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Leningrad

The Epic Seige of World War II, 1941–1944
by Anna Reid
Leningrad: The Epic Seige of World War II, 1941–1944. Walker. 2011. c.512p. photogs. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780802715944. $30. HIST
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Some 750,000 people of Leningrad died, primarily of starvation, during Hitler's two and a half year siege of the city, the deadliest siege in history. For the core of her book, Reid (The Shaman's Coat: A Native History of Siberia) accesses diaries of and interviews (many previously unavailable) with those who suffered. She focuses on the coldest and deadliest months of the winter of 1941–42 and also includes select German accounts for a view from the other side. Reid shows how human willpower triumphed in a desperate situation. Leningrad did not collapse, despite Hitler's desire to erase it and cruel Soviet mismanagement and oppression. The mental strain among the survivors was perhaps greater than the physical toll.
VERDICT Especially well researched in Russian sources, this is an agonizing tale that belongs alongside Harrison Salisbury's classic The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad. (Maps, photos, and index not seen.)
Reviewed by Barbara Hoffert , Oct 01, 2011
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