The Soviet Military Encyclopedia. 4 Vols. Abridged English language ed.

Had this work only appeared five years ago, it would have won immediate acclaim for its utility to non-Russian-speaking students of military affairs. Times change. The articles, which are well indexed but vary in quality, remind the reader simultaneously of the sophistication of Soviet military thought and its stiffness and obsolescence, both manifested by the U.S.S.R. in its curiously muscle-bound dotage. One sympathizes with the authors, who have clearly labored hard and long on a topic that now appears to be chiefly of historical interest.