WAR OF THE RATS

Listening to George Guidall read is like watching Jack Nicholson act--an explosion lurks around any corner of the plot, so listen expectantly. In WAR OF THE RATS Chuikov's Red Army and Paulus's 6th are trapped in Stalingrad that terrible winter of 1942. At the center of the story is Chief Master Sergeant Vasily Zaitsev, who has the Germans terrified of showing themselves. SS Colonel Heinz Torvald has been sent from the elite sniper school in Berlin to take him out. Guidall reads Zaitsev and the other Russian characters with a subtly rounded accent, and Torvald with an equally subtle hint of the German. Guidall's reading is as sharp and accurate as the cross hairs on Zaitsev's scope. It's a perfect match for the historical precision of Robbins's account. A final interview with the author explains the genesis of this gripping text, and neither should be missed. P.E.F. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 00]