ANNOTATED:* Contains literary critiques, detailed biographies, and detailed historical contextOVERVIEW:It is impossible to convey in words Tolstoy’s extraordinary capacity to transform a work of fiction into a spiritual quest for truth. Indeed, in War and Peace, it is above all, the exhausted truthfulness in his character that is most striking, revealing a sincerity which seems to fear nothing in exploring the most profound and inexorable philosophical ideas.Indeed, it is in this context that Tolstoy’s enigmatic remark, namely that War and Peace is "not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less an historical chronicle" can be understood. For War and Peace certainly is a truly great novel, is an undeniably powerful poem and is a historical chronicle of epic proportions. But underneath the unforgettable scenes of destruction and the beautiful passage on love is a metaphysical treatise on the very nature of Man and his relationship to God. This collection brings together, for the first time in one volume, Tolstoy’s War and Peace with the definitive preface on Tolstoy’s lasting literary legacy. The masterful translation, which was personally approved by Tolstoy himself, is by Louise and Aylmer Maude.SPECIAL KINDLE ENABLED FEATURES:This edition has special Kindle enabled features, including interactive table of contents, text-to-speech capabilities which enable audiobook features, as well as words that can be looked up on the Kindle supplied built in dictionary