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WWII #3
Last Citadel: A Novel of the Battle of Kursk
One nation taking a desperate gamble of war.
Another fighting for survival.
Two armies locked in a bloody cataclysm that will decide history. . .
David L. Robbins has won widespread acclaim for his powerful and splendidly researched novels of World War II. Now he casts his brilliant vision on one of the most terrifying--and most crucial--battles of the the Battle of Kursk, Hitler’s desperate gamble to defeat Russia, in the final German offensive on the eastern front.
Last Citadel
Spring 1943. In the west, Germany strengthens its choke hold on France. To the south, an Allied invasion looms imminent. But the greatest threat to Hitler’s dream of a Thousand Year Reich lies east, where his forces are pitted in a death match with a Russian enemy willing to pay any price to defend the motherland. Hitler rolls the dice, hurling his best SS forces and his fearsome new weapon, the Mark VI Tiger tank, in a last-ditch summer offensive, code-named Citadel.
The Red Army around Kursk is a sprawling array of infantry, armor, fighter planes, and bombers. Among them is an intrepid group of women flying antiquated biplanes; they swoop over the Germans in the dark, earning their nickname, “Night Witches.” On the ground, Private Dimitri Berko gallops his tank, the Red Army’s lithe little T-34, like a Cossack steed. In the turret above Dimitri rides his son, Valya, a Communist sergeant who issues his father orders while the war widens the gulf between them. In the skies, Dimitri’s daughter, Katya, flies with the Night Witches, until she joins a ferocious band of partisans in the forests around Kursk. Like Russia itself, the Berko family is suffering the fury and devastation of history’s most titanic tank battle while fighting to preserve what is sacred–their land, their lives, and each other–as Hitler flings against them his most potent armed force.
Inexorable and devastating, a company of Mark VI Tiger tanks is commanded by one extraordinary SS officer, a Spaniard known as la Daga, the Dagger. He’d suffered a terrible wound at the hands of the now he has returned with a cold fury to exact his revenge. And above it all, one quiet man makes his own plan to bring Citadel crashing down and reshape the fate of the world.
A remarkable story of men and arms, loyalty and betrayal, Last Citadel propels us into the claustrophobic confines of a tank in combat, into the tension of guerrilla tactics, and across the smoking charnel of one of history’s greatest battlefields. Panoramic, authentic, and unforgettable, it reverberates long after the last cannon sounds.
Another fighting for survival.
Two armies locked in a bloody cataclysm that will decide history. . .
David L. Robbins has won widespread acclaim for his powerful and splendidly researched novels of World War II. Now he casts his brilliant vision on one of the most terrifying--and most crucial--battles of the the Battle of Kursk, Hitler’s desperate gamble to defeat Russia, in the final German offensive on the eastern front.
Last Citadel
Spring 1943. In the west, Germany strengthens its choke hold on France. To the south, an Allied invasion looms imminent. But the greatest threat to Hitler’s dream of a Thousand Year Reich lies east, where his forces are pitted in a death match with a Russian enemy willing to pay any price to defend the motherland. Hitler rolls the dice, hurling his best SS forces and his fearsome new weapon, the Mark VI Tiger tank, in a last-ditch summer offensive, code-named Citadel.
The Red Army around Kursk is a sprawling array of infantry, armor, fighter planes, and bombers. Among them is an intrepid group of women flying antiquated biplanes; they swoop over the Germans in the dark, earning their nickname, “Night Witches.” On the ground, Private Dimitri Berko gallops his tank, the Red Army’s lithe little T-34, like a Cossack steed. In the turret above Dimitri rides his son, Valya, a Communist sergeant who issues his father orders while the war widens the gulf between them. In the skies, Dimitri’s daughter, Katya, flies with the Night Witches, until she joins a ferocious band of partisans in the forests around Kursk. Like Russia itself, the Berko family is suffering the fury and devastation of history’s most titanic tank battle while fighting to preserve what is sacred–their land, their lives, and each other–as Hitler flings against them his most potent armed force.
