What do You think about War Of The Rats (2000)?
Robbins book had an uncanny parallel to the award winning movie " Enemy at the Gates," which was apparent throughout the novel. Stalingrad was a battle of two large armies and two even bigger ego's, there was a shortage of everything except death, that was everywhere and at anytime. What tended to bother me was the injection of a war/love story into the middle of this gruesome tale. Picture the surroundings, a blasted out basement with a dirt floor, freezing cold, lice, very little food and a man from the wilds who happens to be the best shot in the Russian Army. He falls in love with a woman, as circumstance would have it, turns out to be from America and in the middle of this dirt encrusted hole, covered in blood and gore, they start to have an affair, naturally the author has to go into the details of flesh and their state of undress without mention of the lice and rats and hunger for food let alone love ( one of my poem lines.) Personally, it put a sheen unto the book that would not wipe off. I used to have a authentic German correspndents' report of this battle which was very direct and uncensored, he was sent there by the generals and was told to bring back a written report of the actual conditions, this he did, believe me, how this book/report got past the censors of the time was everyone's guess, it was a report without a love scene. I loaned the book and, well you know...'
—Jason Goodman
This was another book that I would never have chosen to read, but wasin the lot of used books on tape that I bought. Again, I ended upreally liking the book.I'd heard about the battle of Stalingrad being one of the mosthorrible and deadliest battles of World War II. This story made it all too real with details of the suffering on both sides. There were some graphic descriptions of battle , but there were also insights into the feelings and lives of the characters.This book showed the humanity and inhumanity of both the Russiansand the Germans. In this battle neither side was given the optionto retreat or surrender. This was a book on tape and there was an interview with the authorat the end. Many of the characters in the book were real peopleand some were fictitious. It was interesting to find out what happened to the real people after this story was over.
—E Wilson
Gripping!I read this when it first came out in 2000. It was an excellent read then and has lost nothing. Many of us have read the historical accounts of the massive Soviet counter-offensive on November 19,1942 and the encirclement of the 6th Army. Mr. Robbins doe an excellent job in describing not only the supposed duel between Zaitsez and Thorvald (which is still being debated by historians) but his ability to paint the picture of a city ravaged by the opposing forces is phenomenal. He puts you in the heart of the dieing city. Can you imagine the closets metropolitan town in your vicinity being decimated to hulks of sagging I-beams, burning timbers and crumbled concrete structures. Yes, it is worse than the current destruction we witnessed in Joplin, Mi and Tuscaloosa,Ala (all weather related). This book, like the movie Stalingrad traverses every human emotion imaginable. The fortitude of the Russians to fight for the Rodina, not for political ideology but for themselves and the thousands of Russians caught in the grips of the Nazi war machine. He also paints a vivid description of the invaders. The arrogance has been left far behind. Stalingrad is a war unto itself. The once proud Wehrmacht is faced in a titanic struggle for what? Will the battle bring them victory or will is be just another conquered city along with thousands of others? Will the war end or will it continue to drag on taking with it tens of thousands other lives? Only one way to find out. Get a copy and start the journey to victory or utter defeat.
—Jeff Dawson
