'One of the great novels of the 20th century' Observer In April 1942; Hitler and Mussolini plan the huge offensive on the Eastern Front that will culminate in the greatest battle in human history. Hundreds of miles away; Pyotr Vavilov receives his call-up papers and spends a final night with his wife and children in the hut that is his home. As war approaches; the Shaposhnikov family gathers for a meal: despite her age; Alexandra will soon become a refugee; Tolya will enlist in the reserves; Vera; a nurse; will fall in love with a wounded pilot; and Viktor Shtrum will receive a letter from his doomed mother which will haunt him forever. The war will consume the lives of a huge cast of characters - lives which express Grossman's grand themes of the nation and the individual; nature's beauty and war's cruelty; love and separation. For months; Soviet forces are driven back inexorably by the German advance eastward and eventually Stalingrad is all that remains between the invaders and victory. The city stands on a cliff top by the Volga River. The battle for Stalingrad - a maelstrom of violence and firepower - will reduce it to ruins. But it will also be the cradle of a new sense of hope. Stalingrad is a magnificent novel not only of war but of all human life: its subjects are mothers and daughters; husbands and brothers; generals; nurses; political officers; steelworkers; tractor girls. It is tender; epic; and a testament to the power of the human spirit. 'You will not only discover that you love his characters and want to stay with them - that you need them in your life as much as you need your own family and loved ones - but that at the end... you will want to read it again' Daily Telegraph THE PREQUEL TO LIFE AND FATE NOW AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME; STALINGRAD IS A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND NOW A MAJOR RADIO 4 DRAMA WINNER OF MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION LOIS ROTH AWARD FOR TRANSLATIONS FROM ANY LANGUAGE