Subjects:  1. 1945-    2. Cold War    3. Foreign relations    4. History - Military / War    5. International Relations - General    6. Military - Nuclear Warfare    7. Nuclear Energy    8. Political Science    9. Politics/International Relations    10. United States    11. World politics    12. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    13. Europe    14. European history: postwar, from c 1945 -    15. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    16. History / General    17. History, World | Modern    18. International relations    19. Postwar period, 1945 to c 2000    20. USA    21. War & defence operations   

Reviews (18)

Very interesting read
Having read another book about a German sniper which proved to be absolutely fictional I was curious about this release. I have a huge collection of WWII memories and am happy about any books covering the German side. The story told is much different from too many "heroic" stories of the good G.I.s bragging about killing tons of bad "Krauts" - and we know what true WWII veterans say about people that tell about their "kills" (usually these people haven't seen any action at all). In fact, it is shocking to see how some readers/authors still consider all the German soldiers to be nazis and considering Soviet atrocities to be merely German propaganda. For these people this book will come as a revelation and a gripping account of a WWII veteran who can tell a gripping story without having to mention the most gruesome details of what an enemy looked like when he was shot.

Waste of time and money
There is surprisingly not much of sniping in the memoirs.
Great read
Sniper on the Eastern Front is one of the most astonishing World War II books I have read so far. This is a must read for any World War II freak. Sepp Allerberger is reliving his vivid memories in great detail throughout this book. It is fascinating to experience the life of a German sniper during World War II. We are so used to reading about the invasion of Normandy and the allied forces demolishing the German Wehrmacht, that we don't consider the other side of the story. This book manifests the struggle for survival and retreat of Sepp Allerberger's unit on the eastern front. Once you pick this book up you can't put it down. Great read! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. Military    4. Military - World War II    5. Military Science    6. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    7. History / Military / World War II    8. Land forces & warfare    9. Second World War, 1939-1945    10. True stories: Second World War   

Reviews (5)

Publisher's Weekly Reviewer is off the mark
The Publisher's Weekly Reviewer is off the mark in his closing statement that 70 percent of the Russian population voted for Putin.S/he has no clue about the true political situation in Russia.During elections, competing political parties have no chance in gaining votes due to the Kremlin's firm grip on campaign activities.What the Kremlin wants is what the Russian people get.Does this reviewer really think the elctions are free and fair and that 70 percent is anything close to an accurate figure?There is no real democracy in Russia, and the majority of voters are so impoverished economically and uneducated (through no fault of their own) that when it comes to elections that you can't really expect them understand how to vote when they can't even buy medicine or food.Politkovskaya was murdered today.Sure her work was often over-emotional and perhaps it isn't brilliant in translation, but she was one of the few brave journalists to tackle the tough issues and to not self-edit.Her death follows that of Starvoitova, Gongadze (Ukraine), Khlebnikov and countless other post-Soviet journalists.Do some homework next time you write a book review.
Anna is Dead; Does That Convince the "Publishers Weekly" Reviewer?
Or is that just more "anecdotal" evidence?
This book has the wrong title
Readers who buy this book with the hope of learning about the overall situation in Putin's Russia, as the title promises, will be sorely disappointed.It's really just an author rant about soldier abuse in Russia's military today - a serious human problem, to be sure, but a very small slice of what a Western reader would want to know about this vast and complicated country.And even on the narrow subject the author actually addresses, the level of writing and analysis is little above a blog posting. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1952-    2. 1991-    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. Government - International    5. History - General History    6. Modern - 21st Century    7. Political Freedom & Security - General    8. Political Science    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics and government    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Post-Communism    13. Presidents & Heads of State    14. Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich,    15. Russia (Federation)    16. Russia - History    17. Social conditions   

Reviews (6)

Covers Much More than the Title indicates
I thoroughly agree with Mr. Dougherty's enthusiastic reader review. The authors have put together a virtual encyclopedia on modern sub design and construction with real insight into what the subs were intended to do, and how some politicians and bureaucrats sabotaged the projects. I found particularly illuminating how each side of the Soviet-US conflict used the records and existing prototypes of Nazi Germany's U-Boat experiments. Baker's line drawings and diagrams are quite helpful in visualizing the boats, as are the ample photos of the real subs and scale models. This is a book to which I will return again and again whenever there is some news item about
Amazing Material
This material is really good... An impressive source of information about de development process of US and Soviet submarine.This work left behind the traditional american military propaganda and let us know the very good machines the soviet had.I highly recommend it...

