Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating & Gripping
Review: This book is superb. It really tells the story of the German-Soviet part of World War II without being too long or too dry. It was interesting and easy to read. It is told from the Russian perspective, which is refreshing. I agree that the before and after parts of this book are invaluable in setting the stage and in putting the conflict into perspective. A must-read for anyone interested in WW2 history.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Overview
Review: This fluently written book was written originally as a companion to a series of documentaries about the Eastern Front. It is intended as a general overview of the Soviet war effort. It is not a detailed, traditional military history and concentrates on almost exclusively on the Soviet side of the conflict. This orientation is appropriate because the great majority of the literature on the Eastern front is drawn from German sources and expresses, either explicitly or implicitly, a German point of view. A good deal of the analysis and description is drawn from documentation that became available after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and is drawn from the work of other scholars whose work Overy is careful to acknowledge.
Overy is as concerned with social and economic history as he is with political, diplomatic, and military history. The initial chapters are a nice precis of the evolution of the Soviet armed forces from their birth in the Civil War to the eve of WWII. Relevant social, political, and economic history is introduced. There is a good chapter on Soviet diplomatic manuvering before the war, a fine series of chapters covering the major phases of the war, and a good section on the aftermath of the war. The actions and character of Stalin are a strong current throughout the book, emphasizing his central role in Soviet history.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This is an awesome book describing how Russia won the Soviet war effort against the Nazis. This was required reading in one of my history courses in college. I recommend this to any history buff, major, professor, etc. It's good stuff. Read the parts about the battles of Kursk and Stalingrad...it will amaze you. There is a hint of profanity in the book so beware.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This is an awesome book describing how Russia won the Soviet war effort against the Nazis. This was required reading in one of my history courses in college. I recommend this to any history buff, major, professor, etc. It's good stuff. Read the parts about the battles of Kursk and Stalingrad...it will amaze you. There is a hint of profanity in the book so beware.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect start to a complicated event.
Review: This is an excellent and balanced overview of the Soviet-German war of 1941-1945. Overy uses the very best information available to give a person an excellent introduction to this titanic struggle. The Eastern Front of WWII is a complicated and diverse subject, a victim of the Cold War, this largest struggle in human history is as hard to navigate as a minefield. Misinformation is not uncommon from historians pre-1991 from both East and West. Not until recently has many myths and legends been verified or dismissed, only after the fall of Communism in Europe could historian truly start to make ground breaking research on the Eastern Front of WWII. What Overy does in �Russia�s War� is give us a great tour of the Eastern Front and the people and places that are center point to the event. This is not a complete history, actually this is only a good introduction to the war, but is great for both beginning interest in the war and for quick reference for seasoned WWII researchers. He shows us the great sacrifice the people of the USSR made to defeat Nazi Germany, he also gives us a glimpse at how futile it was when their own Government was not much better then the enemy. Highly recommend this book to anyone that has a desire to obtain an understanding of this �War of Annihilation�.
| 