Inexorable and devastating, a company of Mark VI Tiger tanks is commanded by one extraordinary SS officer, a Spaniard known as la Daga, the Dagger. He’d suffered a terrible wound at the hands of the now he has returned with a cold fury to exact his revenge. And above it all, one quiet man makes his own plan to bring Citadel crashing down and reshape the fate of the world.
A remarkable story of men and arms, loyalty and betrayal, Last Citadel propels us into the claustrophobic confines of a tank in combat, into the tension of guerrilla tactics, and across the smoking charnel of one of history’s greatest battlefields. Panoramic, authentic, and unforgettable, it reverberates long after the last cannon sounds.
527 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 26, 2003
89 people are currently reading
652 people want to read
About the author
David L. Robbins
40 books141 followersDavid L. Robbins was born in Richmond, Virginia, on March 10, 1954. He grew up in Sandston, a small town east of Richmond out by the airport; his father was among the first to sit behind the new radar scope in the air traffic control tower. Both his parents, Sam and Carol, were veterans of WWII. Sam saw action in the Pacific, especially at Pearl Harbor.
In 1976, David graduated with a B.A. in Theater and Speech from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Having little actual theatrical talent, he didn't know what to do for a living. David decided to attend what he calls the “great catch-basin of unfocused over-achievers”: law school. He received his Juris Doctorate at William and Mary in 1980, then practiced environmental law in Columbia, S.C. for precisely a year (his father demanded back the money for law school if David practiced for less than one year – he quit two weeks before the anniversary but got Sam to agree that the two weeks' vacation David had accumulated could be included). David decided to attend Psychology school, having an affinity for people's stories and a fascination with woe. However, while waiting for admisison in 1981, he began a successful freelance writing career. He began writing fiction in 1997, and has since published twelve novels. He's currently working on the thirteenth, the third in his U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen series, as well as several scripts for the stage and screen. He has won awards for his essays and screenplays, and has had three stage plays produced.
David is an accomplished guitarist, studying the works of James Taylor and Latin classical. At six feet six inches tall, he stays active with his sailboat, shooting sporting clays, weightlifting, traveling to research his novels. He is the founder of the James River Writers (Jamesriverwriters.org) a non-profit group in his hometown of Richmond that helps aspiring writers and students work and learn together as a writing community. He also co-founded The Podium Foundation (thepodiumfoundation.org), a non-profit which brings writing and critical reasoning programs to the students of Richmond’s city high schools, as well as support programs for city educators. He also teaches advanced creative writing as a visiting professor at Virginia Commonwealth University's Honors College. David resides in Richmond, near the James River.
In 1976, David graduated with a B.A. in Theater and Speech from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Having little actual theatrical talent, he didn't know what to do for a living. David decided to attend what he calls the “great catch-basin of unfocused over-achievers”: law school. He received his Juris Doctorate at William and Mary in 1980, then practiced environmental law in Columbia, S.C. for precisely a year (his father demanded back the money for law school if David practiced for less than one year – he quit two weeks before the anniversary but got Sam to agree that the two weeks' vacation David had accumulated could be included). David decided to attend Psychology school, having an affinity for people's stories and a fascination with woe. However, while waiting for admisison in 1981, he began a successful freelance writing career. He began writing fiction in 1997, and has since published twelve novels. He's currently working on the thirteenth, the third in his U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen series, as well as several scripts for the stage and screen. He has won awards for his essays and screenplays, and has had three stage plays produced.
David is an accomplished guitarist, studying the works of James Taylor and Latin classical. At six feet six inches tall, he stays active with his sailboat, shooting sporting clays, weightlifting, traveling to research his novels. He is the founder of the James River Writers (Jamesriverwriters.org) a non-profit group in his hometown of Richmond that helps aspiring writers and students work and learn together as a writing community. He also co-founded The Podium Foundation (thepodiumfoundation.org), a non-profit which brings writing and critical reasoning programs to the students of Richmond’s city high schools, as well as support programs for city educators. He also teaches advanced creative writing as a visiting professor at Virginia Commonwealth University's Honors College. David resides in Richmond, near the James River.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
April 14, 2025
Many of the other reviewers have already said the final word on the amazing quality of Last Citadel. I don't like historical novels much. I prefer histories, reports, etc., when reading about battles, but this one was different. I've never read such a detailed, sensitive, objective (as much as one could be about World War II), and truthful novel as this.
