War And Peace (Penguin Classics) Illustrated Edition, Kindle Edition

As a mother who screens everything her 13-year-old daughter reads, I was hesitant at first to introduce her to one of my all-time favourite books, partly because if its length, and partly because *other people* say it's too difficult for anyone not in a college Literature class. I am SO GLAD I decided to ignore common wisdom! This book, and all its various dramatizations have made Leo Tolstoy our permanent favourite writer. The only thing missing from our "War and Peace" experience is visiting Russia in person. I'd settle for seeing a Fabergè exhibition if there was one in town :-) Nevertheless, I foresee a revival in all things Leo Tolstoy in the days to come: "War and Peace" is quoted in both "The Gallagher Girls" YA series as well as the (unexpectedly affecting) existential novel "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" (which actually quotes Anna Karenina more). "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" is also a movie available in DVD form now, I believe. I am convinced our enjoyment of these other books (and life in general) would be much enhanced with a (re)reading of one of the world's first l-o-n-g series. If a person can get through all seven of Harry Potter's adventures, (s)he can certainly manage "War and Peace." I'm only sorry *I* didn't read Tolstoy myself until I was 30!!! Said daughter's review follows. Her quotes are taken from a mix of the Kindle version of the book, and the Penguin Classics edition." 'War and Peace' by Leo Tolstoy is one of the longest books in the world, a story spanning the course of about twenty years and which is about, well, *life*. And, like life, the book is complicated when trying to explain it, yet it makes perfect sense to anyone who reads it. There are betrayals, death, marriage, love, religion, war, passion, historical facts, courageous and cowardly men - actually, I think the only genres it *doesn't* cover would be cowboy and alien. As a thirteen-year-old girl, who has always loved books, I'm not usually a fan of giant books - I prefer to be able to curl up with a book, not plonk it on my desk as if it's some tree-made brick. However, I think I will make an exception to this particular giant-of-a-book."In case you don't know the plot of the story, here's the shortest version I can possibly give you."Basically, the book revolves around five people - Prince Andrey, Princess Maria, Nikolai Rostov, Natasha Rostov, and Pierre Bezukhov, and their lives from 1805-1820."Prince Andrey is unhappily married, and is a bit of a jerk to everyone except Pierre, who's basically his BFF (Best Friend Forever), and, occasionally, his younger sister, Maria."Princess Maria is Andrey's little sister, and she is extremely religious and kind. However, her and Andrei's eccentric father often bullies her, and she is always being told that she is plain, so she is rather insecure."Nikolai is Natasha's older brother. He is "in love" with Natasha's best friend, Sonya. He, like most boys, dreams of being a war hero. Unlike most boys *now* though, he actually has a chance to be one."Natasha is about 12 years old at the start of the book, and is very naïve and lively. However, she is prone to bouts of depression and seriousness, which are sometimes good (like when she tries to understand the secrets of life), and sometimes bad ( when she thinks that no one will ever truly love or understand her)."Pierre is the illegitimate son of the wealthy Count Bezukhov, which makes him very unpopular among the aristocratic families. Unfortunately, he is also extremely clumsy and absent-minded, and spends most of his time drinking and partying. He's kinda like that boy in high school, you know, the one who's best friends with the school bad boy, but is never noticed without someone thinking 'ugh!'"As the book goes on, many things happen. Russia goes to war against Napoleon's armies, and Nikolai and Andrey both decide to go and fight. Meanwhile, Maria is very unhappy, but tries to cheer up for Andrei's pregnant wife's sake. Natasha is growing up, and becoming more and more beautiful every day, and Pierre suddenly inherits all of his father's fortune, making him suddenly popular with, well, everyone. However, then he gets a crisis of faith, and does all these things to try and find out if there is a God."My favorite part was the ending. I've always like epilogues, and with this, I'm no different. This is one of my favorite quotes from one of the endings. Tolstoy decided to have *two* endings - one so that readers can find out what happened to all the characters, and another to explain life and history. This quote (which is on page 1292 in my version of the book) is from the ending where we find out what happens to the characters:" 'After seven years of marriage Pierre had the joyous and firm consciousness that he was not a bad man, and he felt this because he saw himself reflected in his wife. He felt the good and bad within himself inextricably mingled and overlapping. But only what was really good in him was reflected in his wife, all that was not quite good was rejected. And this was not the result of logical reasoning but was a direct and mysterious reflection.'"However, you're going to have to read the book yourself to find out what happens to the rest of the characters!"My favorite characters (because I can't choose just one), would have to be Natasha and Pierre. I like Natasha because she's a bit like me - we both are a bit ... umm... *lively*, and we both sometimes get gloomy/serious. Unlike Natasha though, I'm not a good singer or dancer! :-) I like Pierre, though, because, right now I'm kinda looking for the meaning of life like he did. While Pierre joined the Freemasons though, I became Buddhist for about a month, before deciding that, as much as I liked Buddhism, Christianity was more my style. Also, Pierre really does *try* to be kind. Sometimes he goes about it the wrong way, but sometimes he ends up becoming the person's favorite confidant! As the book says, (on page 1231 in my Kindle)," 'In external ways Pierre had hardly changed at all. In appearance he was just what he used to be. As before he was absent-minded and seemed occupied not with what was before his eyes but with something special of his own. The difference between his former and present self was that formerly when he did not grasp what lay before him or was said to him, he had puckered his forehead painfully as if vainly seeking to distinguish something at a distance. At present he still forgot what was said to him and still did not see what was before his eyes, but he now looked with a scarcely perceptible and seemingly ironic smile at what was before him and listened to what was said, though evidently seeing and hearing something quite different. Formerly he had appeared to be a kindhearted but unhappy man, and so people had been inclined to avoid him. Now a smile at the joy of life always played round his lips and sympathy for others, shone in his eyes with a questioning look as to whether they were as contented as he was, and people felt pleased by his presence. Previously he had talked a great deal, grew more excited when he talked, and seldom listened; now he was seldom carried away in conversation and knew how to listen so that people readily told him their most intimate secrets.'"However, there were things I didn't like about *either* of them. I guess that means though, that Tolstoy did his job - the book is suppose to show what life is *really* like. And, yeah, sometimes fighting a war for a good cause won't save you, sometimes your friends will annoy you to death, and sometimes the meanest person you know is the hero in someone else's life. But that's life - complicated and messy and chaotic and sad, funny and crazy and mysterious - but you know what?"That's why I like it so much."

