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Notes of a Sniper
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Reading Vassili Zaitsev's memoir of his nightmarish experiences as a sniper at Stalingrad is both a frightening and fascinating experience. Despite doubts concerning some of the details of the fighting, and its initial appearance under communist auspices, as a literary work, Notes of a Sniper is comparable to E.B. Sledge's With the Old Breed, and as a memoir of courage rem
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Paperback, 281 pages
Published
January 2003
by 2826 Press, Inc.
(first published 1956)
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Having seen the movie Enemy at the Gates, I wanted to read the real Vassili Zaitsev's story and see how it compared. The results didn't surprise me: Enemy at the Gates is hopelessly inaccurate (but still a good movie).
And as for the book? If you are looking for a fast-paced, action-packed war story, you've found it here. Zaitsev is a plain man but he has a good story to tell and he's very direct and honest about what went on and even about his own mistakes and shortcomings. I really got a sense ...more
And as for the book? If you are looking for a fast-paced, action-packed war story, you've found it here. Zaitsev is a plain man but he has a good story to tell and he's very direct and honest about what went on and even about his own mistakes and shortcomings. I really got a sense ...more
Books translated from Russian to English are most of the time hard to read. But this one was surprisingly well translated it was readable . After reading this book I realized how inaccurate and made up the movie (Enemy at the gates) was in portraying Vasili Zaitsev the rabbit . That is Hollywood for you. Vasili's writing skills are as good as his sniping for sure. The narration was very gripping and majority of the book was about his experience in the eastern front . The story was told with sinc
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Vasily Zaitsev takes us through some of his experiences as a Russian sniper in one of the most dangerous battles of World War Two: Stalingrad. Somehow managing to survive near-death experiences, like being buried alive, shot in the leg, and battling with an expert German sniper, Vasily's witty style of writing and amazing tales make this a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about Stalingrad, sniping, or World War Two in general. In a place where the average soldier's life expectancy wa
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I got tired of irony and picked up this book last night. ... This book is one of the most oddly-written books I've read in a while. Some of the strangeness may come from the translation, but the way Zaitsez describes really horrible happenings while at the same time making it seem almost like a party- it's just ODD. I got away from this book for a while, but now I'm having a hard time putting it down.
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The best book about this aclaimed sniper. Not only because was written by him, because he speaks he's thoughts and feelings.
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I’ve only shot three times in my life. The three of them were the same day. Nothing fancy, an old shotgun. It was in the wild, middle of nowhere. I won’t forget the feeling of the kickback in my shoulder, and I still have a very clear image of the bruise that was left there for some days. Even though not many people can say that they know how it feels to shoot something that is actually alive, I think that that day I was a step closer to understanding the figure of a professional sniper. Being a
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This extraordinary piece of literature written by one of the greatest heroes of the Second World War, Vassili Zaitsev was amazing and encompassed true heroism, loyalty, friendship and, so much more. This book is pretty much the late Russian soldier Vassili Zaitsev's account about the brutal fighting that occurred every day in the ruined Russian city of Stalingrad. This book is truly one of the better books about ww2 as it does not hesitate to leave out any details about the daily struggle for su
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Easy to read and more interesting than the movie.
In “Notes Of A Russian Sniper” by Vassili Zaitsev, the main character, the story starts off with Vassili’s training at basic. How he was recruited into the USSR Navy to aid on the Eastern front against a fascist Nazi Germany. He did not even try to deny his communist beliefs and how he believed that the German’s were the scum of the Earth. His true feelings towards the Americans were that they were cowards and weak for needing help from the USSR. While in basic, he recollects many thoughts of hi
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A well written, and translated, story of this mans extraordinary life and experiences in one of World War II's most horrific battles in Stalingrad. I did watch "Enemy at the Gates" and realize that that movie captured only some of the experiences of this man and his sniper battles, and distorted some of the story to make it more "Hollywood". Still, that does not detract from the movie itself, nor lessen the spirit and value of this memoir. Highly recommended and a quick read that brings one into
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Vassili Zaitsev tells his story of growing up in the rural Urals. His hunting growing up with his grandfather and brother set him on this path to become an award winning sniper during WWII fighting against the Germans in Russia. His details of his journey and survival are harrowing and intense. He realizes that he was given a gift and he uses it to fight for his country to the very end.
This was an enjoyable book and I read it fairly quickly. I was a bit disappointed in it though. It's VERY obvious that this book was published during the soviet days. It's full of propaganda. I'm not sure if it was the editors or Vasili himself that downplayed his personal role in the war so much - I was really hoping for more details about Vasili's exploits. There was a large focus on the group he worked with and Russia in general, with less emphasis on Vasili himself. The book is still a great
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I liked it, but you can smell a lot of propaganda and love of mother Russia wich makes it a 3 Star not 4.
It is much better than the story from the movie "enemy at the gates".
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It is much better than the story from the movie "enemy at the gates".
