The Witch of Stalingrad - by Justine Saracen (Paperback)

About the Book

"As the German Blitzkrieg brings the Soviet Union to its knees in 1942, a regiment of women aviators flies out at night in flimsy aircraft without parachutes or radios to harass the Wehrmacht troops. The Germans call them 'Night Witches' and the best of them is Lilya Drachenko. From the other end of the world, photojournalist Alex Preston arrives to 'get the story' for the American press and witnesses sacrifice, hardship, and desperate courage among the Soviet women that is foreign to her. So also are their politics. While the conservative journalist and the communist Lilya clash politically, Stalingrad, the most savage battle of the 20th century, brings them together, until enemy capture and the lethal Russian winter tears them apart again"--Publisher's description.

Book Synopsis

As the German Blitzkrieg brings the Soviet Union to its knees in 1942, a regiment of women aviators flies out at night in flimsy aircraft without parachutes or radios to harass the Wehrmacht troops. The Germans call them "Night Witches" and the best of them is Lilya Drachenko. From the other end of the world, photojournalist Alex Preston arrives to "get the story" for the American press and witnesses sacrifice, hardship, and desperate courage among the Soviet women that is foreign to her. So also are their politics. While the conservative journalist and the communist Lilya clash politically, Stalingrad, the most savage battle of the 20th century, brings them together, until enemy capture and the lethal Russian winter tears them apart again.

About the Author

After years of "professing" at universities and writing for international literary journals, and a stint in opera management, Justine Saracen began writing fiction. Saracen lives in Brussels, a short flight or train ride to the great cities she loves to write about. Her favorite non-literary pursuits are parrot pampering, scuba diving, and listening to opera.