Robbins ties in the Cossack culture with those of Soviet Russia, Spain and Nazi Germany. When you have read this book you will have fought the Battle of Kursk (not fictional) in a Russian T-34 tank and in a German Tiger and Mark 4 tank. In basic training I had a daub of experience operating in a combat tank and therefore appreciated the cramped conditions and the confusion of maneuvering a tank, in my case, in a mock battle. You will FEEL the suffering of the Russians fighting in the air and on the ground both as soldiers and partisans. You will feel how it is to be a bullfighter from Spain and an SS officer bravely commanding an armored unit. You will feel as a woman what it's like to murder in cold blood an enemy invading your land and as a man what it's like to feel estranged from your family while loving them so much that you will die for them. There's a good love story in all this--almost Tolstoyan in its philosophical observations.
There's too much to say about this excellent novel. The only thing to do is read it carefully. I have to say I listened to this on audio CDs in the car and missed my turn-off for home multiple times--on different days, of course. Guidall was the narrator, who has always been excellent for CD versions of a book. I will check out the book now and look for maps and go to Wikipedia to see more about the Battle of Kursk. I want to learn more about Cossacks and the Russian spirit. We must master the history of this era. I will read more books written by David L. Robbins.
Superb. Beyond description. Read it!
I wrote the above in 2021.
Robbins ties in the Cossack culture with those of Soviet Russia, Spain and Nazi Germany. When you have read this book you will have fought the Battle of Kursk (not fictional) in a Russian T-34 tank and in a German Tiger and Mark 4 tank. In basic training I had a daub of experience operating in a combat tank and therefore appreciated the cramped conditions and the confusion of maneuvering a tank, in my case, in a mock battle. You will FEEL the suffering of the Russians fighting in the air and on the ground both as soldiers and partisans. You will feel how it is to be a bullfighter from Spain and an SS officer bravely commanding an armored unit. You will feel as a woman what it's like to murder in cold blood an enemy invading your land and as a man what it's like to feel estranged from your family while loving them so much that you will die for them. There's a good love story in all this--almost Tolstoyan in its philosophical observations.
There's too much to say about this excellent novel. The only thing to do is read it carefully. I have to say I listened to this on audio CDs in the car and missed my turn-off for home multiple times--on different days, of course. Guidall was the narrator, who has always been excellent for CD versions of a book. I will check out the book now and look for maps and go to Wikipedia to see more about the Battle of Kursk. I want to learn more about Cossacks and the Russian spirit. We must master the history of this era. I will read more books written by David L. Robbins.
Superb. Beyond description. Read it!
I wrote the above in 2021.
April 14, 2012
In 1943, the biggest tank battle in history occurs in the fields around Kursk and Prokhorovka. Robbins interweaves four basic storylines: the old Cossack Dimitri, a tank driver under (literally) his son Valentin, the tank commander, deals with the war through the eyes of a traditionalist and clansman, who sees his son slipping away to the colder Soviet mentality. Dimitri’s daughter, Katya, is a “Night Witch,” one of the female night bombing crew; she is shot down rescuing a pilot, and joins a band of fierce partisans led by a gruff “Colonel Bad.” German Colonel Abram Breit is an intelligence officer secretly supplying the Russians with information under the Lucy spy ring. Finally, there’s Luis de Vega, a Spanish SS officer, gaunt and skeletal thanks to a Soviet wound, who hungers for revenge and redemption as the commander of Germany’s new fearsome, supposedly invincible Tiger tanks.
