Rating: 
Summary: Several Million Oversights
Review: I read an Avon paperback edition of RUSSIA AT WAR: 1941-1945 some two decades ago. Since then, I've accomplished twenty years of specific research and have returned full circle to search through my tattered and yellowed copy of this important work.
Superlative reviews are many: "A WORK OF SCOPE AND POWER," The New York Times; "ADMIRABLE," Houston Chronicle; "ENORMOUS," Philadelphia Bulletin; "IMMENSELY ABSORBING," Baltimore Sunday Sun; "MASTERPIECE," Christian Science Monitor.Mister Werth has included a chapter, "Close-up Lublin--the Maidanek (sic) Murder Camp."
Now, one wonders: why does this book not even slightly mention the names Belzec, Sobibor, and Triblinka, three Action Reinhard death camps, which along with Lublin Concentration Camp, aka Majdanek, were under the management of Lublin SS- and Police Leader (SS- und Polizei Fuehrer) SS-general officer Odilo Lothar Ludovicus Globocnik? Hmmmm!
Rating: 
Summary: "Russia at War" A Flawed Giant
Review: Russia at War is a flawed giant. The book covers a wide scope of diplomatic, political and military events and recounts human tragedy of the largest but mostly overlooked theatre in WWII. It's well worth reading. Scholarship is exemplary as the author is fluent in both German and Russian. Fine maps are provided as well for this immense battlefront. The barbaric treatment of Russian prisoners of War is revealed. The German atrocities committed against the Russia population are portrayed. I gained a better understanding of the Utter Evil of the NAZI mentality based on the aggression against Russia, beyond the genocide of the Jews. The political and diplomatic dimensions of Russia at War are explored as well. However this is not a military account in detail but rather sketched (something that left me wanting of more detail of troop movements and how the war was won and lost in the field, admittedly a minor criticism for those that don't want to follow battle field narrative.). More importantly this is a book written strongly sympathetic of the Soviet viewpoint. Criticism of Stalin is absent. For example in the battle for Kiev in September 1941 Stalin issues his "not one step back" order which results in several Soviet armies being surrounded in a pincher movement by the German Panzers Armies. According to some experts somewhere up to 665, 000 Soviet soldiers were captured (which the author seems to downplay the disaster). No criticism is leveled at Stalin for ignoring warning of the general in the field and General Zhukov at Moscow, who was demoted as a result of his criticism (of which no mention is made), and that of Khrushchev who was present at the battle as political commissar. Little mention is made of the impact of Stalin's purges on the military in 1937-38 and the impact that they had on the Armies fighting capacity in 1941. The pact with Hitler in 1939 is defended as the only diplomatic option left to him. Although it could be argued that Stalin had expected a long protracted war in the West as in WWI to tie down the Germans and much to his surprise France was conquered in a Blitzkrieg. Don't let this be the only book read on the vast subject.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most incredible books I've ever read
Review: Russia at War: 1941-1945 by Alexander Werth is one of the most incredible history books in existence. Eyewitness accounts of the aftermath of barbaric Nazi occupation and interviews with survivors of German captivity are haunting and unforgettable. With its maps, contemporary press clippings and excerpts from memoirs by Nazi and Russian officers the book appears to be an invaluable repository of second world war facts put in concise, popularly accessible form. To a modern day revisionist, Cold War warrior or russphobe, some of Alexander Werth's accounts may seem to be overly pro-Soviet (or rather too unsympathetic to the Nazis - the complaint one hears most frequently) and the style with which he described certain events as insensitive and even callous (like his stunning narration of the last days of the German army at Stalingrad), however to most people reading Alexander Werth's Russia at War will uncover a new honest perspective both on the events leading to the WWII and on the actual meaning of the allied Victory at its conclusion. This fascinating book is so well written, that comparing it to other books on the same subject is difficult and perhaps unfair to their authors, one can compare reading Russia at War: 1941-1945 by Alexander Werth to playing an addictive (computer) game: once started, it is almost impossible to stop.
