The book by historian and writer S. E. Mikheenkov is a unique collection of soldiers’ stories about the war, on which the author worked for more than thirty years. The most striking episodes, arranged thematically, formed a coherent, exciting narrative about the war of the Russian Soldier. This, in the words of the poet, “the hard truth of a soldier won in battle” will amaze the reader with the utmost frankness, nakedness of the soul and nerves of a warrior of the Great Patriotic War.