Robbins brings it all together in a tight, fast-paced, dramatic, deeply researched book. At 414 pages, it’s an epic, but it centers on the human interest rather than the big picture: Dimitri’s sense of loss, away from his son, his horses, and his swords, and the way he treats the tank like a living steed; Luis’ wound, his anger, his love of bullfighting; Briet’s inner monologue as he betrays his country for all the right reasons; the heroic sacrifices that all the characters make. Robbins doesn’t make any of the characters one-sided; they all have their motivations, histories, and beliefs. We can empathize, if not sympathize, with even the Nazis. It’s a tank battle, but also a battle of wills: the differences between the personalities of Luis, who sees his men as faceless tools to be used and discarded in the undying quest for victory and adulation, and Dimitri, who holds clan above all else, are as telling as the technical differences between their tanks. It’s an exciting, hugely successful historical novel.
Robbins brings it all together in a tight, fast-paced, dramatic, deeply researched book. At 414 pages, it’s an epic, but it centers on the human interest rather than the big picture: Dimitri’s sense of loss, away from his son, his horses, and his swords, and the way he treats the tank like a living steed; Luis’ wound, his anger, his love of bullfighting; Briet’s inner monologue as he betrays his country for all the right reasons; the heroic sacrifices that all the characters make. Robbins doesn’t make any of the characters one-sided; they all have their motivations, histories, and beliefs. We can empathize, if not sympathize, with even the Nazis. It’s a tank battle, but also a battle of wills: the differences between the personalities of Luis, who sees his men as faceless tools to be used and discarded in the undying quest for victory and adulation, and Dimitri, who holds clan above all else, are as telling as the technical differences between their tanks. It’s an exciting, hugely successful historical novel.
November 2, 2011
I greatly enjoyed this author's novel about Stalingrad, War of the Rats , which I read several years ago (before GoodReads) and had put this book, about another great Nazi-Soviet mega-battle, on my to-read list. I finally got around to it and found it to have the same virtues and flaws of the first book. To mention the flaws first, there's never any question as what side Robbins is rooting for, which is just fine, but it means that the Soviet characters are always a little too admirable and the Nazi characters a little too indelibly evil. I'm all for hating the Nazis, but I'm not a big fan of Uncle Joe, either, and my pity is more evenly divided when it comes to soldiers on the field.
That said, Robbins, in both novels, sufficiently personalizes his characters and and provides a narrative thread that guides us through a completely horrendous and utterly chaotic situation, leaving us breathless but satisfied at the other end. He does this better in War of the Rats where the story focuses on dueling snipers, one Nazi, one Soviet, which is simpler and more involving than dueling tank crews -- mostly because there are relatively few snipers in the one battle and innumerable tank crews in the other. Also, the tank battle at Kursk was one huge roar of death and chaos (see my review of the nonfiction account The Battle of Kursk , whereas at the battle at Stalingrad there was more chance of one-on-one battles, which are inherently more involving. Still, by drawing in a family of Cossacks on the Russian side and a Spanish SS officer with much to prove on the German one, the duel he sets up definitely holds one's attention, and there are several subsidiary themes (the daughter who flies bombing runs at night in antique airplanes that are unarmed and without any navigation aids) that are fascinating and never get in the way of the narrative drive.
That said, Robbins, in both novels, sufficiently personalizes his characters and and provides a narrative thread that guides us through a completely horrendous and utterly chaotic situation, leaving us breathless but satisfied at the other end. He does this better in War of the Rats where the story focuses on dueling snipers, one Nazi, one Soviet, which is simpler and more involving than dueling tank crews -- mostly because there are relatively few snipers in the one battle and innumerable tank crews in the other. Also, the tank battle at Kursk was one huge roar of death and chaos (see my review of the nonfiction account The Battle of Kursk , whereas at the battle at Stalingrad there was more chance of one-on-one battles, which are inherently more involving. Still, by drawing in a family of Cossacks on the Russian side and a Spanish SS officer with much to prove on the German one, the duel he sets up definitely holds one's attention, and there are several subsidiary themes (the daughter who flies bombing runs at night in antique airplanes that are unarmed and without any navigation aids) that are fascinating and never get in the way of the narrative drive.
