There's great reading in books like these. Not only are they true historical, but written like good 'Boys Own' stories (novels). So you learn as you read and they're an easy read.
There's a few writers like the great Max Hastings, Simon Sebag and recently Sinclair McKay who write like this, but Beevor's 'Stalingrad' was probably the one that defined the genre.
1998 and it's about Operation Barbarossa, the 1941 German invasion of Russia and how Hitler so nearly got it right. His stunning start to the invasion, the hold up at Stalingrad and his ultimate defeat by fighting on two fronts. But it was a close call.
In a way, it puts today's suffering into some perspective - and a view of the apocalypse. All of it is not good.
One is left wondering was it really D-Day that ended the war or the Russians invasion into Germany? The Russians lost about 24 million in the war, the Americans about 400,000 so the scale and the crimes, in this book are beyond belief.
If you're looking for a good read, here you are.
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