What do you think?
Rate this book
Ladybird Expert #20
The Eastern Front 1941-44: A Ladybird Expert Book
Part of the Ladybird Expert History of the Second World War series, The Eastern Front 1941-1944 , is an authoritative and accessible introduction to the brutal confrontation between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union along a 1,200 mile front. Historian, author and broadcaster James Holland draws on the latest research and interviews with participants to bring colour, detail and a fresh perspective to the story of the largest military campaign in history. Inside, you'll discover how tactics, organisation and new technologies were brought to bear, about the different challenges faced by both the Axis and the Allies, and, above all, the skill, bravery and endurance of those engaged in a contest that was of critical importance to the outcome of the war.
- GenresHistory
56 pages, Hardcover
Published July 24, 2018
3 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
James Holland
67 books1,040 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
James Holland was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and studied history at Durham University. He has worked for several London publishing houses and has also written for a number of national newspapers and magazines. Married with a son, he lives near Salisbury.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
James Holland was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and studied history at Durham University. He has worked for several London publishing houses and has also written for a number of national newspapers and magazines. Married with a son, he lives near Salisbury.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 12, 2019
3.5 stars rounded up.
As good as it can be for its length, but after Holland’s good little volumes on slightly more limited, specific topics like the Battle of Britain or the U-boat war, one can’t help feeling this one tries to cover too much. Stalingrad, which gets a page or two, and Kursk, which is treated a little more fully, could each justify their own books in the series, and the Holocaust—a key part of both Hitler’s plans for the Reich and their catastrophic failure—is not even mentioned obliquely. But I recognize that these volumes can’t just multiply without end. Presumably the Holocaust at least will get its own volume.
As it is, it’s a good introductory overview from not even a bird’s eye view but more like the lower ionosphere, with a few good little details sprinkled in. Holland even manages to suggest the unbelievable scale of war on the Eastern Front as well as some of its brutality. The illustrations are, as with the previous four in this series, excellent.
Recommended.
As good as it can be for its length, but after Holland’s good little volumes on slightly more limited, specific topics like the Battle of Britain or the U-boat war, one can’t help feeling this one tries to cover too much. Stalingrad, which gets a page or two, and Kursk, which is treated a little more fully, could each justify their own books in the series, and the Holocaust—a key part of both Hitler’s plans for the Reich and their catastrophic failure—is not even mentioned obliquely. But I recognize that these volumes can’t just multiply without end. Presumably the Holocaust at least will get its own volume.
As it is, it’s a good introductory overview from not even a bird’s eye view but more like the lower ionosphere, with a few good little details sprinkled in. Holland even manages to suggest the unbelievable scale of war on the Eastern Front as well as some of its brutality. The illustrations are, as with the previous four in this series, excellent.
Recommended.
August 14, 2022
I picked this book up more so to see if it was worth recommending to high school students. This makes it a tough book to judge. For a historian, it doesn't offer much, merely a broad narrative of what occurred with some events getting more focus than others but even then not covering in loads of detail. Arguably serves as easy revision though to get through.
However, as an introduction into the Eastern Front and the German-Russian conflict, particularly for a young reader who knows near-nothing about the war, this book does a fine job. Definitely one for people who wish to start reading about this event to help them discover if this behemoth of a conflict is something they wish to delve into further. If you're already certain you want to learn more though, better off going straight for the big stuff that the likes of Beevor and Glantz have wrote.
However, as an introduction into the Eastern Front and the German-Russian conflict, particularly for a young reader who knows near-nothing about the war, this book does a fine job. Definitely one for people who wish to start reading about this event to help them discover if this behemoth of a conflict is something they wish to delve into further. If you're already certain you want to learn more though, better off going straight for the big stuff that the likes of Beevor and Glantz have wrote.
June 28, 2025
This is the first of the Ladybird Expert books that I've read, and probably the longest of any Ladybird book I've ever read. As one might expect from the subject matter, it's hardly a barrel of laughs and full of details, dates, numbers and Russian words, so hardly for younger readers either. That said, this was an interesting read, educational and worthy. Even though I'm a much older reader who has seen and read plenty about WW2, there were still a few things here that were new to me. The illustrations are necessarily less light-hearted than the usual Ladybird book fare, yet were still atmospheric without being as horrific as photographs would've been. For what it aims to be, this could not really be bettered. 5/5
July 11, 2020
I nice concise summary suitable for young adult readers or people looking for a brief overview of the Eastern Front 1941-43.
One quibble: The map inside the cover shows Allied/occupied territory and Axis/occupied territory, but the USSR territory includes oocupied eastern Poland and the Baltic states without indicating that these are occupied territories which were not part of the USSR. Given Stalin's brutal invasion of these territories prior to being invaded by Nazi Germany, I think it is important to note this.
One quibble: The map inside the cover shows Allied/occupied territory and Axis/occupied territory, but the USSR territory includes oocupied eastern Poland and the Baltic states without indicating that these are occupied territories which were not part of the USSR. Given Stalin's brutal invasion of these territories prior to being invaded by Nazi Germany, I think it is important to note this.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews