: The movie should have been based on this book!
Review: "Enemy at the Gates" is out of print, but it shouldn't be a problem to locate a copy at a library. It is worth the trouble! This was the first book to put a human face on the Battle of Stalingrad. Because the account was compiled from interviews and memoirs of participants, the book often reads like an exciting novel. In this respect, it closely resembles Andrew Tully's or Cornelius Ryan's accounts of the Battle of Berlin. When I learned of the upcoming film "Enemy at the Gates", I was ecstatic to think that this excellent book would at long last come to the big screen! Alas, only the title is taken from "Enemy at the Gates" -- the screenplay is based on David Robbins' novel "War of the Rats". The movie's focus will be on the historically dubious sniper battle and the hysterically bogus romantic interest. What a pity. For the real flavor of Stalingrad, get the real "Enemy at the Gates" and Antony Beevor's "Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege".
Rating:
Summary: Read this book
Review: If you are interested in the Axis forces on the eastern Front, then this is a book not to be missed. It tells it straight and leaves you under no illusion that life on the eastern front for the common soldier was hell. Many first hand accounts give the harshness of the terrain and of the weather and the tenacity and brutality of there opposition. The 6th Army was a proud army when it marched into Russia, Stalingrad changed that and the fields of bones that know surround the city pay testimony to this event.
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Summary: makes the history of Stalingrad personal and exciting
Review: If you really want to know how it was, you ultimately have to ask those who were there.So Craig did. We have Russian snipers and Italian doctors and German sergeants and many, many more, with their personal stories all woven into the greater tapestry of the history of the siege. Not only does this method make this one of the most interesting history books I have read, it also ranks as a real service to society: as I write, probably many of the men interviewed are now no longer available to interview. How much history did Craig preserve that would have been otherwise lost? I'd say plenty. There really isn't any excuse for this book ever being out of print. It's like reading Stephen Ambrose but with a higher excitement level.
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Summary: superlative
Review: This book is the antithesis of UK/USA research about Stalingrad. The detailed anecdotal evidence is excellent. So thorough; an entire gaming system was devised on the basis of it - Advanced Squad Leader. Sublime.
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Summary: Ranks at the top for authenticity, gripping!
Review: Undoubtably one of the very best action WWII books I've read, and I've read a bunch. This book simply reads well, full of historical accuracy, and captivates the reader. War is awful, and all educated people who value freedom and liberty should be mindful of the pain and sacrifices of those who experience the hell we re-live due to not learning from history. Craig is a superb author.
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Summary: Combines A Historian's Realism With A Novelist's Skill
Review: Craig writes eloquently about the epic battle of Stalingrad, combining points of view from both Russian and German combatants. Too often, especially with Eastern Front campaigns, we get clumsy, lifeless prose: Orders-of-battle, numbing statistics, and tons of minutiae. This is gripping, page-turning writing about the human cost of winning and losing a battle. Too bad it is no longer in print.
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Summary: THE story on Stalingrad!
Review: What I found incredible about this book is the facts can be traced back to sources authoritative on Stalingrad - the people that were there - and survived! Mr. Craig really did his homework on this one, taking the time to travel to Russia, Germany, even Israel, to speak with the men and women who were there. I thought he did a nice job of describing the brutal combat, and sadism both sides inflicted upon one another. Overall, the book provides a soldier's-eye view of the world, but it scales the ranks from the lowly private, all the way up to Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin. The flow from the battlefield to High Command can be confusing to follow, but it really is a nice relief from the more grizzly scenes depicted in the novel. Maps are provided, but they are very basic and confusing in B&W. Nice illustrations for those who are non-conversant on German/Russian WWII hardware. Best parts of the novel are the Epilogue, and the story chronicles what happened, without the author "interpreting" it for the reader. I'm waiting for a film producer to make a "Saving Private Ryan" out of this one!
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Summary: This is one of the great books published on ww11
Review: This is one of the few WW11 histories that I have read more than one time. I first read it 20 years ago and found it fascinating. I teach military history and use it for reference. It gives the reader a true feeling of what it must have been like fighting on the eastern front during the war.
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