A lok behind the scene
This is an excellent book! Full of detailed references it is the first book on early to modern submarines that gives us a look behind the scene. It explains very well the important role the submarines played during the cold war. We learn how design decisions were made in the U.S. as well as the Soviet Union, how such decisions were implemented, and we learn that rather few personalities played a very decisive role on both sides of the iron curtain. Near the end of the cold war, both, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were struggling with the problem of having to design a new generation of submarines which however started to be excessively expensive to build. Only the very knowledgeable reader may be missing here and there a more detailed account concerning "the design and construction" issues. It is clear that the authors have collected more information on these questions than what they were able to put in a single volume of reasonable size. But then this was probably also not their main goal, and the title of the book is exactly right: this is information about the cold war, on the people who fought this war, their political views and the way these views influenced the construction of the submarines they built to fight this war. Truly interesting. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cold War    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: World    5. Military - Naval    6. Military Science    7. Modern - 20th Century/Nuclear Age    8. Soviet Union    9. Submarines (Ships)    10. United States    11. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    12. History / Military / Naval    13. Military vehicles    14. Naval forces & warfare    15. USA   

Reviews (7)

Biased?!!!
Yes, it is a shock therapy book. It is filled with some of the most cruel and bloody imagery. But this shock therapy is needed, both in Russia and in the West. Because that imagery is not a figment of somebody's imagination nor is it some particularly violent page of the world history book long turned over and forgotten. It's reality. It's happening right now, right at this moment. Even now, 3 years since the book's last interview with Akhmed Zakaev took place. And virtually nobody outside of Chechnya has a good idea what is going on there.
Flawed But Few Alternatives
In looking for substantive reporting on the Chechnya conlict, one quickly finds that there is simply not much out there of note.Titles tend to range from academic histories of the region to cursory reporting (though in the last year or so, this seems to be changing a bit).It was with this in mind that I picked up this book.While the author clearly has invested her time and labor in the region, the book does not have any coherent narrative flow and doesn't provide much background or context for the events being covered.Also, one gets the sense that the translation may be much too literal, losing the author's passion and intended meanings in the process.It is a disciplined read, but given the paucity of alternatives, probably worth the effort if you are interested in the conflict and the region.

Propoganda
Expecting to learn the truth about the Chechen War from Anna Politkovskaya is like expecting to learn the truth about the Iraq War from Michael Moore. Very biased and propogandic account by a Liberal reporter who has claimed to want to be the "Russian Michael Moore." Anna tries to make excuses for the terrorist acts committed by Chechen Jihadists. Too much has happened since she wrote this book, and there is no sympathy for Wahabbi terrorists who strap suicide belts on brainwashed women and send them into restaurants, subways, concerts, airplanes, and kindergardens. If you want to know the real facts about Chechnya, read a book by an American counter-terrorist expert, Wolves of Islam. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chechnia (Russia)    2. Chechnëiìa (Russia)    3. Civil War, 1994-    4. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    5. General    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Journalists    10. Personal narratives, Russian    11. Press coverage    12. Revolutionary    13. Chechnya    14. European history: from c 1900 -    15. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)    16. Interdisciplinary Studies    17. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    18. Warfare & Defence   

Reviews (32)

The perfect concise history of the Cold War
This book is a masterpiece of what Gaddis once termed "lumping," or the search for overall themes and trends in history.The only negative thing that could possibly be said is that The Cold War is not an in-depth look at a conflict full of details to explore.But those who are reading this book for such an account are missing the point entirely.Gaddis explicitly set out to write a short, thematic, but still informative book on his area of expertise, and he has done so without fault.
Thumbs up for The Cold War
A very concise view of the developments that lead up to and through the Cold War.It is a book designed for those of us interested in the period without a need for the depth that academics or professional historians would need.

