This is by far the most commonly seen book on the Winter War and the book seems to have had great commercial success. It is often the first book on the Winter War the English reader encounters and as such is seen in many reference libraries. It has been widely distributed and can be located at a number of outlets, being one of the few books dealing with the Winter War that can be located at many local bookstores.

Overall this book is quite respectable and does lay a general overview of the events of the Winter War. The writing of the book is easy to follow, the maps are adequate, and the photos are excellent. The book does not go into great detail and will leave some gaps for the reader but I do not feel the intent of this book to be anything more than a general outline and history of the war. As such it does accomplish what the authors intended to do.

Most of the information that is found in the work seems to be correct and accurate but it does gloss over and leave the reader wanting a bit more. It is an excellent book for one with a slight interest in the Winter War and it also serves as a good introduction for later research. This is indeed the first book that I read that detailed the Winter War and I found it fascinating. The authors do a very good job at communicating what was taking place during the war, the major causes of the war, and many details of the major encounters of the war.

For the first time reader or researcher this is a good source to get your feet wet. It is not as good as the other books reviewed here but is still a nice start. I would recommend this as a starting point and the reader can later graduate to the more advanced works.

(Reviewed by Brent Snodgrass)