Take a photo of a barcode or cover
35 reviews for:
Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper
Foreword by Martin Pegler, Lyudmila Pavlichenko
4.0 AVERAGE
35 reviews for:
Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper
Foreword by Martin Pegler, Lyudmila Pavlichenko
4.0 AVERAGE
It only took me six and a half months to finish Lady Death, but I did it!
Rtc
Rtc
A classic was once defined as a book you remember starting to read but you never stop reading and re-reading. This is such a book.
The book is the autobiography of the Russian sniper Ludmilla Pavlichenko. Pavlichenko was exceptional in many regards, not least for her ability to kill hundreds of Fascists during the Second World War. Her skill in marksmanship was a natural in born ability, but her military training and understanding given to her in her youth by her father created a very acute observer of the start of Fascist Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. The level of detail is only matched by Pvlichenko's ability to write with precision and clarity. On this level the book opens to the reader the sense of being caught up and thrown into the cataclysm which occurred. The gradual sense of the immensity of what occurred and the level of sacrifice the situation demanded is given with a compassionate regard and at the same time professional military detail. There is no other book I can think of that is remarkable in this sense to this degree.
Then there is her ability to speak English which gave her the chance to become deep friends with Eleanor Roosevelt when on a tour of the USA to promote a second front in the war. This odd friendship forms most of the second half of the book. From the depths of war torn hell to sitting half naked on a bed sewing alterations on pajamas with Eleanor Roosevelt you probably will not find a more bizarre combination in a biography.
Quite apart form all that it is very well written. I would have to say this is one of the top five books I've read in my fifty years of life. This book is a masterpiece of literature. To such a life the literary quality should be exceptional and it is. This is a book you want to read over and over.
The book is the autobiography of the Russian sniper Ludmilla Pavlichenko. Pavlichenko was exceptional in many regards, not least for her ability to kill hundreds of Fascists during the Second World War. Her skill in marksmanship was a natural in born ability, but her military training and understanding given to her in her youth by her father created a very acute observer of the start of Fascist Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. The level of detail is only matched by Pvlichenko's ability to write with precision and clarity. On this level the book opens to the reader the sense of being caught up and thrown into the cataclysm which occurred. The gradual sense of the immensity of what occurred and the level of sacrifice the situation demanded is given with a compassionate regard and at the same time professional military detail. There is no other book I can think of that is remarkable in this sense to this degree.
Then there is her ability to speak English which gave her the chance to become deep friends with Eleanor Roosevelt when on a tour of the USA to promote a second front in the war. This odd friendship forms most of the second half of the book. From the depths of war torn hell to sitting half naked on a bed sewing alterations on pajamas with Eleanor Roosevelt you probably will not find a more bizarre combination in a biography.
Quite apart form all that it is very well written. I would have to say this is one of the top five books I've read in my fifty years of life. This book is a masterpiece of literature. To such a life the literary quality should be exceptional and it is. This is a book you want to read over and over.
3 1/2 stars. Interesting read. Lyudmila was a remarkable young woman. I especially enjoyed her details regarding her world tour and friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt.
A very...no nonsense book, tbh. I didn’t love it but it was interesting to read.
And that is another book for the month of January.
Lyudmila covers a lot of ground in these memoirs. Her apparent destiny to be a sharpshooter and innocence before the beginning of WW2. The destitute conditions of the Red army and her fallen comrades. The depravity of the Nazis on everyday people. Thrilling sniper duels and trophies. Brushes with death and almost mystical survival. The devotion of citizens, sacrificing what little they had to better care for the soldiers. Falling in love and having to see her lover pass on the battlefield. Her travels to other countries and meeting figures like CHARLIE CHAPLIN, Eleanore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, and also her disappointments. A fatherly reconciliation with Joseph Stalin.
It all brings a welcome new perspective to the saturated arena of WW2 lit, and shouldn't be overlooked.
Lyudmila covers a lot of ground in these memoirs. Her apparent destiny to be a sharpshooter and innocence before the beginning of WW2. The destitute conditions of the Red army and her fallen comrades. The depravity of the Nazis on everyday people. Thrilling sniper duels and trophies. Brushes with death and almost mystical survival. The devotion of citizens, sacrificing what little they had to better care for the soldiers. Falling in love and having to see her lover pass on the battlefield. Her travels to other countries and meeting figures like CHARLIE CHAPLIN, Eleanore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, and also her disappointments. A fatherly reconciliation with Joseph Stalin.
It all brings a welcome new perspective to the saturated arena of WW2 lit, and shouldn't be overlooked.