A powerful military hit

Antony Beevor's brilliantly orchestrated account of the battle of Stalingrad, published in 1998, has now sold more than a million copies. His follow-up, Berlin, the story of the Soviet advance into Germany over the first five months of 1945, deserves to sell just as well.

This is military history at its most powerful. Beevor not only gives us a clear picture of overall events, he also switches suddenly from the big picture to dramatic close-ups, quoting both Russian and German first-hand accounts to reveal the human cost of this appalling conflict between two comparable forces of evil.

If the ruthlessness and savagery of the Red Army is almost intolerable to read about, it is fully matched by the tenacity of the German resistance, maintained far beyond the point when defeat was inevitable. The sufferings of the non-combatants are given equal prominence.

Around two million German women are believed to have been raped: Beevor's description of this crime rings with horror. Some commentators have been suggesting that the battle for Baghdad might turn out to resemble the siege of Stalingrad. Be that as it may, Berlin: The Downfall 1945 offers a no less fearsome image of all-out war - helping to put what's happening now into much-needed perspective.