The Fall of Berlin 1945(ISBN=9780142002803)

A tale drenched in drama and blood, heroism and cowardice, loyalty and betrayal. -- Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

Beevor is . . . a superb writer, a diligent researcher and a master of battlefield detail. -- The Chicago Tribune

The Red Army's invasion of Berlin in January 1945 was one of the most terrifying examples of fire and sword in history. Frenzied by terrible memories of Wehrmacht and SS brutality, the Russians wreaked havoc, leaving hundreds of thousands of civilians dead and millions more fleeing westward. Drawing upon newly available material from former Soviet files, as well as from German, American, British, French, and Swedish archives, bestselling author Antony Beevor vividly recounts the experiences of the millions of civilians and soldiers caught up in the nightmare of the Third Reich's final collapse. The Fall of Berlin 1945 is a heartrending story of pride, stupidity, fanaticism, revenge, and savagery, yet it is also one of astonishing human endurance, self-sacrifice, and survival against all odds.

Antony Beevor is the author of a number of histories, including The Spanish Civil War and Stalingrad, which has been published in twenty-three languages and was awarded the first Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, the Wolfson History Prize, and the Hawthornden Prize for Literature.