In 1812, Napoleon launched his fateful invasion of Russia. Five decades later, Leo Tolstoy published War and Peace, a fictional representation of the era that is one of the most celebrated novels in world literature. The novel contains a coherent (though much disputed) philosophy of history and portrays the history and military strategy of its time in a manner that offers lessons for the soldiers of today. To mark the two hundredth anniversary of the French invasion of Russia and acknowledge the importance of Tolstoy's novel for our historical memory of its central events, Rick McPeak and Donna Tussing Orwin have assembled a distinguished group of scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds-literary criticism, history, social science, and philosophy-to provide fresh readings of the novel.

Introductionby Donna Tussing OrwinChapter 1. Tolstoy on War, Russia, and Empireby Dominic LievenChapter 2. The Use of Historical Sources in War and Peaceby Dan UngurianuChapter 3. Moscow in 1812: Myths and Realitiesby Alexander M. MartinChapter 4. The French at War: Representations of the Enemy in "War and Peace"by Alan ForrestChapter 5. Symposium of Quotations: Wit and Other Short Genres in "War and Peace"by Gary Saul MorsonChapter 6. The Great Man in "War and Peace"by Jeff LoveChapter 7. "War and Peace" from the Military Point of Viewby Donna Tussing OrwinChapter 8. Tolstoy and Clausewitz: The Duel as a Microcosm of Warby Rick McPeakChapter 9 The Awful Poetry of War: Tolstoy's Borodinoby Donna Tussing OrwinChapter 10. Tolstoy and Clausewitz: The Dialectics of Warby Andreas Herberg-RotheChapter 11. The Disobediences of War and Peaceby Elizabeth D. SametChapter 12. Tolstoy the International Relations Theoristby David A. WelchWar and Peace at West Pointby Rick McPeakNotesWorks CitedList of ContributorsIndex