Zhukov, Marshal of the Soviet Union (Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century, War Leader Book No 28)

by Otto Preston Chaney

Book Overview

Marshal Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov, hero of Leningrad, defender of Moscow and Stalingrad, commander of the victorious Red Army at Berlin, was the most decorated soldier in Soviet history. Yet for... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345240189
• ISBN13: 9780345240187
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.

Customer Reviews

zhukov

Zhukov by Otto Preston Chaney is the revised edition of the same work.The most significant addition is the use of zhukov's expanded, revised memoirs.The book's length,almost 500 pages, is a fitting tribute to perhaps the Second World War's greatest soldier. Chaney's writing style is direct in the active voice and conveys stylistically the man written about.The work,in a word, is magisterial.Its chronological development is direct with little digression. It is fast paced read if one choses to read it so;however, it is a book which,if put down, is easy to start again.This book, with its scope,clarity,and readability, is a great starting point to understand a part of WWII that now for the first time,because of authors such as david glantz, is readily accessible to the american public. .Although the work was revised in early 90s,it is timeless history.One comes away,having read the book,understanding much about Zhukov's war,his Party,his times and most importantly,the man.

Zhukov

A readable and concise reading of Field Marshal Zhukov's life with emphasis on his war time efforts and political involvement. Some may find the indepth description of battle manoeuvre a tad tedious.

Great, balanced biography

The biography starts a bit shaky, with first 20-25 pages sounding quite amaturish. I had to read the authors credentials to ensure I wasnt wasting my time. As it turned out, I wasnt. The book takes on a good flow and does justice to Zhukov's life. I read Yuriy Bubnov's comments and let me say that this book 'does' throw light on Zhukov's darker side, there is no attempt to hide it, he was a ruthless, egomaniac but you still cant dispute his military genius. As for the mistakes Zhukov made, most of them were thanks to Stalin and his cronies, who just could not stop meddling and overruling military strategy for political reasons though Stalin had no military experiance. War is best left to the generals. However if you really want to read the best book on Russia's role in WWII, Russia at War by Alexander Werth is THE book. The best book on WWII I ever read.

Great Biography!

Excellent biography of Marshal of the Soviet Union Giorgi k. Zhukov. Very well written, a great amount of sources used, very valuable to any student of the Eastern Front. The only downside might be the fact that Zhukov's memoirs keep coming out anew with much information that was censored. I'm afraid that Cheney's book most likely leaves a lot of that information out in the end because it isn't constantly being updated. Even so a great source for understanding what happened on the Eastern Front of the Second World War. I very much disagree with the reviewer who gave this book '1 star', there is no propaganda here nor was Zhukov responsible for what befell the Red Army in 1941. Although intelligence was abundant about Hitler's Intentions that in and of itself cast doubt as to what Hitler really wanted to do in 1941. Please, keep in mind that if such an invasion was actually being prepared who in their right minds would think that in fact there would be so much information confirming it? The reasons for Stalin's reactions and that of the Red Army throughout the first hours, days, and weeks are understandable when seeing the situation both found themselves in. Stalin wanted the pact to last while at the same time being fed information that showed Hitler would not attack by his Chief of Military Intelligence (GRU) Golikov who was giving him what he thought Stalin wanted to see and leaving out that information that showed Hitler would attack. There was also reason to think that Hitler might first make demands, which is why an outright invasion was such a shock to Stalin. (Some of these answers can be found in "What Stalin Knew : The Enigma of Barbarossa" by David E. Murphy.) In either case, if you are interested in the Eastern Front this will prove an excellent source for understanding how Soviet higher headquarters functioned and what it was like to deal with Stalin. Highly recommended.

The book for anyone interested in the Soviet military.

This newest edition of "Zhukov" is a must for anyone that has an interest in the Marshal's career and/or an interest in the former USSR military machine and how it operated. After years of false and censored information on Zhukov and the Soviet military, "Zhukov" brings to light the the personalities (and incompetence) of such Soviet individuals as Stalin, Khruschev, and Breznev. The book helps show how these 'leaders' (through their low level of intelligence and maturity) helped stunt the growth of the USSR as a nation. Most importantly, the book brings to light the actual accomplishments of Marshal Zhukov (ie. Moscow, Stalingrad, Berlin, etc.) and how much of a role he had in the planning of these operations. From these accomplishments of the Marshal, one can see how 'cults of personalities' were able to appear in such magnitude in the former USSR. The book is a fast reader and highly enjoyable. Read it if interested in WWII from the Soviet perspective.