本片描述了在拿破侖指揮軍隊進攻俄國時大動蕩年代中的一段經典愛情故事，是一部史詩般的前蘇聯戰爭巨片。
　　
　　安德烈不顧懷孕的妻子和年邁的父親，堅持到軍隊服役。戰役失敗，他頽喪回傢，恰逢妻子難産而死，彼埃爾則在父親臨終前被立為財産繼承人，並承襲了其父的伯爵稱號，和貴族庫拉金的女兒艾倫結婚。婚後不久，因兩人性格不合而分居。彼埃爾與羅斯托夫伯爵一傢在去打獵的路上，把沉浸在喪妻之痛的安德烈也拉去打獵，伯爵的女兒娜塔莎·羅斯托娃對安德烈産生了好感。不久，娜塔莎接受了安德烈的求婚，訂立了婚約。
　　
　　過了一段時間，安德烈重返軍隊。艾倫的弟弟阿納托裏騙得娜塔莎的愛，唆使其與他私奔。俄法戰爭開始，擔任總司令的庫圖佐夫將軍决定暫時放棄莫斯科。在撤退途中，娜塔莎遇到受重傷的安德烈，安德烈諒解了娜塔莎，但他卻因傷勢過重而離開了人世。
　　
　　戰爭勝利結束後，彼埃爾回到了莫斯科，娜塔莎把自己的命運永遠的與彼埃爾結合在了一起……
　　《戰爭與和平》-影片評價
　　
　　這是一部製作精緻、構思嚴謹的巨片。場面壯闊，氣勢磅礴，繼承了前蘇聯在拍攝歷史題材影片方面的傳統，完美地融托爾斯泰原著精神於其中，再現了俄法戰爭時期俄羅斯大地廣阔的歷史畫捲。影片以1812年俄國衛國戰爭為中心，反映了1805年至1820年重大事件，包括奧斯特利茨大戰、波羅底諾會戰、莫斯科大火、拿破侖潰退等。通過對四大家庭以及安德烈、彼埃爾、娜塔莎在戰爭與和平環境中的思想和行動的描寫，展示了當時俄國社會的風貌。耗時五年，據稱耗資一億美元(當時的價錢)的宏偉巨製，試圖極其忠實地復製托爾斯泰的長篇巨著。戰爭戲和舞會戲非常出色，但整體水準參差不齊。影片長達六個半小時，在蘇聯電影史上有着舉足輕重的地位，同時獲奧斯卡最佳外語片奬。1956年的美國版雖然比這部短，但也有 208分鐘，有奧黛麗·赫本、亨利·方達等主演，也是以戰爭場面取勝。1973年英國BBC推出750分鐘的電視版。
　　《戰爭與和平》-花絮
　　
　　影片拍攝耗資高達5億6000萬美元，堪稱影史上最昂貴的影片。
　　
　　影片拍攝得到了蘇聯軍方的大力協助，甚至軍方試圖讓片中兵力盡量與實際戰役的參戰人數基本相同。在世界影史上，本片成為動用臨時演員最多的影片之一，超過本片的衹有1982年的《甘地傳》，參加該片拍攝的臨時演員多達30萬人。
　　
　　1981年3月，本片在墨西哥電視一臺和二臺首次播出，創下了電視臺播放最長影片的吉尼斯世界紀錄。
　　
　　1958年，好萊塢著名製片人邁剋爾·托德(Michael Todd)訪問莫斯科，他曾提議聯合拍攝本片，但遭到蘇聯政府的拒絶。
　　《戰爭與和平》-精彩對白
　　
　　Prince Andrei Bolkonsky: Natasha... I love you too much. More than anything in the world.
　　安德烈王子：娜塔莎……我太愛你了。超過這世上的一切。
　　Natasha Rostova: And I! But why too much?
　　娜塔莎：我也是！但為什麽這麽強烈？
　　Prince Andrei Bolkonsky: Why too much? Well, what do you think? What do you feel in your soul, deep in your soul? Shall I live? What do you think?
　　安德烈王子：為什麽？你是怎麽想的？在你心靈深處感知到什麽？我會活下去嗎？你是怎麽想的？
　　《戰爭與和平》《戰爭與和平》
　　Natasha Rostova: I'm sure of it.
　　娜塔莎：當然。
　　Prince Andrei Bolkonsky: How good that would be.
　　安德烈王子：那會多好。
　　
　　Narrator: Enough, enough, men. Stop, consider, what are you doing? Into the minds of tired and hungry men on both sides, a flicker of doubt began to creep. Were they to go on slaughtering one another? Kill whom you like, do what you like, but I've had enough. Yet some inexplicable, mysterious power continued to control them, and the terrible business went on, carried out not by the will of individual men.
　　旁白：夠了，夠了，停下吧，你們想想，你們在做什麽？交戰雙方饑寒交迫筋疲力盡的人們開始思考，一絲疑慮開始蔓延。他們還將互相殺戮嗎？隨便你們為所欲為吧，我已經厭倦了。然而一些無法解釋的、神秘的力量在繼續控製着他們，災難扔在繼續，個人的意願無法改變這一切。
　　《戰爭與和平》-劇情
　　
　　日本侵華戰爭期間，小柴健一所在運輸船被炸沉後，他被中國漁民救活，從此留在中國軍隊服務。健一的死亡通知單被送到東京的妻子町子手中，町子和健一幼年時的朋友伍東康吉結合了，帶着健一的兒子茂男幸福地生活在一起。但在空襲中，康吉精神上受到了刺激變得失常。日本投降後，健一回到家乡，他沒有想到，妻子町子已經與康吉結了婚，他在絶望中要求把茂男交給自己撫養，但是茂男已經和康吉有了感情，健一不得不放棄帶走茂男的念頭。...