Rating:
Summary: highly revealing
Review: The excellent 'Russia at war' does invite abundant reviewing. I will just concentrate on Alexander Werth's accounts of Josef Stalin's policies.
When Stalin assumed power in 1924, his Soviet-Union was no more than a pretty backward peasant's country. At his death in 1953 the Soviet Union had become worldpower number 2, the world's only political force able to challenge the USA.
This stunning 29-year (!) metamorphosis was largely made possible by the use of cheap forced labor -- the 'Gulag'-workers. How many people died in Stalin's merciless political-economic build-up will never be known, but their numbers surely nominate him as the biggest mass-murderer of all times.
However, it's beyond doubt that Stalin's cruel leadership was responsible for this metamorphosis. And surely also for succeeding in his ultimate test: victory over Adolf Hitler. A very narrow and hard-won victory, yes, but a victory. Much better than his German counterpart, Stalin clearly understood that in the 20th century wars aren't won anymore by having the strongest army; no, what really counts is industrial capacity. Stalin had great talent for organizing, logistics, and for choosing talented co-workers. His decisive masterpiece, in the early months of the war, was the shifting of Soviet Russia's many factories from the German-threatened areas to the safe Ural mountains.
Another excellent quality of Stalin were his political insights. These were impressively shown in 1945, when he managed to push the European frontiers of his Communist empire as far west as halfway Germany. Remaining there for the next 44 years, they caused real headaches to the Americans and West-Europeans.
As Alexander Werth's 'Russia at war' was published in 1964, the widespread consequences of Stalin's policies weren't fully visible at the time. With the hindsight we have now, it's very revealing to read about Stalin's day-to-day leadership, uncovering his ingenious, cruel and merciless intentions.
Werth also provides us with another startling point of view: Josef Stalin was highly popular in his own country. Right until his death. Although greatly polished by his well-oiled propaganda machine, this popularity no doubt was genuine. To understand this, one should consider Stalin gave his people things they never had before: housing, electricity, medical care and education. Its distribution having many flaws, the people nevertheless recognized his sincere intention to do so.
Another clue for Stalin's popularity may be found in the Russian's low estimation of human life. Russian history has a long tradition of blood-thirsty despotism. I think that also explains why Stalin got away with mass-murder on his own people. During his lifetime, that is. After his death criticism grew rapidly, although heated discussions about the significance of his 29-year reign go on -- up to this very day.
Rating:
Summary: Russia at War: Pappa Joe As Hero
Review: There are many books on the Russian-German conflict of the Second World War, but Alexander Werth's RUSSIA AT WAR is one of the longest, the most detailed, and the most comprehensive. It is impossible to read it and not get a sense of the masses of men and machines that bashed into each other for nearly four years. His use of detail, map, and breadth of coverage make his book a worthy complement to the bookshelf of war historians. There is, however, a flaw running throughout that nullifies much of the veracity and objectivity that ought to be intrinsic to a serious work of military history. That flaw is his pro-Soviet bias, in particular his refusal to see First Secretary Joseph Stalin as the murderous thug that he was.
Werth divides his history into seven sections. In the first,called 'Prelude to War,' he discusses the months and years that preceded Operation Barbarossa. To him, Hitler is correctly identified as the architect of the war. Werth analyzes what now seems painfully evident in hindsight--the plans for the invasion of Poland. He is less than truthful with Stalin's role in pre-1941 attempts at European hegemony. Werth writes, 'Throughout, Stalin recalls, the Soviet Union had pursued a policy of peace.' (page 40) In that same paragraph, he adds, 'The Soviet Union wanted peace; she wanted peace and business relations with all countries, so long as they did not impinge on her interests.' It is difficult to read this and not gasp in disbelief at Werth's naivete. Russia gobbled up Finland in 1940 even though the Finns did not 'impinge on her interests.' As for Poland, Werth rationalizes the Russian invasion after the Poles were already thoroughly beaten by the Nazis as 'the Soviet government could no longer be neutral in the face of reigning chaos in Poland or the fact that 'our blood-brothers, the Ukrainians and Belorussians are being abandoned to their fate.'' As Werth progresses in his history, he tends to become somewhat more even-handed, and it is in his middle chapters that his true stengths as a writer and historian are evident. He describes the siege of Leningrad and the assault on Moscow by the Wehrmacht in their bloody horror, even if he allows masses of details of lives lost to punctuate his claims.
