This book is about the war in Afghanistan; it is a classic about war anywhere. It is by a Russian journalist; it will remind you of the best writing about Vietnam. The author takes us inside the war in Afghanistan -- the Soviet Vietnam. The book is written in several voices: that of the extraordinary journalist that Bocharov is, & those of several ordinary Soviet soldiers who tell who they are (or were) & what happened to them. Taken together, theses parallel streams recreate the atmosphere of the war, its specific characteristics, & its moral cul-de-sacs & tragedies. This was the longest war waged by Russia since 1813.