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Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942-1943

Antony Beevor
Reviewed by By Eliot A. Cohen
November/December 1998
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Antony Beevor
Viking
1998
512 pp.
$35.00

Some viewers of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan seemed surprised by the horrors of D-Day as depicted in the film. This book chronicles a titanic battle of far longer duration, more hideous aspect, and perhaps equally decisive importance. In a masterly work of military history, the author covers everything from the strategic considerations shaping Hitler's and Stalin's decision-making to the urban battles of snipers and small assault teams. Compellingly written, impeccably researched in both Russian and German archives, this is an exceptional work of military history.

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