Product Description

There have been many individual accounts of particular moments in the vicious war between the Nazi regime and the Soviet behemoth, but none which sets out to tell the full and dreadful story of that absolute war: absolute because both sides aimed to 'exterminate the opponent, to destroy his political existence' and total because it was fought by all elements of society, not simply the armed forces, but civilians - men, women, children - too. Chris Bellamy, Professor of Military Science at Cranfield University, is one of the world's leading experts on this subject and has been working on this book for almost a decade. It benefits from his remarkable insight into strategic issues as well as exhaustive research in hitherto unopened Russian archives. It is the definitive study of what the Soviets called - and what their fifteen successor states still call - the Great Patriotic War.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102381 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 650 pages

About the Author
Christopher Bellamy has been Professor of Military Science and Doctrine and Director of the Security Studies Institute, Cranfield University since 1997. Until then he was Defence Correspondent of the Independent, reporting from Saudi Arabia and Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, from south-east Turkey and northern Iraq during the Kurdish refugee crisis, from Bosnia many times between 1992 and 1997 and from Chechnya in January 1995. He was shortlisted for foreign reporter of the year in the 1996 British Press Awards. He was Associate Editor of, and a principal contributor to, the Oxford Companion to Military History and is a regular press and broadcast commentator on modern security and strategy issues.

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Great Reading
This book is not an overview of the totality of WWII rather it remains steadfastly focused on the Russian-German war that took place during WWII. It is titled 'Absolute War' due to the intense political, ideological, social, and militaristic differences between the two combatants. The war was an 'absolute war' in that it was an extremely violent war to the very end, one in which neither side was willing to concede defeat, at all costs.

The book starts with the pact between the two powers, regarding the partition of Poland, and it picks up the story from there. Obviously the details are extensive and the battles on Soviet soil are among the most heinous and bloody in the history of humanity. The topics covered range from the militaristic blueprints, the savagery of the war, the social effects, and the political ramifications of the outcomes. There are several different facets that make up a war of this scale and the research in this book does a great job in covering all the main topics. If you are at all interested in this major aspect of WWII, arguably the most important war within the totality of WWII, then pick up this book. It is a great overview and the research is remarkable.