"Engrossing . . . In a book densely packed with incident, Figes highlights the influence of the press and the brutal casualties that the war produced . . . Could make a hardened war correspondent's blood run cold." –The New Yorker
"Important and impressive . . . it is freshly informed by Russian sources, of which [Figes] is a master. . . . [
The Crimean War] admirably narrates the saga in its international and religious setting." –
Max Hastings, New York Review of Books "Meticulously researched . . . Comprehensive and compelling . . . Using a startling array of sources, from government records, news articles, and memoirs, to the letters of barely-literate soldiers, Figes deftly balances political, military, and social history . . . The chapters on the war itself are as gripping as an adventure novel . . .
The Crimean War is an evisceration of war, a celebration of scholarship." –
Boston Globe "Fascinating . . . Narrative history at its best, with patient unfolding of events unknown and forgotten–but that have consequences even today. A thoroughly impressive book." –
Kirkus, starred review "A lucid, thoroughly satisfying, definitive history." –
Publishers Weekly, starred review "Narrated in fearsomely vivid detail and with analytical precision . . . Figes restores historical significance and human suffering to the conflict." –
Booklist "A wonderful subject, on every level, and with Orlando Figes it has found the historian worthy of its width and depth." –
Norman Stone, Standpoint "Figes' new work will remind readers of his gifts, keen judgment and mastery of sources." –
Max Hastings, The Sunday Times "This is the only book on the Crimean War anyone could need. It is lucid, well-written, alive and sensitive. Above all, it tells us why this neglected conflict and its forgotten victims deserve our remembrance." –
Oliver Bullough, The Independent "Figes is a first-class historian. . . an excellent guide to the vagaries of the battlefield and the suffering of the ordinary soldiers . . . and the extent to which this was a religious war." –
Dominic Sandbrook, The Daily Telegraph "A fine, stirring account, expertly balancing analysis . . . with an impressive narrative across the vast panoramic sweep of the war." –
Mark Bostridge, Financial Times "Excellent. . . I could not help but marvel at the many parallels with the present." –
Anne Applebaum, The Spectator "A stellar historian. As ever, Figes mixes strong narrative pace, a grand canvas and compelling ideas about current geopolitical tensions." –
Tristram Hunt, The Observer "Entertains as well as enlightens... With its account of combat in the Balkans and conflict in Iran, Afghanistan and Jerusalem, [The Crimean War] makes the modern reader blink with recognition." –
Angus Macqueen, The Guardian "A complex tale, told vividly by Figes." –
The Economist