Orlando Figes'' Crimea is a powerful history of the Crimean War, the conflict that dominated the nineteenth century.
The Crimean War one of the fiercest battles in Russia''s history, killing nearly a million men and completely redrawing the map of Europe. Pitting the Tsar''s empire against an alliance of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire, it was the first conflict to use photography, the telegraph and newspapers; a war over territory, from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf; a war of religion, driven by a fervent, populistbelief by the Tsar and his ministers that it was Russia''s task to rule all Orthodox Christians and control the Holy Land; it was the original ''total war''.
Orlando Figes'' vivid new book reinterprets this extraordinary conflict. Bringing to life ordinary soldiers in snow-filled trenches, surgeons on the battlefield and the haunted, fanatical figure of Tsar Nicholas himself, Crimea tells the human story of a tragic war.
''Lucid, well-written, alive and sensitive, it tells us why this neglected conflict and its forgotten victims deserve our remembrance''
Oliver Bullough, Independent
''Figes paints a vivid portrait of a bloody and pointless conflict ... he knows more about Russia than any other historian''
Max Hastings, Sunday Times
''A fine, stirring account''
Mark Bostridge, Financial Times
''A wonderful subject, on every level, and with Orlando Figes it has found the historian worthy of its width and depth''
Norman Stone, Standpoint
''Figes is a first-class historian, as his splendid new book amply demonstrates''
Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph
Orlando Figes is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of Peasant Russia, Civil War, A People''s Tragedy, Natasha''s Dance, The Whisperers and Just Send Me Word. His books have been translated into over twenty languages.
Industry Reviews
This is the only book on the Crimean War anyone could need. It is lucid, well-written, alive and sensitive. Above all, it tells us why this neglected conflict and its forgotten victims deserve our remembrance -- Oliver Bullough * The Independent *
This is a heart-rending book ... its importance cannot be overestimated ... This book should be made compulsory reading in Russia today -- Antony Beevor, author of 'Stalingrad'
A wonderful subject, on every level, and with Orlando Figes it has found the historian worthy of its width and depth -- Norman Stone * Standpoint *
Figes is a first class historian... [he] proves an excellent guide to the vagaries of the battlefield, the suffering of the ordinary soldiers and the way in which the war became a crucial part of late-Victorian patriotic mythology, contributing to a new ethos of muscular Christianity -- Dominic Sandbrook * Daily Telegraph *
Orlando Figes ... is back doing what he does best - telling us things about Russia and the world that we did not know, and proving that they are important to our understanding of the world today ... With his deep understanding of Russia and its uncomfortable opposition in the world, Figes elegantly underlines how the cold war of the Soviet era froze over fundamental fault lines that had opened up in the 19th century -- Angus MacQueen * The Observer *
It is a fine stirring account, expertly balancing analysis with a patchwork of quotation from a wide variety of spectators and participants, together with an impressive narrative across the vast panoramic sweep of the war ... However, the book's true originality lies in its unravelling of the Crimean War's religious origins -- Mark Bostridge * Financial Times *
Keenly judged, vivid history of a bloody and pointless conflict * Sunday Times Culture *
An exhaustively researched, beautifully written book -- Saul David * BBC History *
One of our most engaging narrative historians, Orlando Figes has produced with his latest book a rollickingly good account of a war that shocked mid-Victorian England ... intelligent and reliable history ... Figes is a stylish and compelling narrator -- Lesley Chamberlain * Literary Review *
An impressive piece of scholarship ... a concise portrait of the political situation of the time * Telegraph Books of the Year 2010 *
A stellar historian. As ever, it mixes strong narrative pace, a grand canvas and compelling ideas about current geopolitical tensions -- Tristram Hunt * Observer Best Books of the Year: 2010 *
A sparkling and in passages brilliant account ... it stands amply and slendidly on its own two feet -- David Hearst * Guardian *
A first-class historian, as his splendid new book, an epic account of the Crimean War of 1853-56, amply demonstrates * Daily Telegraph *
A model of wide-lens military history -- Dan Jones * The Times (Christmas books 2010) *
Wonderful ... an amazing panoramic view ... I've rarely read anything like it -- Claire Tomalin
A masterful account of lost and stolen lives * Sunday Times *
Awesome ... one of the most unforgettable books I have ever read. I defy anyone to read it without weeping at its human suffering, cruelty and courage ... in this book these righteous heroes have their rightful memorial -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Mail on Sunday *
