A Book Of The Blockade by Ales Adamovich & Daniil Granin - 1982

Moscow: Raduga Publishers, 1982. English Translation. Translated by Hilda Perham. Illustrated. Illustrated cloth boards. This book tells about the nine hundred day siege of Leningrad during the Second World War. Its two authorsó the Byelorussian Ales Adamovich and Daniil Granin of Leningrad, accumulated a wealth of material: diaries, letters, poems written during the blockade, and survivors' reminiscences. They interviewed "the strong and the weak, those who had been saved and those who had saved others". To quote Granin, "Each new story we heard and recorded seemed to be the summit of suffering and grief, but then another would reveal new depths of sorrow and endurance, would show us the human spirit in its awe-inspiring strength and dimensions." The book shows that Leningradersófactory workers, scientists, actors. Party functionaries, children and old people were not crushed by the sufferings that came their way. As we read the book, we find Leningraders speaking and thinking of everyday matters to do with survivaló and with the war. Even small children knew better than to talk of food. And still these starving people worked and did their stint for victory, even when their hands literally froze to the metal tools. The authors' comments are as sincere and moving as the survivors' tales. This is a book about genuine tragedy, but it is also about dignity, generosity of heart and strength of spirit.