While I’ve been at times an avid war historian, particularly of World Wars I and II, I seldom read the stories connected with them. Books by Bowden, Marlantes, Moore, and Shaara have been the exceptions. War and Peace was another exception. I read it following Anna Karenina and expected, and found, a lot of soap opera in it. I also found a true war story.Tolstoy’s history may not be perfect, but it is close enough, at least for me; so much so that I had to read it with Google Maps, Wikipedia, and other apps open all the while.Of course, what I think Tolstoy did best was to capture the thinking of officers, real and imagined, as they plodded through yet another senseless conflict. The best war writers, of fiction and non-fiction do this.I’m glad I read this. It only took me until my 70s to do what my older brother did before he was 19. War and Peace is, to my delight, a war story, with a healthy dose of romance thrown in.

I love this book. Despite me not really liking non fiction, this book is a fantastic foundational piece for anyone interested in Russian history, as the depiction of the characters gives insight into the culture of high society. I studied Russian History and graduated Magna Cum Laude, this book which I read before I started college, gave me a deeper understanding in Russian culture than almost any other book on Russia. I read it 5 times.

It turns out that after struggling with other translations, this version of War and Peace is by the far the easiest to navigate through this epic novel. While still capturing the essence of Tolstoy's 19th century Russia and Europe, the translation allows reading and understanding to flow effortlessly. This Penguin Classic includes brilliant bonuses: A list of main and secondary characters; hundreds of footnotes, easily accessed in the Kindle edition, and a pithy summary of each chapter. I couldn't have read War and Peace without this edition.

