A real tour de force, unflinching in its depiction of the German invasion of Russia in 1941 and the Soviet fightback from 1943 onwards. Grossman gives a considered, personal and ultimately one of the most captivating accounts of life inside the Soviet Union during the Second World War and the defining conflict of the war. His ability to give you the big picture as well as the human cost of this brutal conflict makes him unique. A must read for anyone interested in the Second World War.