War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Set against the backdrop of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, War and Peace follows five different Russian families over fifteen years: as courtiers, as a populace experiencing turmoil, and as human beings with their own hopes and heartbreaks. Described alternately as "the Russian Iliad," "the Bible of a national ideal," "an extraordinary poem of a novel," and "life itself in eternal movement."
Binding: Paperback / softback