August 3, 2017
I actually picked this book up thinking it was a history of the Battle of Kursk. That said, once I started it there was no way I was going to put it down. In many ways it is a history book, albeit one told from the viewpoint of several fictitious characters.A T-34 tank crew featuring a father and son, a female Russian pilot, a Spanish SS Captain, and a German colonel collaborating with the enemy to put a stop to his county’s ambitions provide the eyes through which the author brings this historic chapter of World War Two to life. The book is a surprisingly pleasant blend of well-paced action, historic accuracy and classic writing that lends itself as well to the interest as the ear and the imagination (I listened to this on audiobook). In consequence, I am pleased to have found not only an entertaining read, but an author whose work I now look forward to exploring further.In summary, this novel more than holds its own among the ranks of historic fiction and I would recommend it to both enthusiasts of military history as well as anyone who enjoys a well written story set against the backdrop of war.
September 29, 2008
Pretty much on par with Robbins other titles. Compelling characters, exciting plot, and obviously a lot of research into the writing.
October 5, 2021
Last Citadel tells you the stories of several fictional participants in the World War II clash between soviets and nazis, over the steppes of the Kursk region. The characters span from the low rank of tank crewmen all the way up to Hilter's advisors. Still, their stories become entangled throughout the book.
It is a magnificently well-written book. Through the pages, you are taken into the war-ridden world of 1943; you smell what they smell, you see what they see... you feel what they feel. Sometimes it is beautiful. Many times it is pervertedly twisted, just like war matters really are.
You're told how it feels (felt) to be amongst all the madness, in the whirpool of blood lust, of fighting for survival by any means necessary. There are astonishing bits of heroism, of desperation, altruism but also selfishness, that make the atmosphere feel even more real and compelling. The battle of Kursk was fought by human beings. Each with its own aspirations, motivations, fears, hopes. Last Citadel depicts so masterfully.
There are other sources for cold, factful études on the war subject. Last Citadel takes another approach - that of giving life to all those numbers by diving into the stories of a few of the combatants. After all, it is hard to fathom the absolute immensity of nearly two million people fighting. As Josef Stalin said...
"The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."
It is a magnificently well-written book. Through the pages, you are taken into the war-ridden world of 1943; you smell what they smell, you see what they see... you feel what they feel. Sometimes it is beautiful. Many times it is pervertedly twisted, just like war matters really are.
You're told how it feels (felt) to be amongst all the madness, in the whirpool of blood lust, of fighting for survival by any means necessary. There are astonishing bits of heroism, of desperation, altruism but also selfishness, that make the atmosphere feel even more real and compelling. The battle of Kursk was fought by human beings. Each with its own aspirations, motivations, fears, hopes. Last Citadel depicts so masterfully.
There are other sources for cold, factful études on the war subject. Last Citadel takes another approach - that of giving life to all those numbers by diving into the stories of a few of the combatants. After all, it is hard to fathom the absolute immensity of nearly two million people fighting. As Josef Stalin said...
"The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."
December 29, 2024
Slow start but rly good by the end
June 17, 2016
Forgot to add this book to my shelves. Read this one a few years ago.
Synopsis: Kursk, 1943. One of the biggest battles in the history of mankind is about to take place. The Germans attacking with everything they had, the Soviet fighting back with equal savagery. When the unstoppable force meets the immovable object, what you have is a battle to shape History for all the ages to come. On the Soviet side, a family of three finds themselves at the forefront of this titanic struggle. A father-and-son T-34 tank crew, a daughter who flies WW1-era airplanes on near-suicide missions. On the German side, the latest-generation Tiger tanks are about to enter the fray, led by a fearsome tank commander who swore vengeance on the Soviets for causing him a wound that is killing him slowly but surely. Near the small village of Prokhorovka, gone down in history as the biggest tank battle ever fought, German steel is about to clash with Soviet steel and history will be forged...