O livro chegou dentro do prazo, mas com avaria, em fim, não mais, tudo certo.

Del título no hay nada que decir, es un muy buen clásico y si te gusta o no es algo personal.La edición muy mala a la hora de cortar las hojas y pegarlas, se ven muy feas, lo cuál es una lástima porque la portada en sí es de buena calidad y hasta agradable al tacto, la lectura es legible con letra de buen tamaño y sin problemas de impresión. Su único y enorme problema es completamente estético.

Tolstoy's War and Peace is first and foremost an historical novel based on a few years of the Napoleonic wars and how they affected some Russian families. But, apart from this, it contains three essays, about what one could call, 'Philosophy of History'. Although, I don't agree with Tolstoy's theory the essays are still of interest. Yet, it has to be said that one can read the novel and put the essays aside; it does not impair the enjoyment and deep thoughts of the novel. Personally I think it were best if these essays were printed together as an appendix. To me War and Peace is one of the great historical novels of all time; I have read it four times and enjoyed it every time as much a I enjoyed Sir Walter Scott's historical novels.

プーチン大統領の愛読書であり「世界最大の小説」と称されてる本書を私ごとき豚児が書評をかける故もないのですがその素晴らしさに圧倒され筆をとりました。多少の小説は読みました、「風と共に去りぬ」、「大地」そして「誰がために鐘はなる」、全て素晴らしい作品ですが、「戦争と平和」がこれらに与えた影響は多大です。トルストイ以前の哲学と宗教に加え科学的見地を加えた世界観・人間観が全く新しい見方をもたらしてます。仏語を日常に使用し、王室と女性にしか興味のないロシア貴族階級が、ナポレオンの侵攻にどう対応するのかが、本書の主題です。愛国心に満ちた若き貴公子が初陣であっけなく頭を射貫かれ、狡猾な老将軍たちは巧みに戦場から離れる対比。信仰心の塊だった貴婦人は、愛人のできた父親の伯爵から冷たく扱われ信仰の意味を失う。最大の謎はナポレオンが略奪と大火のみが残り、栄誉・富の一切ないモスクワまで何故侵攻したのか？彼の「意志」がそうさせたのか？それともモスクワ侵攻は「運命」だったのか？人間と歴史を「意志と運命」の相反する観点から展開させ記述し、本質に迫る描写には圧倒される。気になったのはトルストイが強調してる「Good of living and the love of death」の一節。「love of death」は東洋思想には有りません、これが現在のロシア・ウクライナ戦争にどんな影響を与えるのか？本書は現在も生きてます。

If you're going to read this book, I highly recommend this translation. Even the French has been translated into English, so reading is a breeze. This is 2 books in one: one of society (the "novel" part of the book) and one of war (the historic account of the Napoleonic war). It's told in alternating chapters and is easy to follow.Tolstoy weaves a wonderful, rich story in the chapters following society and he does this well. I always felt that I knew what the character was feeling and going through and what they were thinking.I have to say, Tolstoy’s view of the Napoleonic war was interesting and very down-to-earth. Had he only stated things once, this would have been a fascinating, 5-star book. However, he keeps beating the Reader over the head with history. He feels the need to repeat himself; once, twice, sometimes three times, through the war sections.Read all the Society sections of the book. It's a great story. The plot line follows a few families from about 1805 to 1820; a sort of pre-, during and post-war situation. There's intrigue, war, love, greed, manipulation.The Character list in this book is huge. Tolstoy feels the need to list everyone (and I do mean "everyone") involved in the War, even if they get only the most minor of mentions in the book. I'm not even sure if the entire character list actually played a cameo appearance in the book or whether some (many?) were just mentioned in his War Diatribes. Therefore, do not let the Character list daunt you.Now, about that Epilogue……. My God, what was Tolstoy thinking? One was enough!