　　《戰爭與和平》- 幕後花絮
　　
　　此片是按照當時占日美軍的意圖拍攝的，是為日本新憲法放棄戰爭作宣傳的影片。但對於兩位導演來說，這正是他們想要拍攝的主題，因為在戰爭期間，他們目睹了戰爭帶給人民的殘酷和不幸生活。此片的重要意義還在於，導演龜井文夫把大量表現中國難民的鏡頭組接在影片中，使日本人民看到了真實的戰爭殘酷的一面，對日本人民的觸動很大，因此廣大日本人民對此片的評價很高，影片在日本電影史上有不可忽視的地位。
　　《戰爭與和平》-小說引言
　　
　　《戰爭與和平》《戰爭與和平》
　　托爾斯泰捲秩浩繁的長篇小說。場面浩大，人物繁多，被稱為“世界上最偉大的小說”，成就非凡。《戰爭與和平》問世至今，一直被人稱為“世界上最偉大的小說”。 這部捲帙浩繁的巨著以史詩般廣阔與雄渾的氣勢，生動 地描寫了1805至1820年俄國社會的重大歷史事件和各個生活領域：“近千個人物，無數的場景，國傢和私人生活的一切可能的領域，歷史，戰爭，人間一切慘劇，各種情欲，人生各個階段，從嬰兒降臨人間的啼聲到氣息奄奄的老人的感情最後迸發，人所能感受到的一切歡樂和痛苦，各種可能的內心思緒，從竊取自己同伴的錢幣的小偷的感覺，到英雄主義的最崇高的衝動和領悟透徹的沉思— —在這幅畫裏都應有盡有。”作者對生活的大面積涵蓋和整體把握，對個別現象與事物整體、個人命運與周圍世界的內在聯繫的充分揭示，使這部小說具有極大的思想和藝術容量。 這是托爾斯泰創作的第一部捲秩浩繁的長篇小說。 作者把戰爭與和平，前綫與後方、國內與國外、軍隊與社會、上層與下層連結起來，既全面反映了時代風貌，又為各式各樣的典型人物創造了極廣阔的典型環境。作者對人物的描寫形象既復雜又豐滿，常用對比的藝術方法來表述，體裁在俄國文學史上是一種創新，也超越了歐洲長篇小說的傳統規範。
　　《戰爭與和平》-作者簡介
　　
　　列夫·托爾斯泰（Л.Н.Толстой,Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Leo Tolstoy,1828—1910)，19世紀俄羅斯文學寫實主義的代表作傢，公認的最偉大的俄羅斯文學家， 《西方正典》作者、美國著名文學教授兼批評傢哈洛·卜倫甚至稱之為“從文藝復興以來，惟一能挑戰荷馬、但丁與莎士比亞的偉大作傢”。對文學擁有“狂戀式愛情”的托爾
　　《戰爭與和平》《戰爭與和平》
　　斯泰，是俄羅斯文學史上創作時間最長、作品數量最多、影響最深遠、地位最崇高的作傢，重情節、重典型、重寫實、重批判的文學時代，在他筆下達到巔峰。長篇巨著《戰爭與和平》、 《安娜·卡列尼娜》 和《復活》是托爾斯泰文學藝術上的三個里程碑。百年來，他的作品被譯為各國文字，銷售量纍積超過5億册，是大師中的大師。
　　
　　《戰爭與和平》恢弘的構思和卓越的藝術描寫震驚世界文壇，成為舉世公認的世界文學名著和人類寶貴的精神財富。英國作傢毛姆及諾貝爾文學奬得主羅曼·羅蘭稱贊它是“有史以來最偉大的小說”，“是我們時代最偉大的史詩，是近代的伊利亞特”。
　　
　　《戰爭與和平》是一部宏偉巨著，它以戰爭問題為中心，以庫拉金、包爾康斯基、勞斯托夫、別竺豪夫四傢貴族的生活為綫索，展示了19世紀最初15年的俄國歷史，描繪了各個階級的生活，是一部再現當時社會風貌的恢弘史詩。作品中的各色人物刻畫精準細膩，景物如臨眼前，雖是19世紀的小說作品，但流傳至今，卻沒有任何隔閡感，其中流露出來對人性的悲憫情懷，穿越時空背景，仍舊撼動人心。
　　《戰爭與和平》-內容簡要
　　
　　1805年7月，拿破侖率兵徵服了歐洲，法俄之間正醖釀着激烈的戰爭。然而在彼得堡上層的人們依舊過着恬靜悠閑的生活，達官貴人們都彙聚在皇后的女官兼寵臣安娜·巴甫洛夫娜舉辦傢宴招待會上。
　　《戰爭與和平》《戰爭與和平》
　　赴宴的有宮廷官高位重的伐西裏王爵和他漂亮卻行為不端的女兒美倫，還有個頭高大健壯的年輕人彼爾，他戴着眼鏡，剪短發，穿淺色的流行短褲和褐色燕尾服。彼爾是莫斯科著名貴族別竺豪夫的私生子，從小出國留學，今年20歲，學成回國到首都謀職。他一進宴會廳，對人們議論拿破侖徵戰歐洲頗感興趣。在這裏，他高興地結識了英俊而剛毅的青年安德烈－－先朝保羅皇帝的退職老總司令包爾康斯基的長子，兩人很快成了好朋友。
　　
　　 此時，安德烈正應庫圖佐夫將軍的召喚，去任他的傳令官，將出國跟徵戰歐洲的拿破侖軍隊作戰，任即將分娩的妻子和妹妹瑪麗再三勸留，也改變不了他的决心，他期望通過這次戰爭為自己帶來輝煌與榮耀。在出徵之前，安德烈把妻子從首都送到了在莫斯科郊外居住的父親那裏，委托父親加以關照。於是他急奔前綫，在波蘭追上了俄軍總司令庫圖佐夫，總司令派他到聯合縱隊去任職，並受到了嘉奬。
　　
　　彼爾回到莫斯科，他繼承了別竺豪夫伯爵身後所有的遺産，搖身一變成為莫斯科數一數二的資本傢，成為社交界的寵兒。他的親戚伐西裏早就窺視別竺豪夫傢的財産，本想通過篡改遺囑來謀得，失敗後，又處心積慮地要拉攏彼爾，一方面為他在彼得堡謀得一個不小的官職，又挖空心思巧安排，讓已是宮廷女官的女兒美倫嫁給彼爾，以圖錢財。結果他的計謀順利達成，可這樁婚事實在不幸之至。彼爾發現了妻子與好友多勃赫夫之間的曖昧關係，他與多勃赫夫進行搏鬥，並幸運的擊倒對方，隨之與妻子分居，自己也陷入了善惡和生死的睏擾之中，在加入共濟會後，受到寬宏大量的哲學的熏陶，接回了妻子。
　　
　　 當安德烈再次回到總司令身邊，俄奧聯軍對法的奧斯特裏齊戰鬥就要打響了。由於在戰前的軍事會議上，否决了幾位老將軍的意見，采取了馬上出擊的戰略，結果慘敗。安德烈受傷被俘，途中昏迷，被敵人誤以為活不成而丟下，庫圖佐夫也以為安德烈陣亡，給他的父親去信報喪。可是安德烈在老百姓的救治下又康復了。愈後的他直奔老傢，是日夜晚，妻子莉沙正好産下一名男嬰，但她卻在分娩中死去了。安德烈在孤獨與絶望之中給妻子最後一個吻，他覺得人生已再無意義，决定終老於領地。
　　《戰爭與和平》《戰爭與和平》
　　一八零七年六月，俄與法言和，和平生活開始了。
　　一八零九年春天，安德烈·保爾康斯基因貴族會之事而去拜托羅斯托夫伯爵。在伯爵傢他被充滿生命力的年輕小姐娜達莎深深地吸引了。但由於禿山老公爵強烈反對，衹好互相約以一年的緩衝期，而 後，安德烈·保爾康斯基即出國去了。但是，年輕的娜達莎無法忍受寂寞，且經不起彼爾之妻愛倫的哥哥阿納托爾的誘惑，而擅自約定私奔，因此，與安德烈·保爾康斯基的婚約即告無效。
