Member Reviews

This was an interesting book about the war at Stalingrad during World War II and Hitler's obsession with taking over the city named after Stalin. The author's detailed maps made it easier to understand this book. This is a great book about something many people do not know much about that occurred during WWII.

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"Stalingrad: Hitler's Biggest Gamble October 1942" eBook was published in 2020 and was written by Will Fowler. Mr. Fowler is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books.

I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of Violence. The book covers the activities of both the German and Soviet forces in and around Stalingrad in October of 1942.

The actions of the German forces and Soviet forces are laid out in a step by step manner. Several excellent maps are provided showing the positions of various units and how they responded to the evolving battle. Several photos are also included in the book. The book provides a very detailed chronicle of the battle for Stalingrad as it came to a bitter end.

I enjoyed the 6.5+ hours I spent reading this 192-page WWII history. I have read a lot about the war in Europe, but this is the most detailed book I have read about the battle of Stalingrad. The very brutal war on both sides is depicted in great detail. Clearly, Hitler’s obsession with taking the Soviet city named for Stalin drove him to make decisions that were not in the best interest of the German military forces. I give this novel a 4.4 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

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Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Nonfiction military history books are difficult to make into something that has 'readability' Stalingrad suffers from a cold recitation of fact and situations that fail to hold the readers interest. The maps provided thankfully are detailed enough to show what is happening without being confusingly detailed nor worthlessly simplistic. This book is informative but lacks the narrative warmth to keep the reader interested.

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