Review: This book is definitely one of my favorites. The points of view are engaging and personal, as all wars surely are but we sometimes forget. The dynamic of the father-son relationship is really interesting. The son is a die-hard Communist plus tank commander, and the father, a free-spirited Cossack, feels his son drifting further from him every day (calling daddy 'Comrade' and such). Despite that, one is ready to die to save the other and their story gets really moving near the end. Their remaining family member flies obsolete airplanes that are basically death traps at night to drop bombs into the German lines. On her journey, she also became a partisan fighting behind the enemy's back. Their story, one of family, love, friendship and sacrifice are deeply engaging and, above all, human. The villain of the book is a Spanish soldier who suffered a severe wound in the hand of the Soviet. The wound causes him to weaken and resemble more and more to a living skeleton, one feared by both comrades and enemies. Watching his body decaying by the day and waiting for the inevitable end to come, he swears vengeance on the Soviet with unparalleled skills as a tank commander. His story also is human and shows how vengeance and bitterness can always find its place in a war such as WW2. The struggle between the characters represents the two sides of the war as well as the two sides of what 'being human' means. Finally, as a bonus, this is one of the rare books written by Western novelists but paints a rather positive picture of the Soviet soldiers.
5/5 stars
Synopsis: Kursk, 1943. One of the biggest battles in the history of mankind is about to take place. The Germans attacking with everything they had, the Soviet fighting back with equal savagery. When the unstoppable force meets the immovable object, what you have is a battle to shape History for all the ages to come. On the Soviet side, a family of three finds themselves at the forefront of this titanic struggle. A father-and-son T-34 tank crew, a daughter who flies WW1-era airplanes on near-suicide missions. On the German side, the latest-generation Tiger tanks are about to enter the fray, led by a fearsome tank commander who swore vengeance on the Soviets for causing him a wound that is killing him slowly but surely. Near the small village of Prokhorovka, gone down in history as the biggest tank battle ever fought, German steel is about to clash with Soviet steel and history will be forged...
Review: This book is definitely one of my favorites. The points of view are engaging and personal, as all wars surely are but we sometimes forget. The dynamic of the father-son relationship is really interesting. The son is a die-hard Communist plus tank commander, and the father, a free-spirited Cossack, feels his son drifting further from him every day (calling daddy 'Comrade' and such). Despite that, one is ready to die to save the other and their story gets really moving near the end. Their remaining family member flies obsolete airplanes that are basically death traps at night to drop bombs into the German lines. On her journey, she also became a partisan fighting behind the enemy's back. Their story, one of family, love, friendship and sacrifice are deeply engaging and, above all, human. The villain of the book is a Spanish soldier who suffered a severe wound in the hand of the Soviet. The wound causes him to weaken and resemble more and more to a living skeleton, one feared by both comrades and enemies. Watching his body decaying by the day and waiting for the inevitable end to come, he swears vengeance on the Soviet with unparalleled skills as a tank commander. His story also is human and shows how vengeance and bitterness can always find its place in a war such as WW2. The struggle between the characters represents the two sides of the war as well as the two sides of what 'being human' means. Finally, as a bonus, this is one of the rare books written by Western novelists but paints a rather positive picture of the Soviet soldiers.
5/5 stars
March 29, 2019
A thoroughly satisfying book set in WWII with focus around the last German offensive into Russia and the enormous tank battles that took place. In this story, we gain the perspectives of 4 characters - Dimitri (the patriarch), Katya (his daughter), la Daga (a Spaniard enlisted in the German SS), and a General high command general whose loyalty to Germany demands action.
The synopsis given by the book's publisher's is the best summary, so let me comment on the content. Listening to this audiobook wasn't overwhelming as technical specifications weren't thrust in everywhere and the narrator did a good job of separating the characters. Being a WWII novel, you can safely put this into the category of adult or possibly older teens based on the language and violence. Sexual content is nonexistent. Overall, it satisfied my needs for a historical fiction work and scored bonus points by not having a single American or British character contained within. I feel those stories are too easy to find, but one with solely German & Russian perspectives is not. Excellent work, Mr. Robbins!