Excellent thematic overview of the Cold War -- does not pretend to be a comprehensive history
When reading a work of history, one should always read the author's preface.With luck, the author has done more than merely thank the dozens of vital souls who helped make the book possible but do not share in the royalties.The author will tell you the purpose behind the book's writing -- "this is the book I wanted to write."
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Subjects:  1. 1945-1989    2. 20th Century World History    3. Cold War    4. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. International Relations (Specific Aspects)    9. Modern - 20th Century    10. Modern - 20th Century/Nuclear Age    11. United States - 20th Century (1945 to 2000)    12. World politics    13. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)   

Reviews (116)

Amazing how few know Charlie Wilson!
It's amazing to me how few Americans have even heard of Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson (should I mention he was a Democrat!). I myself only had a vague idea of his role in the financing of the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. George Crile, III, brings his story, and that of Gust L. Avrakotos, died a few years back at 67, the CIA agent in charge of the largest covert operation in CIA history--the arming of Afghani tribesmen during their 1980s guerrilla war--boldly to life. As entertaining as it is informative, every educated being on the planet should read this book to gain a better understanding of what exactly goes on behind the scenes as one crisis after another shapes the world we live in. Sadly, Mr. Crile died on May 15, 2006, of pancreatic cancer.

Bringing Down the Evil Empire
I, for one, don't believe that history is rewritten.I believe that history is told, either truthfully or not, and told again and again.Everyone who writes history does so with the facts at their disposal, and distance allows for wider views.It is for this reason that I believe Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile may be the best Afghan War history to date.This is the Afghan War pitting the Freedom Fighters against the Red Army and the 80's occupation.This is the Afghan War, financed by joint funds from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, with weapon arrangements and tactical training as well as strategic planning from the C.I.A.
Entertaining, Historical and Symbolic of our current predicament
This book gives one an excellent historical account of one of the most entertaining and important spy stories of our time. It's almost unbelievable that it's not fiction. It's also particularly relevant as it's directly connected to 9/11 and our current troubles in the Middle East.
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Subjects:  1. Afghanistan    2. American military assistance    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Military    6. Military - General    7. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    8. Military assistance, American    9. Political Freedom & Security - Intelligence    10. Secret service    11. Soviet occupation, 1979-1989   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (110)

Shared values vs Shared interests.US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the rise of Radical Islamic Terrorism
One of the best books written about the emergence of religion based terrorism directed against several causes and several societies.
Superlative History of Today's 'Great Game' And How It Led to 9/11
In the 19th century, the British and Russian empires played what Rudyard Kipling called the 'Great Game' in southwest Asia: an intriguing blend of two-faced Machiavellian diplomacy, manipulation of tribes north of the Indian subcontinent, and constant, savage warfare.
What an unlucky country
This is a superb book and at 738 pages it is a long read and full of information and facts but if the reader can stick it out it is well worth it. Plenty of notes and an impressive bibliography ensure the reader it has been well researched.
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Subjects:  1. 1989-2001    2. Afghanistan    3. Asia - Central Asia    4. Central Intelligence Agency    5. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Middle East - General    10. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    11. Soviet occupation, 1979-1989    12. United States    13. United States.    14. History / Middle East   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: World    5. Military - World War II    6. Moscow, Battle of, Moscow, Russia, 1941-1942    7. Russia - History - 1917 To 1991    8. Soviet Union    9. World War II - Europe    10. History / Military / World War II   

Reviews (24)

Parents & law enforcement must read this book
Terror at Beslan by John Giduck is an absolute must read by anyone who has a child in school and by anyone who is in law enforcement that may need to respond to such an incident. This book is heart wrenching and difficult to read but this must not prevent you from gaining the needed knowledge that this book provides.
Schools in danger
I am in middle school so when I read this book, all I could think about was it can happen here! In any school in America, like it happened in Beslan. When I read about the kids, how the terrorists killed the older boys and raped the teenage girls, and terrorized the little ones, I can feel it along with them and imagine if it were my own school. I hope our police and soldiers are training as Mr. John Giduck tells how in this book. But I also was interested to learn how I can protect my own self, such as planning in advance, being aware, and taking martial arts. (I'm in karate.) At Beslan, fear was the way the terrorists controlled the crowd. Some kids and teachers managed to hide or escape, and others managed to survive. I just want to say God Bless the Alpha and Vympel soldiers who risked their lives and some gave their lives for the children. I know our soldiers and police will be inspired by this book. You should also check out Archangel's website and check out the training schedules and also, the cool things they have for sale, besides this book. To Mr. John Giduck, I wish I lived near your dojo, because I would love to learn the Russian Hand to Hand Combat Training, and take the Archangel anti-terrorism course for women! This book was so sad and horrible but so important to read for kids and teachers, police and parents.