　　
　　 一八一二年，俄、法兩國再度交戰，安德烈·保爾康斯基於多勃琪諾戰役中身受重傷，而俄軍節節敗退，眼見莫斯科即將陷於敵人之手了。羅斯托夫傢將原本用來搬運傢産的馬車，改派去運送傷兵，娜達莎方能能於傷兵中發現將死的安德烈·保爾康斯基。她嚮他謝罪並熱誠看護他，但一切都是徒勞了，安德烈·保爾康斯基仍然逃不過死亡之神而去世了。
　　彼爾化裝成農夫，想伺機刺殺拿破 侖，但卻被法軍逮捕而成為俘虜。其妻愛倫於戰火中，仍繼續其放蕩行為，最後，因誤服墮胎藥而且死亡。
　　
　　 幾番奮戰後，俄國終於贏得勝利，彼爾於莫斯科巧遇娜達莎，兩人便結為夫 婦，而安德烈·保爾康斯基的妹妹瑪莉亞也與娜達莎之兄尼剋拉結婚，而組成一個幸福的家庭。
　　
　　《戰爭與和平》-相關評價
　　
　　《戰爭與和平》問世至今，一直被人稱為“世界上最偉大的小說”。這部捲帙浩繁的巨著以史詩般廣阔與雄渾的氣勢，生動地描寫了1805至1820年俄國社會的重大歷史事件和各個生活領域：“近千個人物，無數的場景，國傢和私人生活的一切可能的領域，歷史，戰爭，人間一切慘劇，各種情欲，人生各個階段，從嬰兒降臨人間的啼聲到氣息奄奄的老人的感情最後迸發，人所能感受到的一切歡樂和痛苦，各種可能的內心思緒，從竊取自己同伴的錢幣的小偷的感覺，到英雄主義的最崇高的衝動和領悟透徹的沉思——在這幅畫裏都應有盡有。”（斯特拉霍夫語）作傢對生活的大面積涵蓋和整體把握，對個別現象與事物整體、個人命運與周圍世界的內在聯繫的充分揭示，使這部小說具有極大的思想和藝術容量。
　　
　　這是一部人民戰爭的英雄史詩。托爾斯泰曾經表示：“在《戰爭與和平》裏我喜歡人民的思想。”也就是說，作者力圖在這部作品裏表現俄國人民在反侵略戰爭中的愛國主義精神及其歷史作用。在國傢危急的嚴重關頭，許多來自下層的俄軍普通官兵同仇敵愾，浴血奮戰，雖然戰事一度失利，但精神上卻始終占有壓倒的優勢。老百姓也主動起來保傢衛國。在人民群衆中涌現出一大批像網升、傑尼索夫、謝爾巴狄那樣的英雄人物。俄軍統帥庫圖佐夫也因為體現了人民的意志，纔具有過人的膽略和决勝的信心。整部小說以無可辯駁的事實證明了托爾斯泰的“人民戰爭的巨棒以全部威嚴雄偉的力量”趕走了侵略者的思想。
　　
　　作者在小說中也認真探索了貴族階級的歷史命運問題。小說的主要情節就是圍繞着包爾康斯基、別素霍夫、羅斯托夫、庫拉金四大貴族家庭的生活展開的。60年代，托爾斯泰仍站在貴族階級的立場上，但是他對接近宮廷的上
　　《戰爭與和平》《戰爭與和平》
　　層貴族卻給予深刻的揭露和批判。在民族危亡的關頭，庫拉金之流漠視國傢命運，畏敵如虎，他們關心的是尋歡作樂，積聚私産。小說中，庫拉金是官痞，兒子阿納托爾是惡少，女兒愛侖則是蕩婦。這些貴族的卑劣行徑與人民為國獻身的崇高精神形成了強烈的反差。托爾斯泰認為，俄國的前途在於“優秀”貴族與人民的合作。他用詩意的筆觸描寫了京城以外的莊園貴族羅斯托夫一傢和包爾康斯基一傢，指出在這些貴族身上仍保留着淳厚的古風，他們有愛國心，與人民的精神相通。這裏，作者在一定程度上美化了宗法製貴族。
　　
　　這部小說的主人公是安德烈·包爾康斯基、彼埃爾·別素霍夫和娜塔莎·羅斯托娃。這三個人物都是作者喜愛的正面形象。安德烈和彼埃爾是探索型的青年貴族知識分子。小說中，這兩個人物在性格和生活道路上形成了鮮明的對比。安德烈性格內嚮，意志堅強，有較強的社會活動能力，他後來投身軍隊和參與社會活動庫塞、阿多諾、弗洛姆、哈貝馬斯（JürgenHabermas，1929—），在嚴酷的事實面前逐步認識到上層統治階級的腐敗和人民的力量，彼埃爾心直口快，易動感情，缺少實際活動能力，更側重於對道德理想的追求，後來主要在與人民的直接接觸中精神上得到成長。女主人公娜塔莎與兩位主人公的關係使她成為小說中重要的連綴人物，而這一形象本身又是個性鮮明，生氣勃勃的。小說充分展開了娜塔莎熱烈而豐富的情感，她與人民和大自然的接近，她的民族氣質，以及她在精神上的成長。這幾個主要人物形象都具有較高的認識價值和審美價值。
　　
　　《戰爭與和平》藝術成就卓著。在這部作品中，托爾斯泰有力地拓寬了長篇小說表現生活的幅度，並在傳統的史詩體小說和戲劇式小說的基礎上創造了一種比較成熟的形態。小說場面壯闊，結構清晰，人物形象鮮明，有一種大海般恢宏開闊的美。同時，小說時代感強烈，它雖是一部歷史題材小說，但卻反映了農奴製改革後俄國前途和人民作用的問題。因此，《戰爭與和平》當之無愧地是一部“了不起的巨著”。（列寧語）
　　《戰爭與和平》-閱讀價值
　　
　　《戰爭與和平》《戰爭與和平》
　　戰爭是一場歷史爭論不休的話題。有人說它是為了和平，也有人說是為了進步，因為戰爭確實有的時候加快了文明的步伐。不管戰爭為何，但似乎都起源於矛盾與行為。不可否認，人的心理是存在好鬥的一面，在平凡的生活中家庭、事業、感情等一係列瑣事，都讓我們活得無比擔憂，在單調乏味的生活裏，人是很難適應這種不變動的生活。
　　在托爾斯泰的小說裏《戰爭與和平》，如果拿戰爭單獨的來講的話，那麽戰爭是自由的。這種自由為人性與釋放的自由。在一場戰爭中瞬間的生死是可以選擇的，活着的目的就是為了殺人，殺人的目的就是為了活着。在這個簡單而殘酷的圈子裏衹存有兩種人，即朋友和敵人，除此之外一切都變得不重要了，這讓許多復雜事情也顯現得無比鮮明化了。小說中羅斯托夫是喜歡這種簡單的人。在瘋狂的爭奪與罪惡的戰爭中，羅斯托夫找到了自己的價值，這種價值並非是在上層交際圈裏固有的。更多的是羅斯托夫作為一個傳統人物，在虛榮和榮耀的引導下更多的懂得犧牲自己。然而戰爭是需要這類人的，生活也不排斥，但在托爾斯泰的小說裏卻並未得到贊揚，這讓人不難想象其中包含裏面的趣味與真誠，值得讓人感動！
　　索尼亞是那麽的愛着他，與其說她是愛着他的靈魂與全部，還不如說她是為自己編織的信念而愛着。在托爾斯泰的小說中很容易看到，一目目的愛情都存在着一定的目的性和世俗的挺嚮性。索尼亞為姨媽傢的名利放棄了羅斯托夫，安德安為世俗的貞操放棄了娜塔沙，一切都那麽的變換莫測，但又存在單調的一致性——即為名、利、虛榮而放棄自己原本的生活。
