A sprawling saga of the race to take Berlin at the end of WWII told from multiple points of view: FDR, Churchill, Stalin, a German cellist (Lotte), two Russian foot soldiers of the penal platoon (Ilya and Mischa), and a Life photographer, Bandy – all tell their side of the story.

Extraordinary and powerful. I’m reminded of "A Soldier of the Great War" (about an Italian soldier in WWI). Thoroughly researched, brilliantly written – at times, lyrical – this is a novelization of history constructed (as the author explains) like a classical Greek drama. The Big Three are the Olympian gods who set things in motion; General Eisenhower and Field Marshal Montgomery are the Heroes who confront the will of the gods and do battle with destiny; and the fictional characters are the little actors who have Fate visited upon them.

What is most interesting is how what each fictional character thinks they want at the beginning of the novel is reversed by the end. Robbins not only knows how to structure a novel, he also brings craft to the telling of story. Great read. ( )

one of the best WW2 novels I have ever read ( )

I thought this was a great read. Use of different view points through out the book (German, Russian, American) helped tell a complete story. ( )

I usually like Robbins but this book was lifeless. To scripted and predictable. Not his best. A better look at the Battle for Berlin and its aftermath is "A Woman in Berlin." ( )