Although it marked a turning point in World War II in favor of the Allies, Nazi Germany's 900-day siege of Leningrad claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. In an effort to boost the spirits of his fellow citizens, Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his massive Symphony no. 7; as the author of The French Century relates here, however, most of the city's orchestra had already died. Nonetheless, a few dozen starving musicians heroically banded together to premiere a demanding composition that would be blasted via speakers onto the battlefields of the encircled city, and around the world.

"The terrible beauty of the book is in its anecdotal detail, and the horror is of a kind that makes you weep but at times approaches comedy."—Spectator (UK)