Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad

Wow. That is all I can say. Wow.

The human carnage that occurred during the Eastern campaign with Russia during WWII was, of course, something I heard about, but it was not something I had learned from the various accounts presented in Enemy at the Gates. I had always known about the battle of Stalingrad, and how it turned back the German war machine, as previously invincible Hitler and his blitzkrieg seemed nearly unstoppable. I had seen documentaries, and even the film that this book is named after, but the idea of the brutality that both people and mother nature had on those who participated in this event blows me away after reading this book.

And that is the greatest strength of this text: the human stories we experience. If you are looking for a book that describes the exact troop numbers, and the weapons used with the tactics developed by each army, then this is not the book for you. Instead, you will find the stories on both sides of the conflict, and those people caught in the middle, and in my opinion, the text is all the better for it. We get to see the desperate hope, and in some cases dejection , the Russian have as the German war machine seems to steam roll any resistance in its path. We see the euphoria and overconfidence slowly turn into despair as the Germans slowly realize that they have made a terrible mistake in trying to take on too much too fast at the orders of a man with horrible tactical skills, and a very bad mustache. We also see the small glimmer of hope that both sides try to indulge in, as they attempt to survive amidst the chaos and confusion of a city under siege. Many of these stories are excellently well written and I know are ones I will use for first hand accounts with my students.

As for negatives, I honestly have to hunt to find any. One problem for the reader may be the fact that this book is chronically based, not by person, so the narrative often jumps from person to person, so keeping track of them can become a bit daunting after awhile. Also, it can be a bit depressing, reading about people starving to death, or being bombed, or something else. I'd just recommended to do something for fun in between reading sessions.

In either case, this book was just excellent. Not perhaps in the same way as something written by David McCullough, perhaps, but this is a very different beast. This is essentially a story of the human condition that tugs at the heartstrings, and makes the reader rethink the idea of the hell of what the Russians call The Great Patriotic War. This is one book that I know I'll remember for a long time. I give it a five out of five.

Who wants it more?