This is the second, or possibly third time I’ve read this gripping epic so I had some idea of the story, set in the revolutionary and war-ridden years immediately before and during Napoleon’s disastrous invasion of Russia, (1812) and the dramatic characters Tolstoy presents and makes his readers understand in such masterly fashion. Nonetheless, I found the readable new (Pevear and Volokhonsky) translation to be a page turner.
From the award-winning translators of Anna Karenina and The Brothers Karamazov comes this magnificent new translation of Tolstoy's masterwork.
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
War and Peacebroadly focuses on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both…
Please note that this comment also applies to the next book.
Reading these first two volumes of Atkinson’s trilogy about the American Revolution made me wish that the third volume of The War for America were already available. Meticulously researched, vividly written, Atkinson recounts how a rag tag group of rebellious colonials challenged the world’s premier military power. We see the war through the eyes and experiences (whether successful or not) of combatants on both sides; we understand their strengths and weaknesses.
'To say that Atkinson can tell a story is like saying Sinatra can sing ... A powerful new voice has been added to the dialogue about [America's] origins as a people and a nation. It is difficult to imagine any reader putting this beguiling book down without a smile and a tear.' New York Times
In June 1773, King George III attended a grand celebration of his reign over the greatest, richest empire since ancient Rome. Less than two years later, Britain's bright future turned dark: after a series of provocations, the king's soldiers took up arms against his rebellious…
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the second volume of the landmark American Revolution trilogy by the bestselling author of The British Are Coming, George Washington's army fights on the knife edge between victory and defeat.
“This is great history . . . compulsively readable . . . There is no better writer of narrative history than the Pulitzer Prize–winning Atkinson.”—The New York Times (Editors' Choice)
The first twenty-one months of the American Revolution—which began at Lexington and ended at Princeton—was the story of a ragged group of militiamen and soldiers fighting to forge a new nation. By the…
This biography follows the remarkable life of Louise-Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, whose portraits of European royalty and nobility hang in many of the world’s most important galleries. As a young woman in the male dominated society of late 18th century France, she was denied an artistic education and forced to nurture her passion outside the restrictions of conventional schooling. Vigée Le Brun’s vibrant art, in addition to her charm and beauty, caught the attention of Queen Marie-Antoinette, who honored her as her chosen painter. At the pinnacle of her fame and fortune, however, the Revolution forced Vigée Le Brun to flee, leaving everything behind except her only child.
Drawn from her memoirs, archival research, and reexamination of the judgment of her contemporaries, this book paints a fascinating picture of a single working mother who survived because of her cachet, charisma, and artistic talent. Cast on a storm-tossed continent, solely reliant on her palette, she produced some of her major works during her twelve-year exile, returning to France to continue her work after Napoleon had restored stability. Her story is one of triumph, adversity, perseverance and ultimately, peace.
