Books
by Anthony Beevor
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Berlin |
Covering Berlin's fall, Berlin takes up where Beevor's earlier Stalingrad (bwl 4) left off. His technique is to piece together the story through many first hand accounts. There is plenty here to show the pitiless cruelty of total war (especially the full and previously under-documented extent of rape committed by the Russian army) but ultimately it is the rare but incredible examples of bravery and decency under extreme conditions that I took away from this remarkable book.
(Mark Baker - bwl 16 December 2002) |
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Berlin, the Downfall 1945 |
Reviewed in BWL back in 2002 this book has only now come to my attention. Timely? Beevor compellingly combines military history with personal accounts, weaving a complex tapestry of Germany during the last six months of WWII. Rape, destruction, columns of refugees and of course, uncountable deaths. Horribly familiar? What I ask is how can it be that the deranged mentality of one man (Hitler, Stalin, Mao, now Putin) plunges millions into appalling suffering? No answer expected!
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 107 Winter 2023) |
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Stalingrad |
Not my normal bedside read, but I found this book fascinating and in places un-put-downable. It is an incredibly compelling and moving account of the war at Stalingrad, made all the more interesting by the intimate accounts of the lives of the soldiers and civilians trapped there for the duration.
(James Baker - bwl 4 July 2000) |
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The Mystery of Olga Chekhova |
This is an enthralling, tragic and all too real biography of the niece of Anton Chekhov's wife, who like her aunt became an actress. In 1920 she fled Moscow for Berlin, becoming closely associated with Hitler, but - in exchange for her family joining her - she was recruited by her brother to work for Soviet intelligence. In Beevor's hands, the background of her story becomes alive and menacing, embracing revolution, civil war, Hitler's rise, Stalin's terror and the aftermath right up to the present day.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 57 Summer 2010) |
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The Second World War |
Those familiar with Beevor's writing, especially his Stalingrad (bwl 4), won't be surprised at his mastering the gigantic task of recounting the course of WW II, from the start to finish of the European conflagration, concluding with Hiroshima and the Japanese Emperor conceding defeat. A brutal, ugly story of almost unimaginable cruelty and suffering laced with bravery, courage and sacrifice. Beevor's lucid language makes this book essential reading for anyone who wants to unravel and absorb those events nearly 80 years later.
(James Baker - bwl 74 Autumn 2014) |
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