Crimea

Description

This is an utterly extraordinary book, and a gripping read. Bestselling author Orland Figes (A People’s Tragedy; Natasha’s Dance), has produced a superbly written, meticulously researched and beautifully put together book about the Crimean War, it’s causes and the events that followed. Twelve chapters lead the reader through religion, the Eastern Question and the end of peace in Europe through to first blood, cannon fodder and the fall of Sevastopol. A complex subject is unravelled, and the reader comes away with a hugely improved understanding of the international relations of the period and religious ideologies, not just information about battles. The book tells of that large events and battles that happened in sweeping narrative, while at the same time also looks at the individuals involved, the great and the good and the common man and woman and never loses sight of the human cost of the story he is telling.

Orlando Figes is a master when it comes to writing about history. He draws the reader into his subject, sharing his obvious passion for the period and the events As Penguin Books themselves state, the Crimea was an ‘…extraordinary war, in which the stakes could not have been higher and which was fought with a terrible mixture of ferocity and incompetence. It was both a recognisably modern conflict – the first to be extensively photographed, the first to employ the telegraph, the first ‘newspaper war’ – and a traditional one, with illiterate soldiers, amateur officers and huge casualties caused by disease.’

Called Masterful by the Sunday Telegraph and Gripping by the Sunday Times, this is a fascinating read. The text is complimented by two sections of photographs, paintings and drawings that really bring the events to life.

Author – Orlando Figes

Publisher – Penguin Books

Format – Paperback

Pub date – 2011 (2010 Allen Lane)

ISBN – 9780141013503

Illustrated

Pages – 575

Dimensions – 128mm x 197mm

Weight – 442g