　　在安德列經歷了幾次的生死離別之後，戰爭就像是一盞明燈似的忽暗忽明的出現在他眼前，有時像是指清道路有時卻顯得那麽的撲朔迷離。衹有在生與死即將分開的時候，現實和理想在他眼中纔看得那麽清楚。作者一個年齡段一個年齡段的敘述了安德列所經歷的感受，這讓我門毫不費解的走進了他的內心世界，心有靈犀的思考着擺在自己面前的問題。現實—理想，當思考的時候必然會産生矛盾，也必然會有所結果。書中一步步在矛盾中不完善的結果來闡述了安德列的思想升華，通過對他的人物塑造讓我們比較完整的瞭解了人性的一面。
　　在戰場上，安德列開始也和羅斯托夫一樣，想通過戰爭來建立一份殊榮，做為一個男人來講這是應具備的。但他不明白應該具備這種殊榮的目的是為什麽，也許是一種無形的力量在引誘他這樣做。在亞歷山大的皇權下，大多數人都可以為勇氣和殊榮獻身，與其說是為進步和文明而戰，還不如說是為別人和其他的東西而戰。
　　不難看到，在這場關鍵性的戰域中，拿破侖的真正對手並不是亞歷山大，而是亞歷山大的屬下庫圖佐夫，一個深
　　《戰爭與和平》《戰爭與和平》
　　受皇帝排斥但又離不開他的人。確定他為一名將軍倒還不如說他是一位仁智的老頭，一位懂得平平凡凡生活真諦的人。在拿破侖的天才戰略中，被人類認為是瘋狂加藝術的行為在這裏得到了休息，就像是一隻十分威猛的蜂子撞進了棉花堆裏，一切鋒芒都包容在不痛不癢的棉絲裏。而衹能像是蒼蠅一樣等待着蜘蛛的進食。在這裏我們衹能用托爾斯泰的話語：庫圖佐夫是一位懂得自然規律的人！——生活又何嘗不一樣需要這樣的人呢。
　　在安德列臨死的那一刻（有幾次這樣的時刻），文中總會出現藍天、白雲、童年時的想象和一切當時認為不愉快而現在想起來令他愉快的事，這些東西在安德列的眼中就像過雨雲煙，一切都顯得那麽的真實與美好，這讓我們不難想象生活其實是美好的，衹是我們過與苛求。
　　在安德列死後僅接着是皮埃爾和娜塔沙（安德列的未婚妻）、安德列的姐姐馬麗亞（虔誠的教徒）和羅斯托夫的幸福婚姻生活，這也正預示了無論是在戰爭的背後，還是在經過一切腥風血雨的掙紮之後，生活的要求其實很簡單，一切都是人類在作怪罷了！
　　《戰爭與和平》-現代註釋[精文]
　　
　　
　　[英國] 埃裏剋·霍布斯鮑姆 尹宏毅 翻譯
　　
　　20世紀是人類有記載的歷史上最殺人不眨眼的世紀。戰爭所造成的或者與戰爭有關的死亡總人數估計為1.87億，相當於1913年世界人口的10%以上。如果算作是從1914年開始，這是一個戰爭幾乎不間斷的世紀，其中某地沒有發生有組織的武裝衝突的時期很少也很短暫。占據世紀主導地位的是世界大戰：即國傢或國傢聯盟之間的戰爭。
　　
　　從1914年到1945年的時期可以被看作一場單一的“30年戰爭”，僅僅被20年代的一段間歇所打斷——在日本人於1922年最終從蘇聯北亞撤退和1931年對東北亞的進攻之間的時期。幾乎緊隨其後的是大約40年的冷戰，這一時期符合霍布斯的戰爭定義，即其“不是僅僅包括戰鬥或者戰爭行為，而且包括一段時間，其中通過戰鬥來進行鬥爭的意志得到了充分的表達。”一個可以辯論的問題是，從冷戰結束以來，美軍在世界各地所參與的行動在多大程度上構成了這個世界大戰時代的延續。然而毫無疑義的是，20世紀90年代充滿了歐洲、非洲和西亞及東亞的正式與非正式的軍事衝突。世界整體來說從1914年以來一直沒有和平，現在也是一樣。
　　
　　儘管如此，這個世紀不能被籠統地來對待，不論是從年代上還是從地理上來說。按照年代順序，它分為三個階段：以德國為中心的世界大戰時代（1914年到 1945年）、兩個超級大國對峙的時代（1945年到1989年）和傳統的國際實力體係終結以來的時代。我將把這些時期稱為第一、第二和第三時期。從地理上講，軍事行動的影響一直是十分不勻稱的。除了一個例外（1932年到1935年的查科戰爭），西半球（美洲）在20世紀裏沒有重大的國傢間戰爭（與內戰相區分）。敵人的軍事行動很少觸及這些領土：因此，9月11日世界貿易中心和五角大樓被炸纔令人震驚。
　　
　　從1945年以來，國傢間的戰爭也從歐洲消失了，而在此之前，歐洲曾經是主要的戰場地區。雖然在第三時期裏，戰爭回到了東南歐，但是在該大陸的其餘地方，它卻看來不大可能重演。另一方面，在第二時期，與全球對峙並不一定毫無聯繫的國傢間戰爭仍然在中東和南亞肆虐，直接産生於這場全球對峙的主要戰爭在東亞和東南亞（韓國和印度支那）發生。與此同時，撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲等地區在第一時期裏受戰爭影響比較少（埃塞俄比亞除外，它遲遲地於1935到1936年遭受意大利的殖民徵服），在第二時期成為武裝衝突的戰場，並在第三時期目睹了屍橫遍野和水深火熱。
　　
　　20世紀的另外兩個戰爭特點很突出，第一個不如第二個明顯。21世紀開始之際，我們不知不覺地進入這樣一個世界：武裝的行動基本上不再為政府或者其所授權的代理人所掌握，爭端的各方除了動用武力的願望外，毫無共同特徵、身份或目標。
　　
　　國傢間的戰爭在第一和第二時期主導了戰爭的形象，以致現有國傢或帝國領土範圍內的內戰或其它武裝衝突在一定程度上被掩蓋了。就連十月革命後俄羅斯帝國領土上的內戰以及中華帝國崩潰後發生的內戰，也能夠與國際衝突的框架相吻合，因為它們彼此不可分離。另一方面，拉丁美洲在20世紀裏可能並沒有軍隊跨越國界，但它卻是重大國內衝突的場所：例如1911年以後在墨西哥、1948年以來在哥倫比亞，以及第二時期在許多中美洲國傢，都是如此。人們一般沒有認識到，從60年代過半以來，國際戰爭的數量相當持續地減少了。60年代中期，內部衝突變得比國傢之間的衝突更加常見。國內衝突的數量繼續激增，一直到90年代纔趨於平緩。
　　
　　人們更加熟悉的是戰鬥員與非戰鬥員之間區別的被侵蝕。上半個世紀的兩次世界大戰涉及交戰各國的全部人口；戰鬥員和非戰鬥員都遭受了損失。然而，在這個世紀進程中，戰爭的負擔越來越多地從武裝力量轉移到平民身上。平民不僅是其受害者，而且越來越多地成為軍事或軍事-政治行動的目標。第一次世界大戰和第二次之間的對比是顯著的：在一戰中陣亡者當中，衹有5%是平民；二戰中這一數字增加到66%。普遍的估計是，今天受戰爭影響的人們當中有80%到90%是平民。這一比例從冷戰結束以來增加了，因為從那時以來的大多數軍事行動都不是由義務兵軍隊，而是由小股正規或非正規部隊進行的，在許多情況下所使用的是高技術武器，他們還受到保護，以免承擔傷亡的風險。沒有理由懷疑，戰爭的主要受害者仍將是平民。
