Stalin's General: The Life of Georgy Zhukov
by Geoffery Roberts

DESCRIPTION:
Widely regarded as the most accomplished general of World War II, the Soviet military legend Marshal Georgy Zhukov at last gets the full-scale biographical treatment he has long deserved.

 A man of indomitable will and fierce determination, Georgy Zhukov was the Soviet UnionΓÇÖs indispensable commander through every one of the critical turning points of World War II. It was Zhukov who saved Leningrad from capture by the Wehrmacht in September 1941, Zhukov who led the defense of Moscow in October 1941, Zhukov who spearheaded the Red ArmyΓÇÖs march on Berlin and formally accepted GermanyΓÇÖs unconditional surrender in the spring of 1945. Drawing on the latest research from recently opened Soviet archives, including the uncensored versions of ZhukovΓÇÖs own memoirs, Roberts offers a vivid portrait of a man whose tactical brilliance was matched only by the cold-blooded ruthlessness with which he pursued his battlefield objectives.

 After the war, Zhukov was a key player on the geopolitical scene. As KhrushchevΓÇÖs defense minister, he was one of the architects of Soviet military strategy during the Cold War. While lauded in the West as a folk heroΓÇöhe was the only Soviet general ever to appear on the cover of Time magazineΓÇöZhukov repeatedly ran afoul of the Communist political authorities. Wrongfully accused of disloyalty, he was twice banished and erased from his countryΓÇÖs official historyΓÇöleft out of books and paintings depicting Soviet World War II victories. Piercing the hyperbole of the Zhukov personality cult, Roberts debunks many of the myths that have sprung up around ZhukovΓÇÖs life and career to deliver fresh insights into the marshalΓÇÖs relationships with Stalin, Khrushchev, and Eisenhower.

 A remarkably intimate portrait of a man whose life was lived behind an Iron Curtain of official secrecy, StalinΓÇÖs General is an authoritative biography that restores Zhukov to his rightful place in the twentieth-century military pantheon.

Amazon.co.uk title link: 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stalins-General-Life-Georgy-Zhukov/dp/1848314426