Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of LeningradA 2016 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson delivers a brilliant and riveting account of the Siege of Leningrad and the role played by Russian composer Shostakovich and his Leningrad Symphony. In September 1941, Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history almost three years of bombardment and

A 2016 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist

National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson delivers a brilliant and riveting account of the Siege of Leningrad and the role played by Russian composer Shostakovich and his Leningrad Symphony.

In September 1941, Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history--almost three years of bombardment and starvation that culminated in the harsh winter of 1943-1944. More than a million citizens perished. Survivors recall corpses littering the frozen streets, their relatives having neither the means nor the strength to bury them. Residents burned books, furniture, and floorboards to keep warm; they ate family pets and--eventually--one another to stay alive. Trapped between the Nazi invading force and the Soviet government itself was composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who would write a symphony that roused, rallied, eulogized, and commemorated his fellow citizens--the Leningrad Symphony, which came to occupy a surprising place of prominence in the eventual Allied victory.

This is the true story of a city under siege: the triumph of bravery and defiance in the face of terrifying odds. It is also a look at the power--and layered meaning--of music in beleaguered lives. Symphony for the City of the Dead is a masterwork thrillingly told and impeccably researched by National Book Award-winning author M. T. Anderson.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 09/22/2015
ISBN: 9780763668181
Pages: 464
Weight: 1.85lbs
Size: 9.10h x 5.90w x 1.70d
Award: Tayshas Reading - Highly Commended
Award: National Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Cybils - Finalist

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 06/29/2015
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2015
Booklist 07/01/2015 pg. 49
School Library Journal 09/01/2015 pg. 186
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2015 pg. 123
Shelf Awareness 09/25/2015
Voice of Youth Advocates 10/01/2015 - Recommended - Hard To Beat
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 10/01/2015 pg. 75 - Book Of Special Distinction
New York Review of Books 10/11/2015 pg. 18
BookPage 10/01/2015
PW Best Children's Books 11/02/2015 pg. 52
NY Times Notable Bks of Year 12/06/2015 pg. 34
Kirkus Best Young-Adult Books 12/01/2015 pg. 50
Booklist Ed Choice Youth 01/01/2016 pg. 12

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 176662 / Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad
Reading Level: 7.9 / Interest Level: Upper Grade / Point Value: 18