JONATHAN DIMBLEBY

Winston Churchill famously described Russia as 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma' and even today it remains a country little understood by the West. In this revealing portrait, Jonathan Dimbleby crosses eight time zones and covers 10,000 miles in an attempt to get to the beating heart of the new Russia. His epic journey takes him from the Arctic city of Murmansk in the west to the Asian port of Vladivostok in the east, and he encounters an extraordinary range of people: urban intellectuals and entrepreneurs, war veterans and migrant labourers, spiritual leaders and aging rock stars, bootleg vendors and fish poachers, loggers in the forests of Siberia and fellow journalists under siege in an increasingly autocratic society. Russia is both a deeply personal odyssey and a mesmerizing account of a country undergoing profound economic, cultural and political change.

A SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER'The best single-volume account of the Barbarossa campaign to date' Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny'A page-turning descent into Hell and back . . .this fresh and compelling account of Hitler's failed invasion of the Soviet Union should be on everyone's reading list for 2021' Dr Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire_______________________________The largest military operation in history. The turning point of the Second World War. The most important year of the twentieth century.Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of Russia in June 1941, aimed at nothing less than a war of extermination to annihilate Soviet communism, liquidate the Jews and create Lebensraum for the German master race. But it led to the destruction of the Third Reich, and was cataclysmic for Germany with millions of men killed, wounded or registered as missing in action. It was this colossal mistake -- rather than any action in Western Europe -- that lost Hitler the Second World War.

Terrific a tour de force Sir Richard Evans Military history at its very best Keith LoweA gripping and authoritative account of the year that sealed the fate of the Nazis from the bestselling historian June 1944 In Operation Bagration more than two million Red Army soldiers facing 500 000 German soldiers finally avenged their defeat in Operation Barbarossa in 1941 The same month saw the Allies triumph on the beaches of Normandy but despite the myths that remain it was the events on the Eastern Front that sealed Hitler s fate and destroyed Nazism In his new book bestselling historian Jonathan Dimbleby describes and analyses this momentous year covering the military political and diplomatic story in his evocative style Drawing on previously untranslated German Russian and Polish sources we see how sophisticated new forms of deception and ruthless Partisan warfare shifted the Soviets fortunes how their triumphs effectively gave Stalin authority to occupy Eastern Europe and how it was the events of 1944 that enabled Stalin to dictate the terms of the post war settlement laying the foundations for the Cold War Visceral and compelling authoritative Sinclair McKay Extraordinarily vivid and absorbing Brendan Simms

A gripping and authoritative account of the year that sealed the fate of the Nazis from the bestselling historianJune 1944 In Operation Bagration more than two million Red Army soldiers facing 500 000 German soldiers finally avenged their defeat in Operation Barbarossa in 1941 The same month saw the Allies triumph on the beaches of Normandy but despite the myths that remain it was the events on the Eastern Front that sealed Hitler s fate and destroyed Nazism In his new book bestselling historian Jonathan Dimbleby describes and analyses this momentous year covering the military political and diplomatic story in his evocative style Drawing on previously untranslated German Russian and Polish sources we see how sophisticated new forms of deception and ruthless Partisan warfare shifted the Soviets fortunes how their triumphs effectively gave Stalin authority to occupy Eastern Europe and how it was the events of 1944 that enabled Stalin to dictate the terms of the post war settlement laying the foundations for the Cold War Mr Dimbleby is a sure footed guide to the labyrinthine military operations along a front line that extended nearly 2 000 miles from the Baltic to the Black Sea Wall Street Journal Terrific a tour de force Sir Richard Ev

