'Red Star at War' is a beautiful and detailed book about the madness of the Second World War in all its facets, in terms of wasting human lives and goods.

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Traces of War

Featured in WWII History

WWII History

A fresh work again in the intricate world of war books.

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Miniaturas JM

It’s not a history of the war from the Soviet perspective, more a fascinating look at the lives of the ordinary people who were involved in it.

The Armourer, April 2021

The author provides the face and humanity of the Soviet people at war. The Red Army was a critical component of Allied victory in Europe. There have been many attempts by historians to present a convincing review of human cost, but this book achieves the objective – Very Highly Recommended

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Firetrench

Article: 'Arran author brings humanity to account of Soviet Russia'

Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald, 16th August 2020

A unique and invaluable contribution to the growing library of World War II histories, biographies, memoirs and studies, "Red Star at War: Victory at all Costs" is an extraordinary and seminal read that is as informed and informative as it is thoughtfully insightful and thorough-provoking. Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "Red Star at War: Victory at all Costs" is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a four page Bibliography and a three page Index.

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Midwest Book Review

Overall, I found this book superb and beautifully written. The author has done a lot of
research into the individual’s backgrounds. It is a good book and has a non-standard approach
to the history of the Red Army. The non-standard approach being the personal human
individual life stories rather than a “divisional” or “campaign” etc history. It is highly
recommended and well worth reading.

Dr Stuart C Blank

This book contains excellent stories about people of the time, and it’s well written and very balanced by the author Colin Turbett. It’s an excellent book and thoroughly enjoyable which is my opinion, and I would recommend it with the great sources in the back of the book. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject.

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UK Historian

The book therefore brings us to know many war stories and makes use of the collaboration of a translator named Valentina Kudinova who also contributes two stories connected to her family.

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On The Old Barbed Wire

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A fascinating read that powerfully reminds the reader in the West of the humanity and immense sacrifices made by the Soviet people without which the war would have ended in failure.

NetGalley, Kimba Tichenor

Living in the US I've read a lot of books that detail battles of WW2, both in Europe and in the Pacific Theaters. This book tells the stories of (mostly) forgotten Russians that fought, and often died, in the brutal fighting against Nazi Germany after they were invaded in 1941. Often poignant and heartbreaking, the excerpts of letters and photos show ordinary people that were separated from their families for years (leave was almost never possible, even if near the home of the soldier). Add to that the stress of the danger that civilians faced with the invasion and brutality of the Nazis of the most industrial and agriculturally productive parts of the Soviet Union. Unlike in the West, both men and women served in combat roles, although the women faced discrimination and sexual assault from the men they served with. For me the most heartbreaking stories involve children, sometimes toddlers, that were adopted by military units. These children were one of the real tragedies of the war, orphaned or separated from family with little hope of being reunited. The other tragedy highlighted in these stories is the frequent lack of recognition for the sacrifice and bravery of most ordinary soldiers. After the war was over in 1945 it took decades for some to gain the acknowledgment of their extraordinary service by the generations coming afterwards. In the West, we call the men and women that lived and served during WW2 The Greatest Generation, in the Soviet Union they could be considered The Forgotten Generation. This book works to prevent them being forgotten.

NetGalley, Carrie Habib

Using numerous experiences of Soviet Russian protagonists, the author skilfully describes the immense contributions at all levels of Soviet society towards victory. A criticism is that it shines a good light on the communist system and there is not enough examination of the Soviet intentions before the 1941 invasion by Germany, and that produces a rather binary approach: Russians good, Germans bad. That said, if the purpose of a good history book is the provoke and seek depth, then this succeeds.

Michael McCarthy. Battlefield Guide

Michael McCarthy