Unique eyewitness account of one of the most crucial battles of World War II from the only British correspondent in Leningrad at the time.

The 900-day German siege of Leningrad is the most powerful testimony to the immeasurable cruelty and horror of World War II. As the sole British correspondent to have been in the city during the blockade, Alexander Werth presents a harrowing firsthand account of the savagery and destruction wrought by the Nazis against the civilian population of the city. His writing evokes compelling images of terror—the bombing of children’s hospitals, mass starvation and cannibalism—with rich and well-informed firsthand accounts and commentary on the internal politics of Soviet party chiefs, soldiers and civilian resistance fighters. Both an authoritative historical document and a journalistic narrative of the overwhelming sadness, grief and futility of 20th century warfare, this is an invaluable look at one of the greatest losses of human life in recorded history.

'Alexander Werth was one of the greatest war correspondents of the Second World War and his descriptions of Leningrad under siege are as powerful today as when they were first published.'
Antony Beevor

Alexander Werth (1901-1969) was a Russian-born British writer and war journalist. He was the BBC’s correspondent in the Soviet Union from 1941-1945, and the Moscow correspondent for the Guardian from 1946-1949. He was one of the first outsiders to be allowed into Stalingrad after the battle, and wrote several books describing his experiences.