November 1942 – An Intimate History of the Turning Point of WW2

“As popular education, it is masterfully executed; as popular science [it is] probably unique, an achievement of international prominence. As literature, it is a deeply thought-provoking book, which makes the reader turn inward, toward their own time.”
Expressen

“A powerful and moving chorus, and in the background the author himself always looms [as] a superb conductor, a master of polyphony and ambiguity.”
Dagens Nyheter

“It is as if [Englund’s] entire writing craft has been emancipated... Dreams from Violent Nights makes him one of the country’s foremost authors, [of] all categories [and] all time.”
Sydsvenskan

“Englund shows how war intensifies the present, makes it vibrate... What is truly great about Englund’s November epic is how the author manages to conjure the everyday in extraordinary events.”
Svenska Dagbladet

“A brilliant reminder, in these times, of how destructive war is on all levels.”
Göteborgs-Posten

“A magnificent read.”
Tidningen Vi

“Englund doesn’t look for heroes and villains; he is on the side of the people in a war between humanity and barbarism. He has gathered their voices into a literary chorus, and their yearnings are astoundingly unanimous.”
Upsala Nya Tidning

“In his snapshot of November 1942, Peter Englund puts individual human beings, their suffering and their actions, at the center of a battle he understand to be a fight between barbarism and civilization, and he does so in a manner so gripping and at the same time distressing that the reader is entirely captivated. (…) Englund’s triumph reminds us also that in spite of all strategic decision-making, the individual human being always is at the center and that history is fundamentally open-ended.”
Neue Zürcher Zeitung

“An extraordinary and unsettling work. (…) ‘Moving’ is a weak word - again and again, this book is very tough on you. Englund unfolds the existential dramas in stylistically elevated prose, closely following the testimonies of his protagonists and of the literature about them.”
Deutschlandfunk Kultur

“Brilliant… Englund’s art consists in his not only letting well-known figures speak — the likes of Albert Camus, Ernst Jünger, and Sophie School — but also ordinary soldiers, ‘normal’ citizens and outsiders.”
Nürnberger Nachrichten

“Englund’s portraits help us experience the existential dimension of war.”
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung

“A fragmented and compelling narration with the most different sets restores a human dimension to war, enriches it with feelings, makes the horror really atrocious.”
Corrado Augias, Venerdì di Repubblica

“Peter Englund succeeds in transforming the narrative of the war into literature.”
Lorenzo Cremonesi, Corriere della Sera

 “Almost every page in this book becomes a movie in the head of the reader.”
Giorgio Gandola, Panorama

“An incredible tapestry woven by the many witnesses whose voices Englund uses. You can see how a colossal mosaic was made of millions of blood and bone pieces. And suddenly in that mosaic a different world began to take shape and succeeded in stopping the advance of dictatorships”
Matto Sacchi, il Giornale

“A mosaic of the Apocalypse or of what is closest to the apocalypse human beings have ever experienced.”
Matto Sacchi, il Giornale

“November 1942 provides a global panorama that is based on individual experiences described in diaries, letters and memoirs. Women’s experiences are commendably included. – The worm’s-eye view is powerful, because the reader is already familiar with the big picture of the war.”
Helsingin Sanomat

“There were several turning points in the fight against Nazism, which in the summer of 1941 seemed invincible. And then against Japan, whose advance thundered across the East. But November 1942 stands out in this context. At the time, not many could gain an overall impression of what was happening around the world. Eighty years later, the author Peter Englund paints a comprehensive picture of the situation – and he does it excellently, captivatingly, cruelly, and poetically.”
Historie Online, Denmark

“With incredible diligence and care, Peter Englund has collected the lives and testimonies of 39 people … One of Peter Englund’s strengths as a historian has always been his ability to immerse himself in events, visually and emotionally, to see the details that other historians do not see … [The book] is well written, one learns a lot, and becomes curious for more.”
Berlingske Tidende

“The turning point of the Second World War is masterfully portrayed through the experiences of 39 individuals who were there when it happened. … It is impossible to read November 1942 without having disturbing associations to what is happening in Ukraine.” 
Stavanger Aftenblad

“November 1942 is a relentless depiction of the horrors of war, right down to the microscopic level. And although it may sound paradoxical, Peter Englund writes so smoothly and elegantly that it occasionally becomes almost lyrical.
Verdens Gang

“Peter Englund writes about 39 individuals and skillfully makes me care about each one of them. It is a considerable literary achievement. November 1942 is a masterfully executed, multilayered narrative.”
NRK

“… with small, precise, sensitive keys, Englund unlocks vast spaces of meaning … brilliant history writing, but also an intensely topical reality check.”
Klassekampen 

“Englund’s exceptionally vivid book … impresses in its scope, and at the same time draws the reader so close to the lives of the sources that you can just disregard the next film about the Second World War, and rather immerse yourself in November 1942 once more.”
Vårt land

“…with November 1942, the author shows that he is among Scandinavia’s leading non-fiction writers. … From the first page, Englund makes clear that he is serious about literary non-fiction. My God, this man can write. Even the long footnotes are riveting. November 1942 is a handbook in how to get the most out of your sources.”
Morgenbladet 

“It almost shouldn’t be possible to cover so many fields, each with such a vast supply of historical evidence, but November 1942 never feels burdensome or overloaded – on the contrary, it is strikingly accessible and alive, and the reason for that lies of course in the way Englund approaches and uses his sources.”
Vinduet

"This gripping and propulsive account, expertly translated by Graves in lyrical prose, recreates the daily uncertainty of war as experienced by regular people with limited information and few resources. It’s a monumental work of history."
Publishers Weekly

"[Englund] succeeds in giving a very human (and inevitably sometimes, inhuman) snapshot of events... It is a book thoroughly worth reading."
The Telegraph