Exposes the common denominator
Although I read this macabre but critically important book more than a year ago, I have put off reviewing it that long because I just could not again face the gruesome realities it contains. But a few weeks after the July 10 death of Russia's Osama bin Laden, the Naqshabandi Sufi murderer, Shamil Basayev, there is no longer any excuse.
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Subjects:  1. Beslan    2. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Modern - 21st Century    7. Prevention    8. Russia (Federation)    9. Safety measures    10. Schools    11. Terrorism    12. United States   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (9)

Russian Muckraking
This is a hard book to judge. In the first place, it's a collection of articles for what the author refers to as a newspaper, though the "New Gazette" appears to publish biweekly. This leads to some jarring articles next to one another: the first article denounces officials involved in the identification of the corpses of Russian soldiers killed in the first Chechen War 1994-6, and the second article, immediately following, denounces the first one as biased and reverses all of its statements. It's a bit strange.
Good overview
I have to disagree to some degree with those who say this is a *completely* biased piece.I also have suspicions that those who trash this work have not read it in it's entirety, if at all.Anna is certainly an advocate for the Chechen people, but she also attempts to show, albeit in small bits, the human side of Russian troops.Her writing is vivid, impassioned, but sometimes choppy.It can be difficult to read sometimes, but that may be the translation.I'm not sure how the September 11th attacks should obscure any opinions in favor of Chechen independence.Those views expressed appear to be shallow, with a blind, "follow the leader" approach.This shouldn't be an issue where you chant, "go team!"--Why not consider both sides?If you go to www.hrw.org there are plenty accounts of Russian abuse of Chechens, to be fair there is also abuse from Chechen fighters on civilians.This is a dirty war because it is corrupt on all sides.You can also find numerous other articles, not just from Politkovskaya, that echo the same problems with corruption, human rights abuses, etc.Steven Lee Myers of the New York Times is also a good source.Why is it so unfathomable that soldiers might commit abuses, be xenophobic, rape, etc.What about Elza Kungayeva's rapist?He was a high ranking colonel.Even though her rape was ommitted from her autopsy report and he was never actually convicted of rape, he still murdered her.Is that okay?Is that fair or right?Is that not terrorism at it's finest? To form a solid opinion you really need to consider all sides; you need to look at the root problems, it isn't a simple issue.---And it's obvious that it cannot be resolved through military measures alone.There really has to be some considerate discussion.(Putin has blasted that idea so I don't think it will happen.)And you cannot put blinders up and think that abuse is impossible, or even okay.It's too easy to reduce the Chechens to a nation of terrorists.

An Interesting Story yet Too Biased for Comfort
This book was somewhat of a disapointment. This is largely due to it's obviously biased viewpoints. However, what really bothered me was its lack of real information. The story was basically a compilation of dramatic stories all stressing how inhumane or heartless the Russian soldiers were and how ignorant westerners are, which would have been okay had that not been the only thing Politkovskaya said throughout the book.
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Subjects:  1. Chechnia (Russia)    2. Chechnëiìa    3. Civil War, 1994-    4. Current Affairs    5. Government - Comparative    6. History    7. History & Theory - General    8. Media Studies    9. Political    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Politkovskaia, Anna    13. Politkovskaëiìa, Anna    14. Press coverage    15. Russia (Federation)    16. Travel    17. Armed conflict    18. CHECHNIA (RUSSIA)_HISTORY_CIVIL WAR, 1994-    19. Chechnia    20. Chechnya    21. European history: postwar, from c 1945 -    22. History / General    23. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)    24. Journeys    25. Other prose: from c 1900 -    26. Politkovskaya, Anna    27. c 1990 to c 2000   

Reviews (3)

A remarkable and exceptional book
When I read Charles Gati's prize winning "Hungary and the Soviet Bloc," I then thought that he had written the last and best word on our understanding of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 during the Cold War. Then, unexpectedly, several years later the Berlin Wall came down, Hungary and the USSR's East European satellites regained independence, and heretofore closed Cold War archives began to open. From archives in Budapest and Moscow as well as from dozens of interviews with participants of '56 both East and West, Professor Gati has written a classic of Cold War history and analysis which arguably will become the definitive account of the multi-sided, tragic events of 1956 in Hungary. No stone has been left unturned -- the author has read the minutes of the Politburo meetings in the Soviet Union and Hungary, as well as the interrogation and trial transcripts from the last days before his execution of Imre Nagy, former Prime Minister of Hungary. This fluently written, masterfully organized, and exeptionally well integrated small volume deserves to sit on the Cold War history shelf along with Allison's "Essence of Decision," the study of another major event of the era, the Cuban Missile Crisis.
A HumanJourney
Take the experts' word that this study is a reliable, extensive, and insightful account of the 1956 Hungarian Revolt. What strikes me is the personal element. We go from the recollections of a young, unsophisticated journalist of 22, caught in the tide of momentous events he does not understand, to the retrospection of a highly sophisticated scholar revisiting those events and doing his very best to look behind history's curtain to resolve their meaning. It is a gripping, honest, and personal account, rendered with the binocularity of five decades of study. A century from now, this will still be the book to read, not just for the facts but also for the feel of one of the 20th century's signal struggles.

