War of the Rats: A Novel of Stalingrad - Hardcover

Robbins, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0553108174 ISBN 13: 9780553108170

Publisher: Bantam USA, 1999

Synopsis

Stalingrad, August 1942 - the brutal siege of the city begins.
Through this twisted carnage stalk two men - one Russian, one German - each the top sniper in their respective armies. These two marksmen are equally matched in both skill and tenacity. And each has his own mission....
The young Russian sniper's credo of "one man, one bullet" has established his reputation as the Red army's top long-distance assassin. Nicknamed the Hare, he's been put in charge of an impromptu sniper school, training both men and women to kill with chilling precision. To counter this threat, the Headmaster, leader of the Nazis' elite sniper school, is flown to Stalingrad. Each has been given similar orders - to find and kill his counterpart. And the extraordinary duel begins....
Complicating matters is an American woman, Tania Chernova, trapped in Russia at the start of the war, who has come to Stalingrad from the Russian resistance. Seeking vengeance against the German army, the defiant American joins the Hare's team of snipers, becoming one of his most talented assassins - and possibly his greatest weakness.
An electrifying novel based on a true story, this is the harrowing tale of two adversaries who will know each other intimately by the climax of their own private war; two soldiers whose story is the saga of Stalingrad itself and whose fortunes will help decide the fate of a world at war.

About this title

Review:

" A great novel of one of the epic battles of all time--Stalingrad." -- W.E.B. Griffin
" Robbins has done his homework....A historical thriller with the punch of a full metal jacket." "-- The Denver Post"
" A frighteningly realistic patchwork depicting the long siege that changed the course of the war. Based on a true story, the novel deftly captures an extraordinary time and place in history...[in a] vivid, authentic representation of men of unusual skill and focus in the midst of a barbarous war." "-- Richmond-Times Dispatch"
" Immensely exciting and terribly authentic. White-knuckle tension as the two most dangerous snipers in Europe hunt each other through the hell of Stalingrad." -- Frederick Forsyth, author of The Day of the Jackal and The Fist of God
" I devoured it. The reporting and writing are amazing, and the snipers' duel with its layers of subtle technique and imagined motivation is suspenseful and powerful. It's a very good portrait of one of this century's most important and terrible battles, and probably the most intense urban conflict in history." -- Mark Bowden, author of "Black Hawk Down"
" a good candidate for the thriller of the summer award... gives a compelling and graphic sense of the heroism-filled nightmare called Stalingrad...A readable, gritty adventure story." "-- The New York Times"
" Breakneck-fast and laced with real-life vignettes." "-- USA Today"

"A great novel of one of the epic battles of all time--Stalingrad."--W.E.B. Griffin

"Robbins has done his homework....A historical thriller with the punch of a full metal jacket."--The Denver Post

"A frighteningly realistic patchwork depicting the long siege that changed the course of the war. Based on a true story, the novel deftly captures an extraordinary time and place in history...[in a] vivid, authentic representation of men of unusual skill and focus in the midst of a barbarous war."--Richmond-Times Dispatch

"Immensely exciting and terribly authentic. White-knuckle tension as the two most dangerous snipers in Europe hunt each other through the hell of Stalingrad."--Frederick Forsyth, author of The Day of the Jackal and The Fist of God

"I devoured it. The reporting and writing are amazing, and the snipers' duel with its layers of subtle technique and imagined motivation is suspenseful and powerful. It's a very good portrait of one of this century's most important and terrible battles, and probably the most intense urban conflict in history."--Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down

"a good candidate for the thriller of the summer award... gives a compelling and graphic sense of the heroism-filled nightmare called Stalingrad...A readable, gritty adventure story."--The New York Times

"Breakneck-fast and laced with real-life vignettes."--USA Today

Book Description:

'White-knuckle tension as the two most dangerous snipers in Europe hunt each other through the hell of Stalingrad. Immensely exciting and terribly authentic' Frederick Forsyth

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam USA
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0553108174
• ISBN 13: 9780553108170
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416