Roger R. Reese is professor of history at Texas A&M University and author of Stalin’s Reluctant Soldiers: A Social History of the Red Army, 1925–1941; Red Commanders: A Social History of the Soviet Army Officer Corps, 1918–1991; and The Soviet Military Experience: A History of the Soviet Army, 1917–1991.His new book is Why Stalin’s Soldiers Fought: The Red Army’s Military Effectiveness in World War II.
Last month I asked Reese what he was reading. His reply:
I don’t normally read much fiction because I find people’s real life experiences in history so fascinating, but recently I read the Stieg Larsen trilogy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. I really enjoyed them mostly because he kept me guessing.Learn more about Reese's Why Stalin’s Soldiers Fought at the University Press of Kansas website.The plot twists and turns were perfectly reasonable, not something out of the blue, but ones you just would not have guessed. I get disappointed if I figure out the ending before it comes, and there was no problem with that in this series.
Other than researching and writing history my other passion in life is running. I was given Born to Run by Christopher McDougall for Christmas and finally read it in February. I’m glad I did. Although his style is a bit overly dramatic for my tastes, it caused me to reevaluate some of my long-held beliefs about running and get into minimalist shoes, which I have come to appreciate.
The Page 99 Test: Why Stalin’s Soldiers Fought.
--Marshal Zeringue
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