　　
　　假如戰爭與和平像這個世紀初那樣保持涇渭分明，則20世紀對這兩者的著述會容易一些。世紀初，1899年和 1907年的海牙公約把戰爭的規則編入法典。衝突被認為主要發生在主權國傢之間，或者如果發生在一個特定國傢領土範圍內，是在組織充分、因而被其它主權國傢公認具有交戰地位的各方之間展開。戰爭當時被認為與和平有顯著區別，通過開戰時的一項戰爭宣言和戰爭結束時的一項和約。軍事行動被認為在戰鬥員之間有明顯區別——其特徵譬如他們所穿的軍裝或者顯示其屬於一支有組織的軍隊的其它跡象——以及非作戰平民。戰爭被認為是戰鬥員之間的事情。非戰鬥員衹要可能，就應當在戰時受到保護。
　　
　　過去一貫的諒解是，這些公約並不涵蓋所有的國內和國際武裝衝突，特別是不包括西方國傢在國際公認的主權國傢管轄範圍以外地區進行的帝國擴張所造成的衝突，儘管這些衝突當中的一些（但絶非全部）被稱為“戰爭”。它們也不包括反對地位穩固的國傢的大規模叛亂，譬如所謂的“印度兵變”，或者在國傢或名義上統治着這些國傢的帝國當局有效控製範圍之外地區反復發生的武裝活動，譬如阿富汗或摩洛哥山區的劫掠和血仇。儘管如此，海牙公約仍然是第一次世界大戰中的指導方針。20世紀，這一相對的明確性被混亂所取代。
　　
　　首先，國際衝突與國內衝突之間的界綫變得模糊不清，因為20世紀的特點不僅是戰爭，而且還有革命和帝國的解體。一國內部的革命或解放鬥爭對國際局勢産生影響，在冷戰期間尤其如此。相反地，俄羅斯革命後，國傢對自己所不支持的別國內部事務的幹預變得司空見慣，起碼在這樣做風險比較小的地方是如此。現在情況仍然是這樣。
　　
　　第二，戰爭與和平之間的明確差別變得含糊不清。除了個別地方外，第二次世界大戰既不是以宣戰開始，也不是以和約結束。隨後的一個時期不論是從舊的意義上講歸類為戰爭還是和平都很睏難，因此“冷戰”這個新字眼不得不被發明來描述它。冷戰以來狀況的模糊性的一個明證就是中東的當前局勢。不論“戰爭”還是“和平” 都沒有確切描述海灣戰爭正式結束以來伊拉剋的形勢——該國仍然幾乎每天都遭到外國的轟炸——巴勒斯坦人和以色列人之間的關係也是如此，還有以色列與其鄰國、黎巴嫩和敘利亞之間的關係。所有這些都是一種不幸的後遺癥，其原因是20世紀的世界大戰，還有戰爭的越來越強大的大衆宣傳機器，以及彼此不相稱的和充滿激情的意識形態之間對峙的一個時期。這種對峙給戰爭帶來了相當於在以往的宗教衝突中所見到的正義討伐的成分。
　　
　　這些衝突與國際實力體係的傳統戰爭不同，越來越多地是為了不可談判的目的，譬如“無條件投降”而進行。由於戰爭和勝利都被看作一邊倒的，所以對18和19世紀的戰爭公約所可能強加給交戰國能力的任何限製——甚至正式的宣戰——都被拋棄。對勝利者堅持自己意志的威力的任何限製也是如此。經驗表明，在和平情況下達成的協議可能很容易被撕毀。
　　
　　近年來，使情況進一步復雜化的是，在人們的公開言論中，“戰爭”一詞往往被用來指部署有組織的力量打擊被看作反社會的各種國傢或國際活動——例如“反黑手黨的戰爭”或“反販毒組織的戰爭”。在這些衝突中，武裝力量的兩個類型的行動被混淆。一個類型——我們稱之為“士兵”——用來對付其他武裝力量，目的是擊敗他們。另外一個——我們把它叫做“警察”——努力保持或恢復一個現有的政治實體，一般是一個國傢內部必要程度的法律和公共秩序。並不帶有任何必要的道德隱含意義的勝利是一種力量的目的；將違法者繩之以法則帶有道德的涵義，乃是另外一種力量的目標。然而，這種區分在理論上比在實踐中容易做出，戰鬥中的一名士兵殺人本身並不犯法。但如果愛爾蘭共和軍的一名成員把自己看作交戰一方，儘管正式的英國法律把他視為殺人犯，則情況如何？
　　
　　北愛爾蘭的活動是像愛爾蘭共和軍所認為的那樣是一場戰爭呢，還是在違法者面前為了維持英國的一個省有秩序的治理而做出的努力？由於不僅一支可觀的當地警察部隊，而且還有一支全國性的軍隊被動員起來對付愛爾蘭共和軍達30年左右，所以我們可以斷定，這是一場戰爭，但卻是一場像警察行動一樣有條不紊地實施的戰爭，其方式把傷亡和該省中的生活中斷減少到最低限度。新世紀開始時和平與戰爭之間關係的復雜性和混亂情況就是如此。它們得到了美國及其盟國目前正在進行的軍事與其它行動的充分詮釋。
　　
　　現在像整個20世紀一樣，全然沒有任何能夠控製或解决武裝爭端的有效的全球權威機構。全球化已經在幾乎每個方面取得進展——經濟上、技術上、文化上甚至語言上——唯一例外的是，在政治與軍事上，各國仍然是唯一的有效權威。雖然正式的國傢有200個左右，但是在實踐上衹有少數舉足輕重，其中美國享有占壓倒優勢的威力。然而從來沒有任何國傢或帝國足夠地龐大、富裕或強大，以維持在世界政治領域中的霸權，就更不用說建立全球範圍的政治與軍事上的至高無上地位了。一個單一的超級大國無法彌補全球權威的空白，尤其鑒於其效力足以使之獲得主要國傢的自願接受、被當作具有約束力的公約的缺乏——例如涉及國際裁軍或者武器控製的等等。一些這種權威機構是存在的，特別是聯合國、各種法律與金融機構，譬如國際貨幣基金組織、世界銀行和世界貿易組織，以及一些國際法庭。但沒有任何一個擁有除了國傢之間的協議所賦予它們的之外的、由於強大國傢的支持而獲得的或者各國自願接受的有效權力。雖然這一點令人遺憾，但是在可以預見的將來卻不大可能改變。
　　
　　由於衹有國傢纔行使實際的權力，所以風險在於，國際機構在試圖應付“戰爭罪行”等違法行為的時候會無效或者缺乏普遍的合法地位。甚至當通過普遍共識而建立世界法庭（例如根據聯合國1998年7月17日的羅馬協議建立的國際刑事法庭），它們的判斷也不一定會被當作合法和有約束力的而接受，衹要強國有條件對其加以無視。一個由強國組成的集團可能足夠強大，以確保來自比較弱小國傢的一些違犯者被送上這些法庭，從而或許在某些地區限製武裝衝突的殘酷程度。然而這是表明在一個國際體係內權力與影響力的傳統行使、而不是國際法行使的實例。
　　