The synopsis given by the book's publisher's is the best summary, so let me comment on the content. Listening to this audiobook wasn't overwhelming as technical specifications weren't thrust in everywhere and the narrator did a good job of separating the characters. Being a WWII novel, you can safely put this into the category of adult or possibly older teens based on the language and violence. Sexual content is nonexistent. Overall, it satisfied my needs for a historical fiction work and scored bonus points by not having a single American or British character contained within. I feel those stories are too easy to find, but one with solely German & Russian perspectives is not. Excellent work, Mr. Robbins!
January 6, 2015
This was a pretty good book, but a grim story. A father and son are part of a tank crew desperately defending Mother Russia against the German invaders, and their daughter/sister is a pilot, but she is shot down and captured by partisans. Against long odds and in a desperate fight against a skilled enemy, they struggle to preserve their way of life. Along the way, they deal with hostility from their fellow Soviets and partisans, as well as those sympathetic to the occupiers and the Germans themselves. A good war novel, to be sure.
November 30, 2007
I didn't read it, I listened to it on audio and the narrator, George Guidall, is fantastic. There are so many WWII stories (as there should be) but being able to follow the lives and deaths and relationships of that one family really made the war personal (as if war is not personal otherwise, but I am sure you get my meaning). I do not know much about the true history of the Night Witches but if the story is even half true-what great ballsy bitches they were.
May 11, 2010
If you like historical fiction and you dig war history, you should read this. The author switches between various characters on both sides of the German/Russian conflict, and each character help flesh out the details of the greatest tank battle in the history of the world. My only complaint was that the symbolism for one of the characters was a bit heavy handed. Great stuff.
August 8, 2011
Really enjoyed this book. Robbins presents the details very well and in a completely believable narrative that shows he did his research before writing the book. I'm now going to try some of this others.
January 25, 2011
A great depiction of tank battles, and life on the Russian front in WW II.
August 24, 2020
Really enjoyed this even more the second time
June 4, 2014
Great book. Intense to the end. Gives a fantastic insight to the heroes of Tank warfare.
August 24, 2008
This has to be one of the best-written books I've ever read. Every line made me sigh. Wow!
September 20, 2017
since we're living in what feels like a war-zone, I gave this book a read to try to picture what it was like during world war 2 and find the link between our time and their time. this book was therapeutic but vicious. the writer was so eloquent, i hated it. everything was in order. everything was detailed. one thing this book made me realise, is that, wars are never thought out. none of this was thought through.
April 17, 2021
I read this book as an audiobook and loved it. Narrated by the great George Guidell it kept me glued to the CD player. The description of the characters and the action were stellar. Well worth the time to get through.
February 25, 2023
Good read. Even though this was a novel of Russia and Germany, it had a very American war novel feel, even occasionally with language that seemed out of place. But it did move with excitement, particularly during the culminating tank battle
March 3, 2018
Excellent. Totally enjoyed reading this book.
March 17, 2019
9/10 The battle action scenes are excellently written and the rest of the plot keeps things moving.
April 19, 2019
Not much that can add to what has already been said. I have read this three times, and each time I was unable to put it down until I was done.
May 21, 2019
Exciting, intense WW2 novel that felt very realistic.
July 19, 2020
I really liked this book, the history of a big battle i knew nothing about
September 13, 2020
Great read.
Author uses careering instead of careening about half the time.
Author uses careering instead of careening about half the time.
Read
April 23, 2021January 2008
Recommended by Margaret P
Recommended by Margaret P
February 1, 2022
It was very historical accurate. A fun read. Probably closer to 3.5, but was lacking connection to the characters- they felt formulated
January 19, 2023
Very detailed account of the tank battle and its tactics used by both sides. Didn’t enjoy the love story angle between the female soldier and pilot so much.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews