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24th out of 219 books
—
138 voters
The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad
The Nazi siege of Leningrad from 1941 to 1944 was one of the most gruesome episodes of World War II. Nearly three million people endured it; just under half of them died. For twenty-five years the distinguished journalist and historian Harrison Salisbury pieced together this remarkable narrative of villainy and survival, in which the city had much to fear-from both Hitler...more
Paperback, 2nd Da Capo, 672 pages
Published
September 18th 2003
by Da Capo Press
(first published 1969)
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Excellent read. I went to this book after reading a footnote in one of my history books. Any friend you know that may have family in Russia will be able to add to this historical narrative about what Salisbury confirms that (quoting the official historical record) 'In world history there are no examples which in their tragedy equal the terrors of starving Leningrad. Each day.. was the equal of many months of ordinary life.' Those who maintain that suffering—undeserved and unexplained—must show t...more
An intense examination of the siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1941-42. Most of the book is concerned with the German invasion in June 1941 and takes us to the disastrous winter of 1941-42 when possibly over 600,000 Leningraders died of deliberate starvation from the German siege. The city understandably was in such disarray during this time that we will never know the exact number of deaths – and how many died of residual effects after, will also never be known. During and after the s...more
I read this book while on a trip with some college buddies in California. I had to read this book over the trip for school. In the sunny summer of the west coast, on the streets of santa cruz and san francisco I sat in the back seat of a car, crushed by luggage and read this book.
It blew my mind. I understand the horrors the Americans and the French and the Jews withstood in WWII. But the siege was a whole new chapter of the war I was unaware of. I don't think most Americans are aware of the ev...more
It blew my mind. I understand the horrors the Americans and the French and the Jews withstood in WWII. But the siege was a whole new chapter of the war I was unaware of. I don't think most Americans are aware of the ev...more
This volume continues to be the most complete history of the WWII Leningrad blockade, even though it was published in 1968. Harrison Salisbury was afforded remarkable access to extensive Soviet historical archival material, significant military figures, as well as individual civilians that had lived through the seige. I'm actually curious if, with the increased accessablity of Soviet-era historical information, there is more information published on this amazing event...
Mr. Salisbury's research,...more
Mr. Salisbury's research,...more
I read The 900 Days in my Junior year (1970) of High School. Little did I imagine that I would be visiting Leningrad the summer after graduation.
I remember reading and re-reading certain sections of the book in disbelief. What these people endured and eventually overcame lies far outside anything the most fertile imagination could conjure up. The episodes of cannibalism and other lengths many resorted to just to survive took my mind far afield from life in the safety of Southern California.
I'd...more
I remember reading and re-reading certain sections of the book in disbelief. What these people endured and eventually overcame lies far outside anything the most fertile imagination could conjure up. The episodes of cannibalism and other lengths many resorted to just to survive took my mind far afield from life in the safety of Southern California.
I'd...more
This is a wonderful, beautifully written suriviors account of the siege of Leningrad during WWII. Its incredible what lief was like for millions of people in one of themost sohphisticaed cities of Europe with the Germany Army surrouindg them and cutting off suppplies for more than 2 years. That theymanaged to stop Hilter in his tracks, in spite of Stalin's refusal to prepare teh coutnry for war, makes you relaize that the Russians really won the war - at the cost of 27 millin dead. Waht made rea...more
The best book ever written on WW II. The spirit and intellect of the Russian people is awe inspiring. They have forever had to endure the most oppressive and bleakest forms of government of any country on earth, and yet they remain a people of remarkable endurance, intelligence, and creativity. During the siege, they realized that they needed to devise ways in which to not only sustain their bodies, but they must also feed their minds and their souls. They took great risks in order to save and p...more
A horrific ordeal and a narrow escape in some ways. Had Lenningrad fallen who knows what the world would be like. It is a very interesting history given the way the information and people have been treated over the years. I was struck with how unprepared the Russians were for war and how much resource they fed their enemy prior to war breaking out. I would recommend this book to anyone planning to visit the area or with a keen interest in the second world war, but it is a long and arduous read....more
Amazing story. How many people know that almost 1.5 million people--about half the population of Leningrad (St. Petersburg)--died as a result of the Nazi siege in WWII? Most of the deaths were from starvation. As is often the case in Russian history, the people also suffered terribly from the actions and inaction of their own government. (Is there any country whose people have suffered more from their fellow human beings in the last 200 years than the Russians?)
One of the creepiest scenes in the...more
One of the creepiest scenes in the...more
Compared to what the people of Stalingrad suffered through during WWII, even cities like London had a day in the park. I could use several pages describing the horrors the people Stalingrad went through, but you'll find out soon enough when you read this magnificent account. As a whole, only the European Jews knew the full extent of Nazi horror to the degree the people of this Russian city came to know. How I admire the human race, and in this case, the Russians particularly for their a to never...more
I could not stop talking about this book the entire time I was reading it. The 900 days is the story of amazing survival of the Russian people despite the coldest winter, Stalin's refusal to plan for Hitler's invasion, the lack of adequate supplies of the armed forces, the destruction of the Leningrad's food stores by the Nazis early in the siege, etc, etc. Despite all this the people carry on. Food is rationed, everything and anything is eaten, it is dark and cold ,but through the endless night...more
I kept finding this book cited as reference in other books about life in WWII Russia. So I thought "I better take a look at that book." This is an amazing story that I knew nothing about prior to reading this book. Imagine a large city (3 million-ish) under siege. The Germans don't really want to fight it out if they can starve the Russians out. Read about the amazing hardships and the phenomenal effort by Russian officers to defend this city and feed the dying population trapped within its wall...more
This is my 2nd read on the Eastern front but my first on Leningrad. While the book was quite lengthy, there was a lot to be told about the days leading up to the siege and the 900 days that followed. It was very heartbreaking to read in many places as the conditions that the residents of Leningrad endured during that time were horrendous. Overall, a very thorough account of the generals who led the charge to finally break the blockade and the challenges they faced with the political infighting a...more
As other reviewers have pointed out, this work reads like a novel. It is an extraordinary story about a city, its inhabitants, and its defenders. I was surprised to see so much build-up to the seige, but on the whole, the book works remarkably well.