　　然而在21世紀與20世紀之間有重大差別：認為戰爭是發生在一個劃分為處於有效的政府權威之下的領土地區的世界上，這些政府享有對公共權力和強迫手段的壟斷，這種想法已經不再適用。它從來都不適用於經歷着革命的國傢或者四分五裂的帝國的各個分裂部分，但直到最近為止，大多數新的革命或後殖民地政權——中國在1911年和1949年之間是主要的例外——相當迅速地再生，成為基本上有組織的和正常運轉的繼承政權和國傢。然而最近30年左右，由於各種原因，國傢喪失了其對武裝力量的一貫的壟斷、很大一部分從前的穩定性與權力，而且越來越多地還喪失了合法地位或者公認的永久性的根本感覺，這種地位過去使政府得以把稅賦與徵兵等負擔強加給心甘情願的公民。戰爭的物質裝備現在對民間組織來說普遍地唾手可得，資助非國傢戰爭的手段也是如此，這樣一來，國傢與非國傢組織之間的力量對比已經改變。
　　
　　國傢內部的武裝衝突已經變得更加嚴重，並且可能繼續幾十年，而沒有任何勝利或得到解决的真實前景：剋什米爾、安哥拉、斯裏蘭卡、車臣、哥倫比亞。在極端的情況下，譬如在非洲的部分地區，國傢可能已經基本不復存在，或者譬如在哥倫比亞，可能不再在本國部分領土上行使政權。甚至在強大和穩定的國傢裏，也一直難以消除非官方的小型武裝集團，譬如英國的愛爾蘭共和軍及西班牙的巴斯剋民族和自由組織。這一局面的新奇性通過一件事實顯示出來：地球上最強大的國傢在遭受了一場恐怖主義襲擊後感到有義務發動一場正式的行動，打擊一個很小的國際與非政府組織或網絡，而後者既沒有領土，也沒有一支能夠辨認的軍隊。
　　
　　這些變化如何影響今後一個世紀戰爭與和平之間的平衡呢？我寧願不就很有可能爆發的戰爭或者它們可能的結局做出預測。然而不論武裝衝突的結構還是解决的方法都由於主權國傢世界體係的轉變而發生了深刻變化。
　　
　　蘇聯的解體意味着，曾經指導了國際關係將近兩個世紀、除了明顯的例外還對國傢之間的衝突行使了一定的控製權的大國體係不復存在。它的消失消除了現在國傢間戰爭和國傢對別國事務進行武裝幹預的一大因素——冷戰期間外國領土的邊界基本上未曾被軍隊所跨越。然而即使那時，由於弱小國傢的大量存在（儘管這些國傢從官方意義上講是聯合國的“主權”成員國），國際體係就已經存在潛在的不穩定性。
　　
　　蘇聯和歐洲共産黨政權的垮臺明顯地使這種不穩定性增加。在迄今為止穩定的民族國傢，譬如英國、西班牙、比利時和意大利，具有不同程度實力的分離主義趨勢完全可能進一步加重這種不穩定。與此同時，國際舞臺上民間表演者的數量也成倍增加。有什麽機製可以用來控製和解决這種衝突嗎？從記錄看並不令人樂觀。90年代的武裝衝突沒有一次以穩定的解决而告終。由於冷戰的機構、假設與言論的持續存在，所以舊的懷疑未曾消亡，從而惡化了東南歐共産主義以後的分崩離析，使得解决一度被稱為南斯拉夫的地區問題更加睏難。
　　
　　我們要想製訂一些控製武裝衝突的手段，就必須從意識形態和權力-政治兩方面消除這些冷戰遺留下來的假設。此外明顯的是，美國通過單方的武力來強加一種（任何一種）新的世界秩序的努力都已經失敗並且必然繼續失敗，不管力量關係目前如何朝着有利於美國的方向偏斜，儘管美國得到了一個（必然短命的）聯盟的支持。國際體係仍將是多邊的，其管製將取决於幾個大國達成一致的能力，儘管其中一個國傢享有軍事上的壓倒優勢。
　　
　　美國所采取的國際軍事行動在多大程度上取决於別國通過談判的協議已經很清楚。此外也清楚的是，戰爭的政治解决，甚至美國所參與的戰爭的解决，都將是通過談判而不是通過單方的強加於人。以無條件投降而結束的戰爭的時代在可以預見的將來不會重演。
　　
　　對於現有的國際機構，特別是聯合國的角色，也必須重新考慮。雖然它無時不在而且通常是求助的對象，但是在解决爭端方面，卻沒有明確的角色。它的戰略與行動始終任憑不斷變幻的權力政治所宰割。缺乏一個被真正看作中立的和能夠在未經安全理事會事先授權情況下采取行動的國際中介，這一直是爭端處理體係中最明顯的空白。
　　
　　冷戰結束以來，對和平與戰爭的處理一直是即興的。在最好情況下，譬如在巴爾幹地區，武裝衝突被外部武裝幹預製止，敵對行動結束時的現狀由第三方的軍隊來維持。武裝衝突未來控製的一個通用模型能否從這種幹預中産生還不清楚。
　　
　　21世紀中戰爭與和平之間的平衡將不會取决於製訂比較有效的談判和解决機製，而是要看內部穩定和軍事衝突的避免情況如何。除了少數例外，現有的國傢之間的、過去導致了武裝衝突的對抗與摩擦今天造成這種局面的可能性減小了。例如現在的國際邊界問題上的政府間燃眉之急的衝突相對來說很少。另一方面，內部衝突很容易演變成暴力性的：戰爭的主要危險存在於外國或者外部軍事勢力對衝突的捲入。
　　
　　與貧睏、嚴重不平等和經濟不穩定的國傢相比，經濟蒸蒸日上、穩定而且商品在居民當中比較公平地分配的國傢，其社會和政治局勢動蕩的可能性較小。然而，避免或控製國內武裝暴力活動的情況更加直接地取决於國傢政府的實力和政績，及其在多數居民眼中的合法地位。今天沒有任何政府能夠對非武裝民衆的存在或者歐洲很多地方人們所長期熟悉的公共秩序的程度，認為理所當然。今天沒有任何政府有條件無視或者清除掉國內的武裝少數民族。
　　
　　儘管如此，世界越來越分裂為能夠對自己領土和公民加以有效管理的國傢以及為數越來越多的領土，其邊界是得到官方承認的國際界綫，國傢的政府則從虛弱和腐敗的到蕩然無存的都有。這些地區所醖釀的是流血的內部鬥爭和國際衝突，譬如我們在非洲中部所見到。然而這種地區沒有持續改善的即刻前景，如果動蕩不定的國傢的中央政府進一步被削弱或者世界版圖進一步巴爾幹化，則無疑會加重武裝衝突的危險。
　　
　　一項嘗試性的預測：21世紀的戰爭不大可能像20世紀的那樣血腥。但造成不成比例的苦難與損失的武裝暴力仍將在世界很多地方無處不在和泛濫成災。一個和平的世紀的前景是遙遠的。

　　War and Peace (Russian: Война и мир, Pre-reform Russian: «Война и миръ»), a Russian novel by Leo Tolstoy, is considered one of the greatest works of fiction and a literary giant of the 19th century. It is regarded, along with Anna Karenina (1873–1877), as his finest literary achievement.
