Monday, May 02, 2011

What is Roger R. Reese reading?

Today's featured contributor at Writers Read: Roger Reese, author of Why Stalin’s Soldiers Fought: The Red Army’s Military Effectiveness in World War II.

His entry begins:
I don’t normally read much fiction because I find people’s real life experiences in history so fascinating, but recently I read the Stieg Larsen trilogy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. I really enjoyed them mostly because he kept me guessing. The plot twists and turns were perfectly reasonable, not something out of the blue, but ones you just would not have guessed. I get disappointed if I figure out the ending before it comes, and there was no problem with that in this series.

Other than researching and writing history my other passion in life is...[read on]
Among the early praise for Why Stalin’s Soldiers Fought:
“Encyclopedic in scope, Why Stalin’s Soldiers Fought solidifies Reese’s reputation as one of the foremost scholars on the social history of the Red Army in both peace and war. Comprehensive, thoughtful, and perceptive, it will likely stand as a classic in its genre for years to come.”
—David M. Glantz, author of The Stalingrad Trilogy

“Fresh, challenging, provocatively argued, and extensively researched, this is a major contribution to our understanding of the Red Army.”
—Reina Pennington, author of Wings, Women, and War: Soviet Airwomen in World War II Combat

“Reese’s best book yet.”
—Mark von Hagen, author of Soldiers in the Proletarian Dictatorship
Learn more about Why Stalin’s Soldiers Fought at the University Press of Kansas website.

Roger R. Reese is professor of history at Texas A&M University and author of Stalin’s Reluctant Soldiers: A Social History of the Red Army, 1925–1941; Red Commanders: A Social History of the Soviet Army Officer Corps, 1918–1991; and The Soviet Military Experience: A History of the Soviet Army, 1917–1991.

The Page 99 Test: Why Stalin’s Soldiers Fought.

Writers Read: Roger Reese.

--Marshal Zeringue