Antony Beevor's narrative does not add substantially to the classic accounts of the battle already published.

ECONOMIST: Battle of Stalingrad

Both Antony Beevor and Max Hastings are distinguished exemplars of this approach.

ECONOMIST: The second world war

Antony Beevor took the prize two years ago for Stalingrad, while last year it went to biographer David Cairns for Berlioz: Servitude and Greatness.

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Perhaps Mr Beevor could have made more of his new evidence.

ECONOMIST: Battle of Stalingrad

Mr Beevor exemplifies another trend: the rise of the star historian.

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But rapturous receptions for writers like Anthony Beevor, author of a tome on wartime Berlin, show that interest in real books at least matches the appetite for chit-chat.

ECONOMIST: Dumbed-down Britain? You would be stupid to believe it

Mr Beevor has had access to a vast range of recently declassified Russian archives, and he draws on extensive interviews with 30 participants on both sides of the front.

ECONOMIST: Battle of Stalingrad

Our approach to the history curriculum has been supported by some of the country's most eminent historians, including Prof David Abulafia, Prof Niall Ferguson, Dr David Starkey, Antony Beevor and Dr Amanda Foreman.

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With several books already under his belt, Mr Beevor became known in 1998 for his epic account of the siege of Stalingrad, and went on to produce accounts of D-Day and the fall of Berlin.

ECONOMIST: The second world war

In a letter to The Times, signed by Niall Ferguson and Anthony Beevor among others, 25 historians argue that first-past-the-post is the product of a long fight for one vote for every man or woman.

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Mr Hastings got there before Mr Beevor.

ECONOMIST: The second world war