　　
　　Epic in scale, War and Peace delineates in graphic detail events leading up to Napoleon's invasion of Russia, and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society, as seen through the eyes of five Russian aristocratic families.
　　
　　Portions of an earlier version having been serialized in the magazine The Russian Messenger between 1865 and 1867, the novel was first published in its entirety in 1869. Newsweek in 2009 ranked it top of its list of Top 100 Books.
　　
　　Tolstoy himself, somewhat enigmatically, said of War and Peace that it was "not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less an historical chronicle."
　　
　　War and Peace is famously long for a novel (though not the longest by any means). It is subdivided into four books or volumes, each with subparts containing many chapters.
　　
　　Tolstoy got the title, and some of his themes, from an 1861 work of Proudhon: La Guerre et la Paix. Tolstoy had served in the Crimean War and written a series of short stories and novellas featuring scenes of war. He began writing War and Peace in the year that he finally married and settled down at his country estate. During the writing of the second half of the book, after the first half had already been written under the name "1805", he read widely, acknowledging Schopenhauer as one of his main inspirations, although he developed his own views of history and the role of the individual within it.
　　
　　The novel can be generally classified as historical fiction. It contains elements present in many types of popular 18th and 19th century literature, especially the romance novel. War and Peace attains its literary status by transcending genres. Tolstoy was instrumental in bringing a new kind of consciousness to the novel. His narrative structure is noted for its "god-like" ability to hover over and within events, but also swiftly and seamlessly to take a particular character's point of view. His use of visual detail is often cinematic in its scope, using the literary equivalents of panning, wide shots and close-ups, to give dramatic interest to battles and ballrooms alike. These devices, while not exclusive to Tolstoy, are part of the new novel that is arising in the mid-19th century and of which Tolstoy proves himself a master.
　　Realism
　　
　　Tolstoy incorporated extensive historical research, and he was influenced by many other novels as well. Himself a veteran of the Crimean War, Tolstoy was quite critical of standard history, especially the standards of military history, in War and Peace. Tolstoy read all the standard histories available in Russian and French about the Napoleonic Wars and combined more traditional historical writing with the novel form - he explains at the start of the novel's third volume his views on how history ought to be written. His aim was to blur the line between fiction and history, in order to get closer to the truth, as he states in Volume II.
　　
　　The novel is set 60 years earlier than the time at which Tolstoy wrote it, "in the days of our grandfathers", as he puts it. He had spoken with people who had lived through the war of 1812 (In Russia), so the book is also, in part, accurate ethnography fictionalized. He read letters, journals, autobiographical and biographical materials pertaining to Napoleon and the dozens of other historical characters in the novel. There are approximately 160 real persons named or referred to in War and Peace.
　　Reception
　　
　　The first draft of War and Peace was completed in 1863. In 1865, the periodical Russkiy Vestnik published the first part of this early version under the title 1805 and the following year published more of the same early version. Tolstoy was increasingly dissatisfied with this version, although he allowed several parts of it to be published (with a different ending) in 1867 still under the title "1805" He heavily rewrote the entire novel between 1866 and 1869. Tolstoy's wife Sophia Tolstoy handwrote as many as 8 or 9 separate complete manuscripts before Tolstoy considered it again ready for publication. The version that was published in Russkiy Vestnik had a very different ending than the version eventually published under the title War and Peace in 1869.
　　
　　The completed novel was then called Voyna i mir (new style orthography; in English War and Peace).
　　
　　Tolstoy did not destroy the 1805 manuscript (sometimes referred to as "the original War and Peace"), which was re-edited and annotated in Russia in 1983 and since has been translated separately from the "known" version, to English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish and Korean. The fact that so many extant versions of War and Peace survive make it one of the best revelations into the mental processes of a great novelist.
　　
　　Russians who had read the serialized version, were anxious to acquire the complete first edition, which included epilogues, and it sold out almost immediately. The novel was translated almost immediately after publication into many other languages.
　　
　　Isaac Babel said, after reading War and Peace, "If the world could write by itself, it would write like Tolstoy." Tolstoy "gives us a unique combination of the 'naive objectivity' of the oral narrator with the interest in detail characteristic of realism. This is the reason for our trust in his presentation."
　　Language
　　
　　Although Tolstoy wrote most of the book, including all the narration, in Russian, significant portions of dialogue (including its opening paragraph) are written in French and characters often switch between the languages. This reflected 19th century reality since Russian aristocracy in the early nineteenth century were conversant in French, which was often considered more refined than Russian—many were much less competent in Russian. An example in the novel is Julie Karagina, Princess Marya's friend, who has to take Russian lessons in order to master her native language.
　　
　　It has been suggested that it is a deliberate strategy of Tolstoy to use French to portray artifice and insincerity, as the language of the theater and deceit while Russian emerges as a language of sincerity, honesty and seriousness. When Pierre proposes to Helene he speaks to her in French—Je vous aime—and as the marriage emerges as a sham he blames those words.
　　
　　As the book progresses, and the wars with the French intensify, culminating in the capture and eventual burning of Moscow, the use of French diminishes. The progressive elimination of French from the text is a means of demonstrating that Russia has freed itself from foreign cultural domination. It is also, at the level of plot development, a way of showing that a once-admired and friendly nation, France, has turned into an enemy. By midway through the book, several of the Russian aristocracy, whose command of French is far better than their command of Russian, are anxious to find Russian tutors for themselves.