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER This book is his best yet . . . Dimblebys work is in a different league, told with such skill and judgmentDominic Sandbrook, Sunday TimesA gripping and authoritative account of the year that sealed the fate of the Nazis, from the bestselling historianJune 1944: In Operation Bagration, more than two million Red Army soldiers, facing 500,000 German soldiers, finally avenged their defeat in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. The same month saw the Allies triumph on the beaches of Normandy, but, despite the myths that remain, it was the events on the Eastern Front that sealed Hitlers fate and destroyed Nazism.In his new book, bestselling historian Jonathan Dimbleby describes and analyses this momentous year, covering the military, political and diplomatic story in his evocative style. Drawing on previously untranslated German, Russian and Polish sources, we see how sophisticated new forms of deception and ruthless Partisan warfare shifted the Soviets fortunes, how their triumphs effectively gave Stalin authority to occupy Eastern Europe and how it was the events of 1944 that enabled Stalin to dictate the terms of the post-war settlement, laying the foundations for the Cold War . . .Mr. Dimbleby is a sure-footed guide to the labyrinthine military operations along a front line that extended nearly 2,000 miles, from the Baltic to the Black SeaWall Street JournalTerrific . . . a tour de forceSir Richard EvansMilitary history at its very bestKeith LoweSunday Time Bestseller, June 2024

A SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERThe best single-volume account of the Barbarossa campaign to dateAndrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with DestinyA page-turning descent into Hell and back . . . this fresh and compelling account of Hitlers failed invasion of the Soviet Union should be on everyones reading list for 2021Dr Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire_______________________________The largest military operation in history. The turning point of the Second World War. The most important year of the twentieth century.Operation Barbarossa, Hitlers invasion of Russia in June 1941, aimed at nothing less than a war of extermination to annihilate Soviet communism, liquidate the Jews and create Lebensraum for the German master race. But it led to the destruction of the Third Reich, and was cataclysmic for Germany with millions of men killed, wounded or registered as missing in action. It was this colossal mistake -- rather than any action in Western Europe -- that lost Hitler the Second World War.Drawing on hitherto unseen archival material, including previously untranslated Russian sources, Jonathan Dimbleby puts Barbarossa in its proper place in history for the first time. From its origins in the ashes of the First World War to its impact on post-war Europe, and covering the military, political and diplomatic story from all sides, he paints a full and vivid picture of this monumental campaign whose full nature and impact has remained unexplored.Written with authority and humanity, Barbarossa is a masterwork that transforms our understanding of the Second World War and of the twentieth century._______________________________Superb. . . stays with you long after you have finishedHenry Hemming, bestselling author of Our Man in New YorkA chilling account of war at its worstBear Grylls

Winston Churchill famously described Russia as a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma and even today it remains a country little understood by the West. In this revealing portrait, Jonathan Dimbleby crosses eight time zones and covers 10,000 miles in an attempt to get to the beating heart of the new Russia.His epic journey takes him from the Arctic city of Murmansk in the west to the Asian port of Vladivostok in the east, and he encounters an extraordinary range of people: urban intellectuals and entrepreneurs, war veterans and migrant labourers, spiritual leaders and aging rock stars, bootleg vendors and fish poachers, loggers in the forests of Siberia and fellow journalists under siege in an increasingly autocratic society. Russia is both a deeply personal odyssey and a mesmerizing account of a country undergoing profound economic, cultural and political change.

An exceptionally vivid account by a masterly writer Max HastingsNo book depicts all the myriad aspects better than Jonathan Dimblebys majestic overview... truly grippingAndrew Roberts__________________________A gripping tale that transforms our understanding of the Second World WarThe Battle of the Atlantic was - though often overlooked - crucial to victory in the Second World War. If the German U-boats had prevailed, the maritime artery across the Atlantic would have been severed. Mass hunger would have consumed Britain, and the Allied armies would have been prevented from joining in the invasion of Europe. There would have been no D-Day.Through fascinating contemporary diaries and letters, from the leaders and from the sailors on all sides, Jonathan Dimbleby creates a thrilling narrative that uniquely places the campaign in the context of the entire Second World War. Challenging conventional wisdom on the use of intelligence and on Churchills bombing campaign, The Battle of the Atlantic tells the epic story of the decisions that led to victory, and the horror and humanity of life on those perilous seas.__________________________A fascinating story written with bite and grip of one of the most crucial showdowns of the twentieth century... compellingLord Peter HennesseyAvivid evocation of dramatic events Robert Tombs, The TimesDimblebys incisive, gripping narrative uniquely places the campaign in the context of the entire warRichard Blackmore, The Independent