Rating: 
Summary: Detailed but biased
Review: An incredibly detailed depiction of the battle strategies and,especially, the tactics on the Eastern Front during the two decisive years of WWII. Readers should be aware, however, that the story is told largely from the German army's point of view. Russian tactics are given matter-of-factly, while German action is described as "brave", "courageous", "gallant", and so forth. The sub-title of the book, "The Russan-German War" would have better been given as "The German War in Russia".
Rating: 
Summary: Remarkable book on the Ostfront
Review: As usual with Carrell's superlative works, this is a highly engrossing book on the Ostfront. The only complaint I have is that it ends with the annihilation of HG Mitte, and the last months of the war is not covered.
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Summary: THE history of the Eastern Front
Review: Carell does a fantastic job in telling the "Landsers" story in the East. Rich in detail and knowledge. A great read.
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Summary: Scorched Earth....informative, well written, biased
Review: Carell's book is an outstanding account of the War in the East in WW II. Certainly his Germanic viewpoint is clearly evident in the heroic accounts of small groups of Nazis holding out against overwhelming manpower and material superiortiy of the Soviets. But, aside from this minor shortcoming it is an excellent, readable account of the overall campaign from Kursk to East Prussia describing with fine detail small unit actions as well as strategic blunders and brilliances. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Good but biased
Review: I agree with other readers that the book was very interesting and accurate but there was to much bias towards the Germans. This presented a perception that Germany may have been able to prevail had it not been for Hitler's micro-management. A Russian victory however was never truly in doubt after 1942 due to factors such as weather, terrain, morale, supply lines, actual and potential reinforcements, etc. Carell presents the situation as though if the Germans got only one or two lucky breaks the tide of the war would have changed. Moving beyond the bias however, the book is a good read with a lot of interesting details.
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Summary: Gotterdammerung of Hitler's Wehrmacht in Russia
Review: In "Hitler Moves East", Paul Carrell told the spellbinding story of the audacious attempt by the seemingly invincible Wehrmacht to destroy Russia in1941-42. In "Scorched Earth" he continues the story of this titanic clash between the two totalitarian states, locked in a death struggle. Carrells' narrative takes the reader on a journey with the Wehrmacht through the steppes of Russia, to the greatest tank battle in history at Kursk, and finally on the long retreat to ultimate defeat for Hitler's legions. This book, along with "Hitler Moves East", constitutes the best available history of the Russo-German war of 1941-45 to date. Very detailed, but VERY READABLE.
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Summary: The Beginning of the End
Review: Once again, Mr. Carell has written a masterful compendium of the Eastern front in WW 2 covering 1943-44. A bit chronologically out of place, the battle of Kursk is covered first. Not surprisingly, the author feels that this battle was the true turning point in the war, not Stalingrad; and futhermore, that he believes that Germany could have won it with less meddling by Hitler and without the total intelligence compromise that occurred. A whole chapter deals with this security compromise at the highest level which to this day the source is not known. Because of this, the operation was doomed from the getgo, as the germans could hardly afford a huge battle of attrition and expect to win at this stage. Subsequent portions of the book deal with General Manstein's masterful retiring action that, though not able to break the seige of Stalingrad, was brilliant in his ability to hold open the Rostov corridor long enough for the large number of german forces in the caucasas to escape, some of them over a frozen Sea of Azov!Manstein's ability to contain the Russian offensive and prevent an encirclement of German forces that would have dwarfed Stalingrad with relatively meager forces may be the most overlooked tactical success of WW2 - as most retiring actions are. After this, the actions around Kharkov are covered in good detail, especially general Hausser's controversial retreat from certain destruction, disobeying Hitler's direct order to hold at all costs. Subsequent to this, Manstein's counteroffensive that encircled and destroyed these forces and retook Kharkov were Mansteins'last and perhaps greatest victory and germany's last successful offensive that finally stabilized the eastern front in 1943. The remainder of the book covers a myriad of retiring actions in late '43 - early '44 such as Demyansk, Velyka Luki, Cherkassy, that from a tactical perspective are fairly interesting, but are depressing for the hopelessness of the actions and Hitlers' obstinate demand to hold territory that the germans didn't possess the forces to protect. These mini-disasters presaged the meltdown of Army Group Central in June 1944. As is usual in Mr. Carell's books, many pictures and maps are included. This era of the conflict is certainly not the most popular for reading, but is well covered albeit from a progerman skew. The most exciting portions are General Mansteins' battles in early 1943. It is an indispensible book for devoted students of the Eastern front.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: Paul Carell continues his gripping account of the German Army's (mis)adventure in Russia. A striking feature of Carell's authorship is how he manages to involve the reader from the 'map table' to the trenches. His accounts are graphic and certainly do convey the fears of frontline troops. I highly recommend it to any serious military enthusiast.
Rating:
Summary: a good overall account, but biased
Review: The books is well written, one of the works that i like on the eastern front more than many others which i have been able to read. The only problem with this book was that the German Soldier was the best in everything and better trained than any Soviet units. What gets me the most is that some of the Soviet soldiers heroic actions are listed, one of the more famous, Alexander Matrosov, who was in the 254th Guards Regiment, gave his life to save his comrades at the battle of Veliki Luki. But he only looks towards the German side,the Germans were the ones that suffered the cold, the mud, and the attacking waves of the Soviet infantry which they beat off every time. but never is the Soviet soldier said to have suffered in the cold or the mud or the German counter attacks that failed for too many places to list. Again overall the account is an interesting one, and a great read. But there will be many accounts coming out of Russia soon enough with the real stories of what happened on the Eastern Front.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book though biased
Review: This book is my favorite of Carell's. It is is a basic history in a scintillating third person account making it incrediblly interesting and an easy read. It was very hard to put down!! My only complaint is that the book is EXTREMELY biased. I do appreciate the German perspective but you sometimes need to give Soviets their due credit! Nethertheless, I would recommend this book to any fan of the East Front. In particular, Carell's account of the Korson pocket messmerized me so much that I spend all my free time trying to collect info on it!!
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