I won't recount the story again, but there are a couple points worth making. St. Petersburg was always seen as 'different' from the rest of Russia, both by residents and outsiders. Nowhere was this difference more explicit than during the period of th...more
I won't recount the story again, but there are a couple points worth making. St. Petersburg was always seen as 'different' from the rest of Russia, both by residents and outsiders. Nowhere was this difference more explicit than during the period of th...more
I was much looking forward to reading this, as I was not particularly knowledgeable about the plight of the Leningraders – except to know that they suffered terribly, as did millions of others at Stalin’s hands. Reading this certainly added one more piece of evidence to my already hefty collection, that the man was a beast. Often when I read about him and Hitler, I yearn for an afterlife in which they are punished in perpetuity for their acts of cruelty.
But, on to the book. This book is not real...more
But, on to the book. This book is not real...more
A great story of unspeakable hardship. When I visited Lengingrad/St. Petersburg, I felt compelled to visit the Piskaraskoya cemetery where so many hundreds of thousands are buried in long, uniform mounds. It struck me with the thought that American war deaths in World War II were about 385,000, and Leningrad alone lost over a million. We must suppress and defeat those who advocate mass armed conflict as an option for their personal ambitions or ideologies.
Feb 27, 2013
Jim Porter
is currently reading it
Bought this for a buck at Berkeley Black Oak Book. The Leningrad situation is intriguing and unfathomable. The author is one of those old-school Minnesotan journalists of the previous generation: "the Minnesota spirit, skeptical, contrarian, often out of step, hostile to the Bigs."
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/07/obi...
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/07/obi...
I recall when this book was first published. Initially portions were previewed
Reader's Digest; the more lurid items about cannibals particularly.
My Dad got the book from the library as soon as it was available and
being quite a large book I struggled to get it finished in the 2 weeks
or so. Great read of history.
I'm not sure how to rate this book because the part that I really read the book for - the third quarter of it - I really liked, but the rest of it I didn't enjoy much at all. The third quarter is where the author describes the conditions of daily life in Leningrad during the siege. He gives lots of compelling anecdotes and quotes from first-person accounts and journals. But the other sections of the book read like very dry, technical military history - for instance, several pages describing, in...more
Ottimo saggio per Harrison e Salinsbury, scorrevole e di facile lettura , ma molto molto ben documentato , testimonianza dirette, foto e documenti.. Un ottimo libro per chi ci tenesse a documentarsi su uno dei più terribili massacri della seconda guerra mondiale, troppo spesso ingiustamente poco conosciuto e trascurato...
Epic history of the struggle of the people from Leningrad during a 900 days siege during the Second World War. Very well written book which shows respect and love for the heroic people of Leningrad during those enduring times of famine and the atrocities of war.
This is one of my favorite nonfiction books, an overwhelming, endlessly fascinating account of an epochal, monumental event of World War II, including the preliminary actions of Hitler and Stalin and the initial invasions of eastern Europe that led to the siege. If you ever find yourself complaining about your lot in life, you really need to read this book to get some inkling of that it feels like to have REAL problems: stranded in a huge, arctic cold city with millions of walking dead starving...more
from an emaciated starving leningrad citizen who gives up a meal to attend the philharmonic - man does not live by bread alone. triumph of the human spirit. an amazing chronology of the most horrific siege of the modern era. yet also uplifting to learn of the countless ways the residents of Lwningrad managed to survive with their spirit intact
Through archival research and personal interviews conducted in the USSR, Salisbury recounts the events leading up to and during the 900-day long siege of Leningrad during World War 2. Salisbury mixes inspirational stories of Soviet determination, such as the establishment of a dangerous supply route over frozen lakes to ship food in while simultaneously shipping women and children out, and genuinely uplifting stories of kindness, such as soldiers giving their rations to starving families, with t...more
The triumph of the human spirit in an nutshell. I complain about my personal dramas and defeats, and then I read a book such as this and realize....anything can be overcome, anything can be transcended.
A bit dense but an amazing story of courage and survival. We boated across the very frozen lake that became St. Petersburg's supply lifeline. Most of us cannot imagine a scenario like this.
There is an amazing amount of information and detail, considering that this book was written in the 1960s, when the Soviet Union was very much closed off to the West. The Russian names were difficult, and I often wondered how much was left out, but the author captured the horror of the siege, the criminal blunders and willful and arrogant ignorance that led to it, and the amazing endurance of those who survived it. His research was extensive and his language poetic; the book is a fitting tribute...more
I know little of the siege since American students are not encourage to know much about the Russian front in WW II. It's a tale of incredible survival.
The definitive history of the siege of Leningrad. This is a must read for anyone who is into WWII or wants to understand the war's place in Russia's psyche.
Jul 02, 2009
Fahy Bygate
is currently reading it
VERY detailed and long and dense description of the Nazi siege of the city of Leningrad during WWII. I have read only about half of the book.
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Jul 21, 2010 07:39am