Sympony for the Dead: Dmitri Shoatakovich and the Seige of Leningrad

Reviewed by: Kristin Taylor - Biddeford High School, Biddeford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 7, 2016

Review

An overall interesting book. Those who are interested in music history of Russia during the early 1900s and the two and a half year siege on the City of Leningrad, would love this book. It is rather slow at first to follow, if you are not interested in the topic, but once you go further it starts to pique interest into what actually happened to many of the citizens of Russia during that time span and how all of this influenced Russia's culture of the time. A must have resource for high school libraries.

Dmitri Shostakovich was one of Russia's premier composers. The music that he composed since he was a young child, has always been stirred by the plight of his fellow citizens of Leningrad. M.T. Anderson has put together a rather compelling story of a city under siege, where starvation was common, and not knowing who trust was a concern.

The period photographs of Russia during its transformation into the Soviet Union compliment the information that is presented in the context of the book. There is a TOC, an index that is easy to use and an extremely well documented source notes section.

Overall Book Score: very good