Blood on the Shores: Soviet Naval Commandos in World War II by Viktor Leonov

What these men did simply defy reality. I took this book out from the library years ago and read it within two days, I simply could not put it down. Later on I was able to find a copy of it here on amazon and every now and then go back to skim through my favorite parts. The stories in it are incredible, what these men had to endure and what they were able to accomplish are feats that not even the greatest writer can put into words. The author reveals them through the simplest language, that of a soldier, and yet I couldn't help but to read and reread some of the scenes over and over again. As an example: stuck in a cave trying to hide from the Germans, one of the soldiers a marine recon platoon, chewed on his hand rather than scream out from the pain he was under as a result of the wounds he had received. Never in my life could I have imagined such courage and selfrestraint. This is one of the more memorable stories but by no means the most interesting or the 'best', although I'm sure my opinion will differ from yours as to which story the best. If you can find a copy I promise you won't be disappointed. I've read hundreds of books on the war, fiction and non-fiction, to date this is still the greatest and most interesting of them all.