Some pertinent analyses are missing. Nowhere does he blame Stalin for the great military purges of 1937 as one of the leading factors that ripped the heart out of the Soviet High Command and left Russia very nearly without competent leadership. Nowhere does he describe the fall of Berlin in 1945, for if he had done so, he would have had to explain the mass rape that was perpetrated on all Berlin women by elements of the Red Army. Nowhere does he even hint at the role the NKVD played as Stalin's personal execution squads, a group that undoubtedly killed more fellow Slavs with a bullet to the back of the neck than it did Germans in defense of the Soviet homeland. As I finished reading this massive history, I paused for a moment to read the publicity comments written on the front cover by William L. Shirer, author of RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, 'The result...is the best book we probably shall ever have in English on Russia at war.' Werth's book is useful in connecting the myriad of dots that was the war on the Eastern Front, but the best book? I don't think so. It is fatally flawed by his unabashed admiration for a thug who feared his own people more than he did his neighbors.
Rating:
Summary: Russia at War: Pappa Joe As Hero
Review: There are many books on the Russian-German conflict of the Second World War, but Alexander Werth's RUSSIA AT WAR is one of the longest, the most detailed, and the most comprehensive. It is impossible to read it and not get a sense of the masses of men and machines that bashed into each other for nearly four years. His use of detail, map, and breadth of coverage make his book a worthy complement to the bookshelf of war historians. There is, however, a flaw running throughout that nullifies much of the veracity and objectivity that ought to be intrinsic to a serious work of military history. That flaw is his pro-Soviet bias, in particular his refusal to see First Secretary Joseph Stalin as the murderous thug that he was.
Werth divides his history into seven sections. In the first,called 'Prelude to War,' he discusses the months and years that preceded Operation Barbarossa. To him, Hitler is correctly identified as the architect of the war. Werth analyzes what now seems painfully evident in hindsight--the plans for the invasion of Poland. He is less than truthful with Stalin's role in pre-1941 attempts at European hegemony. Werth writes, 'Throughout, Stalin recalls, the Soviet Union had pursued a policy of peace.' (page 40) In that same paragraph, he adds, 'The Soviet Union wanted peace; she wanted peace and business relations with all countries, so long as they did not impinge on her interests.' It is difficult to read this and not gasp in disbelief at Werth's naivete. Russia gobbled up Finland in 1940 even though the Finns did not 'impinge on her interests.' As for Poland, Werth rationalizes the Russian invasion after the Poles were already thoroughly beaten by the Nazis as 'the Soviet government could no longer be neutral in the face of reigning chaos in Poland or the fact that 'our blood-brothers, the Ukrainians and Belorussians are being abandoned to their fate.'' As Werth progresses in his history, he tends to become somewhat more even-handed, and it is in his middle chapters that his true stengths as a writer and historian are evident. He describes the siege of Leningrad and the assault on Moscow by the Wehrmacht in their bloody horror, even if he allows masses of details of lives lost to punctuate his claims.
Some pertinent analyses are missing. Nowhere does he blame Stalin for the great military purges of 1937 as one of the leading factors that ripped the heart out of the Soviet High Command and left Russia very nearly without competent leadership. Nowhere does he describe the fall of Berlin in 1945, for if he had done so, he would have had to explain the mass rape that was perpetrated on all Berlin women by elements of the Red Army. Nowhere does he even hint at the role the NKVD played as Stalin's personal execution squads, a group that undoubtedly killed more fellow Slavs with a bullet to the back of the neck than it did Germans in defense of the Soviet homeland. As I finished reading this massive history, I paused for a moment to read the publicity comments written on the front cover by William L. Shirer, author of RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, 'The result...is the best book we probably shall ever have in English on Russia at war.' Werth's book is useful in connecting the myriad of dots that was the war on the Eastern Front, but the best book? I don't think so. It is fatally flawed by his unabashed admiration for a thug who feared his own people more than he did his neighbors.