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this book is awesome, the movie is piece of shit it's not at all according to the book
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It’s amazing what people do in war.
I admit that the very first time I heard about Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev was in Jean-Jacques Annaud’s film "Enemy at the gates", which of course is not the very best way to learn about a historic event such as the battle of Stalingrad in WWII. The film portrays Vasily as an uneducated Ural Mountains hunter, which is only partially true. Vasily was indeed born and raised in the Ural Mountains, but he was educated and after the war, he graduated as engineer and worked at a textile company until
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No PTSD here. Zaitsev is quite plain in expressing that the Germans had no business invading Russia - and so he made it his business to kill as many of them as he could.
It's often remarked how adaptable people can be. We can literally get used to almost anything.
Zaitsev narrates the most horrifying episodes of urban warfare in the same tone as relating how he bought new tires for his car, and - in the end - I don't think the true horror of the battle comes through. Killing was just his day job.
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It's often remarked how adaptable people can be. We can literally get used to almost anything.
Zaitsev narrates the most horrifying episodes of urban warfare in the same tone as relating how he bought new tires for his car, and - in the end - I don't think the true horror of the battle comes through. Killing was just his day job.
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Fascinating book
I highly enjoyed this book. As I'm sure others have mentioned, this book is the basis (to a degree) of the war film "Enemy at the Gates". This book in my opinion was very enjoyable, and gives a good description of what the day to day experience of a sniper was like, in one of the most vicious battles in history. Furthermore the authors did a good job of translating the book well enough to the point we could get an idea of the personality of Vasily, who comes across as a very lika ...more
I highly enjoyed this book. As I'm sure others have mentioned, this book is the basis (to a degree) of the war film "Enemy at the Gates". This book in my opinion was very enjoyable, and gives a good description of what the day to day experience of a sniper was like, in one of the most vicious battles in history. Furthermore the authors did a good job of translating the book well enough to the point we could get an idea of the personality of Vasily, who comes across as a very lika ...more
This is the most definitive account of a firsthand ground soldier about the battle of Stalingrad. Many historians researched and found many groundbreaking data about this battle but the raw firsthand details of a foot soldier and that too the renowned sniper, an ace of soviet red army's account is what one needs to read if they are really willing too know how men fought and lived in the broken abyss of Stalingrad. Once started, i couldnt stop reading but i will only recommend to those people who
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I struggled to give this either 3 or 4 stars. Went with 4 because the story was interesting. Flirted with 3 because it is so propagandized. “I caught the glimmer of his medals, took the shot, and realized I shot him through his Iron Cross First Class.” Like give me a break. My other issue with books like this is that it makes it seem like this dude single handidly saved Stalingrad. Ultimately this book just left me wondering if he did as much as claimed or if it was all just part of the propagan
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Excellent account of a real sniper in the famous Stalingrad battle, great details, very evocative. We can only imagine what his life was like--from the very dramatic escape from a mass grave, to the very touching scene between his friend Kuzma who sees his mother by chance as they are marching through his town, in full view of the battalion that waited patiently for the mother and son to part. Very much worth reading.
Sep 15, 2012
Simon Spanyol
added it
Another fun holiday read! Although quite gruelling I expect the full reality of Stalingrad was ores still than Vaitsev described
What is most interesting is that the book published in 1956 is a real tribute to the Soviet version of pc. Not one opportunity is missed to put everything said and done to glorify the USSR
finally to take the one chapter on the duel with the German sniper and to make this into the 90 minute "Enemy at the gates" is impressive ...more
What is most interesting is that the book published in 1956 is a real tribute to the Soviet version of pc. Not one opportunity is missed to put everything said and done to glorify the USSR
finally to take the one chapter on the duel with the German sniper and to make this into the 90 minute "Enemy at the gates" is impressive ...more
There's a lot of great stuff in here about Soviet sniper tactics. However, I suspect it's at least partially ghost written and is full of Soviet propaganda. It's still a good read for someone interested in Stalingrad or Zaitsev.
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Zaitsev had done an adaptable and coherent narrative in his book. As for me, it seems like I had been bought to the same streets, trenches, and hills the soldiers had taken during the great patriotic war. although some statements and claims are controversial, the book is a very good one for me.
Best military book i've read. Written by the sniper himself in a clear, direct prose, always to the point. Many good stories based on true events. A clear view of what it meant to be a sniper on Stalingrado.
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Wow. This book is awesome. It's been a few years since I've read it, but I may have to read it again. It's the only war book I've read. This review may not help much. The details of everything he went through are simply amazing.
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Vasily Zaitsev’s intelligence blow my mind throughout this book, he is a genius when it comes to tactics. I love history and his unique view on the battle of Stalingrad intrigued me. Great read for any body looking for a sniper or a history book
Fantastic war stories, and lots of great info about what's involved in being a master sniper. I read this carefully, knowing Zaitsev's status as a figure in Soviet propaganda, but I can't seem to find any fact-checking or critical discussion about it online.
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