Moscow 1941: a city and its people at war - Braithwaite, Rodric
Summary: A narrative history of the Battle of Moscow interweaves the personal reminiscences of ordinary men and women with portraits of Stalin and his generals to reveal the impact of the war on the daily life of the city's inhabitants. - (Baker & Taylor)
Booklist Reviews
The defense of the Soviet capital against the German invasion of 1941 is cast in this history against the ordinary Muscovite's call to arms. Braithwaite, formerly a British ambassador in Moscow in the late 1980s, focuses on firsthand experiences that capture the difficulties of living, both materially and psychologically, in the atmosphere of Stalinism. The German attack produced widespread dread, both for what the Nazis portended and, more immediately, the draconian reintensification of Stalin's terror. The dictator also appealed to patriotism, however, and the author probes the motivations of Moscow's students, workers, artists, and professionals in joining military units, confirming that not everyone signed up under the gun. Personal stories in the dozens fit into Braithwaite's chronicle of the German bid for the capital, which reached Moscow's outskirts and provoked panic before being repulsed at horrendous cost in December 1941. Conversantly connected to his interviewees and to documentary sources, Braithwaite delivers a tragically human Moscow of 1941, victorious but traumatized. ((Reviewed September 1, 2006)) Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews
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