Rating:
Summary: The most objective book on WWII in English
Review: This book is by far the most objective book on WWII available in English and written by a Westerner. I was born in Russia and as most Russians was frustrated by the Western interpretation of the WWII and esp. Russia at WWII. Werth, fluent in Russian and born in Russia but who lived and worked in the UK, has this truly unique quality to present this war from two prospectives - Western and Russian. His Western objectivism is combined with a real understanding of what the Great Patriotic war meant for the USSR and its people. Alexander Werth is a brilliant narrator and he makes such a complex, factual, at times horrific history book, easy to read and understand.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: This is a pretty good book on the eastern front, but it has some flaws. He relies too heavily on Soviet sources, which he quotes at length. I think he can be called an apologist for Stalin in a few places. The maps are not very detailed and there are no photos. But the book has some real strengths too. The overall campaign comes through clearly, the sense of the scope and harshness of the war is well drawn, and there are a lots of revealing anecdotes. I would describe this as a journalistic account not a full scale history. But it is a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Monumental
Review: Years ago I got this book because I have always been interested in WWII. It was such an exspansive book that I kept putting off reading it. However, the more and more I read about aspects of the Eastern Front, the more I realized that I was missing the big picture. I realized that I needed to read "Russia at War" in order to put things in perspective. I took a deep breath and found myself very satisfactorily immersed in a fascinating look at a "win at any cost" war. There's a reason that the paperback was 941 pages (not counting bibliography and index); this was one long, drawn out war. The Western Front had action throughout the same period but, until D-Day, not much to match the scale of Russia's ongoing battle. This was a repeated theme in which Stalin kept insisting that the Western powers do SOMETHING to take some of the relentless pressure off of his armies. Details abound in "Russia at War" but this in not a book that bogs down in them. Leningrad, Stalingrad, and other battles are focussed upon but it is the whole story that I appreciated. That is, the whole of the military story. Werth, who was present throughout much of what he covered, does not seem to do well with the political perspective. However, neither did the Western powers at the time. After the war many jump shifted from allies to enemies without missing a beat but Werth seemed stuck in the "allies for victory" mindset. I've read 200 page books that I couldn't wait to get done with. This is a book that kept my rapt attention throughout thanks in part to the magnitude of the subject and in part to the skill of the author. It's not something to pick up on a rainy day. However, it IS something one should read it one wishes to know the whole picture of the War in Europe.
Rating:
Summary: Monumental
Review: Years ago I got this book because I have always been interested in WWII. It was such an exspansive book that I kept putting off reading it. However, the more and more I read about aspects of the Eastern Front, the more I realized that I was missing the big picture. I realized that I needed to read "Russia at War" in order to put things in perspective. I took a deep breath and found myself very satisfactorily immersed in a fascinating look at a "win at any cost" war. There's a reason that the paperback was 941 pages (not counting bibliography and index); this was one long, drawn out war. The Western Front had action throughout the same period but, until D-Day, not much to match the scale of Russia's ongoing battle. This was a repeated theme in which Stalin kept insisting that the Western powers do SOMETHING to take some of the relentless pressure off of his armies. Details abound in "Russia at War" but this in not a book that bogs down in them. Leningrad, Stalingrad, and other battles are focussed upon but it is the whole story that I appreciated. That is, the whole of the military story. Werth, who was present throughout much of what he covered, does not seem to do well with the political perspective. However, neither did the Western powers at the time. After the war many jump shifted from allies to enemies without missing a beat but Werth seemed stuck in the "allies for victory" mindset. I've read 200 page books that I couldn't wait to get done with. This is a book that kept my rapt attention throughout thanks in part to the magnitude of the subject and in part to the skill of the author. It's not something to pick up on a rainy day. However, it IS something one should read it one wishes to know the whole picture of the War in Europe.
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