First rate history
Gati's definitive account of the Hungarian revolution and the American role in it reads like a LeCarre novel with documentation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - General    2. Europe - Austria & Hungary    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. Foreign relations    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Hungary    9. Revolution, 1956    10. Revolutionary    11. Soviet Union    12. United States    13. European history: postwar, from c 1945 -    14. Revolutions & coups    15. c 1945 to c 1960   

Reviews (9)

The Bear Went over the Mountain
To capture the lessons their tactical leaders learned in Afghanistan & to explain the change in tactics that followed, the Frunze Military Academy in Russia compiled this book for their command & general staff combat arms officers. The lessons are valuable not just for Russian officers, but for the tactical training of platoon, company & battalion leaders of any nation likely to engage in conflicts involving civil war, guerrilla forces & rough terrain. This is a book dealing with the starkest features of the unforgiving landscape of tactical combat: casualties & death, adaptation, & survival. Provides an intimate look at the boring but brutal business of counterinsurgency. Maps.

Tactically good but not so exciting
Being in afghanistan I ordered a few books to learn where I was and this one was a great tacitcal book, I could overlfy some places this book talked about and point out areas well but as for the average reader, its black adn white, no cool photos and no real exciting stories.Its more of a pure military history of battle book.

Tactically good but not so exciting
Being in afghanistan I ordered a few books to learn where I was and this one was a great tacitcal book, I could overlfy some places this book talked about and point out areas well but as for the average reader, its black adn white, no cool photos and no real exciting stories.Its more of a pure military history of battle book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. History    3. Military    4. Military - Other    5. Military - Strategy   

Reviews (8)

All time favorite
I've had this book for years and it's one of my all time favorites- a must read, insightful. Beautiful- exquisiteillustrations.

Well worth the price
I first read this magnificent tome on Russian history and culture in 1997.As it was part of a history class in college, the first read was a bit of a drag...page after page of description concerning the minutia of Russian life: clothes, churches, meals, religious & superstitious rituals, architecture, commerce, political strife, and so on.Really, with the whirl of the Social Circus of that college year, trudging through all this obscure information brought me no end of grief and silent lamentation!To think of all that time I could have been out with friends looking to score whatever cheap release was on hand or burning inside...spent instead sludging through *detailed history*! Priceless
I bought this book in the early 80's and absolutely loved it.I recommended it to friends who were going to spend a year in Russia.They took it with them and shared it with their Russian friends, who copiedwhole chapters by hand -- all the while bemoaning the loss of so much oftheir rich, pre-revolutionary culture. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    2. Former Soviet Republics    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World   

Reviews (15)

Life And Fate At The Front
A treasure-trove of wartime observations from the unbelievably well-traveled and dangerously honest Soviet war correspondent Vasily Grossman.Editor Anthony Beevor has done a great job cherry-picking through these notebooks, which are complete except for one section covering the first part of the battle of Stalingrad.Readers familiar with the political climate of the Soviet Union will gulp in trepidation at some of Grossman's notes--if these had fallen into the hands of the NKVD, he would have been fired, jailed, or worse.
Invaluable firsthand accounts ofthe Soviet side of WWII
I'm glad this writing survived to see translation; it provides insight into many facets of the Soviet Union in WWII.
A Jewish Soviet Newspaper Correspondent on the Front Lines
Vasily Grossman's "A Writer at War" is a firsthand account by a Soviet newspaper correspondent of life with the Red Army on the Eastern Front. There are no punches pulled here and Grossman vividly describes the absolutely catastrophic impact Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union on June 1941 had on the Red Army. In the first six months of the war the old Red Army was virtually annihilated by the German Wehrmacht, suffering more than five million casualties, including some 3.3 million Soviet soldiers captured. In all, more than 177 Soviet divisions were lost. Grossman describes the panic, cowardice, desertion, treason and just plain command incompetence as the Red Army struggles to escape its attackers.