The book by historian and writer S.E. Mikheyenko is a unique collection of soldiers’ stories about war, on which the author worked for more than thirty years. The most vivid episodes, arranged thematically, come together into a single, gripping narrative about the War of the Russian Soldier. This, in the words of a poet, “hard truth of soldiers fought for in battle” will astonish the reader with its utmost candor, the exposure of a warrior’s soul and nerves. The Great Patriotic War—rendered with brutal honesty.