　　English translations
　　
　　War and Peace has been translated into English on several occasions, starting by Clara Bell working from a French translation. The translators Constance Garnett and Louise and Aylmer Maude knew Tolstoy personally. Translations have to deal with Tolstoy’s often peculiar syntax and his fondness of repetitions. About 2% of War and Peace is in French; Tolstoy removed the French in a revised 1873 edition, only to restore it later again. Most translators follow Garnett retaining some French, Briggs uses no French, while Pevear-Volokhonsky retain the French fully. (For a list of translations see below)
　　Background and historical context
　　In 1812 by the Russian artist Illarion Pryanishnikov
　　
　　The novel begins in the year 1805 and leads up to the war of 1812[citation needed]. The era of Catherine the Great is still fresh in the minds of older people. It was Catherine who ordered the Russian court to change to speaking French, a custom that was stronger in Petersburg than in Moscow.[citation needed] Catherine's son and successor, Paul I, is the father of the current Czar, Alexander I. Alexander I came to the throne in 1801 at the age of 24. His mother, Marya Feodorovna, is the most powerful woman in the court.
　　
　　The novel tells the story of five aristocratic families — the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys, the Rostovs, the Kuragins and the Drubetskoys—and the entanglements of their personal lives with the history of 1805–1813, principally Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812. The Bezukhovs, while very rich, are a fragmented family as the old Count, Kirill Vladimirovich, has fathered dozens of illegitimate sons. The Bolkonskys are an old established and wealthy family based at Bald Hills. Old Prince Bolkonsky, Nikolai Andreevich, served as a general under Catherine the Great, in earlier wars. The Moscow Rostovs have many estates, but never enough cash. They are a closely knit, loving family who live for the moment regardless of their financial situation. The Kuragin family has three children, who are all of questionable character. The Drubetskoy family is of impoverished nobility, and consists of an elderly mother and her only son, Boris, whom she wishes to push up the career ladder.
　　
　　Tolstoy spent years researching and rewriting the book. He worked from primary source materials (interviews and other documents), as well as from history books, philosophy texts and other historical novels. Tolstoy also used a great deal of his own experience in the Crimean War to bring vivid detail and first-hand accounts of how the Russian army was structured.
　　
　　The standard Russian text of 'War and Peace' is divided into four books (fifteen parts) and two epilogues – one mainly narrative, the other thematic. While roughly the first half of the novel is concerned strictly with the fictional characters, the later parts, as well as one of the work's two epilogues, increasingly consist of essays about the nature of war, power, history, and historiography. Tolstoy interspersed these essays into the story in a way that defies previous fictional convention. Certain abridged versions remove these essays entirely, while others, published even during Tolstoy's life, simply moved these essays into an appendix.
　　Plot summary
　　
　　War and Peace has a large cast of characters, some historically real (like Napoleon and Alexander I), the majority of whom are introduced in the first book. The scope of the novel is vast, but the focus is primarily on five aristocratic families and their experiences in life. The interactions of these characters are set in the era leading up to, around and following the French invasion of Russia during the Napoleonic wars.
　　Book/Volume One
　　
　　The novel begins in Saint Petersburg, at a soirée given in July 1805 by Anna Pavlovna Scherer — the maid of honour and confidante to the queen mother Maria Feodorovna. Many of the main players and aristocratic families of the novel are introduced as they enter Anna Pavlovna's salon. Pierre (Pyotr Kirilovich) Bezukhov is the illegitimate son of a wealthy count, an elderly man who is dying after a series of strokes. He is about to become embroiled in a struggle for his inheritance. Educated abroad after his mother's death and at his father's expense, Pierre is essentially kindhearted, but socially awkward owing in part to his open, benevolent nature, and finds it difficult to integrate into Petersburg society. He is his father's favorite of all the old count’s illegitimate children, and this is known to everyone at Anna Pavlovna's.
　　
　　Pierre's friend, the intelligent and sardonic Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky, husband of the charming society favourite Lise, also attends the soireé. Finding Petersburg society unctuous and disillusioned with married life after discovering his wife is empty and superficial, Prince Andrei makes the fateful choice to be an aide-de-camp to Prince Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov in the coming war against Napoleon.
　　
　　The plot moves to Moscow, Russia's ancient city and former capital, contrasting its provincial, more Russian ways to the highly mannered society of Petersburg. The Rostov family are introduced. Count Ilya Andreyevich Rostov has four adolescent children. Thirteen-year-old Natasha (Natalia Ilyinichna) believes herself in love with Boris Drubetskoy, a disciplined young man who is about to join the army as an officer. Twenty-year-old Nikolai Ilyich pledges his teenage love to Sonya (Sofia Alexandrovna), his fifteen-year-old cousin, an orphan who has been brought up by the Rostovs. The eldest child of the Rostov family, Vera Ilyinichna, is cold and somewhat haughty but has a good prospective marriage in a Russian-German officer, Adolf Karlovich Berg. Petya (Pyotr Ilyich) is nine and the youngest of the Rostov family; like his brother, he is impetuous and eager to join the army when of age. The heads of the family, Count Ilya Rostov and Countess Natalya Rostova, are an affectionate couple but forever worried about their disordered finances.
　　
　　At Bald Hills, the Bolkonskys' country estate, Prince Andrei leaves his terrified, pregnant wife Lise with his eccentric father Prince Nikolai Andreyevich Bolkonsky and his devoutly religious sister Maria Nikolayevna Bolkonskaya, and departs for the war.
　　
　　The second part opens with descriptions of the impending Russian-French war preparations. At the Schöngrabern engagement, Nikolai Rostov, who is now conscripted as ensign in a squadron of hussars, has his first taste of battle. He meets Prince Andrei, whom he insults in a fit of impetuousness. Even more than most young soldiers, he is deeply attracted by Tsar Alexander's charisma. Nikolai gambles and socializes with his officer, Vasily Dmitrich Denisov, and befriends the ruthless and perhaps psychopathic Fyodor Ivanovich Dolokhov.
　　Book/Volume Two
　　
　　Book Two begins with Nikolai Rostov briefly returning home to Moscow on home leave in early 1806. Nikolai finds the Rostov family facing financial ruin due to poor estate management. He spends an eventful winter at home, accompanied by his friend Denisov, his officer from the Pavlograd Regiment in which he serves. Natasha has blossomed into a beautiful young girl. Denisov falls in love with her, proposes marriage but is rejected. Although his mother pleads with Nikolai to find himself a good financial prospect in marriage, Nikolai refuses to accede to his mother's request. He promises to marry his childhood sweetheart, the dowry-less Sonya.
　　
　　Pierre Bezukhov, upon finally receiving his massive inheritance, is suddenly transformed from a bumbling young man into the richest and most eligible bachelor in the Russian Empire. Despite rationally knowing that it is wrong, he proposes marriage with Prince Kuragin's beautiful and immoral daughter Hélène (Elena Vasilyevna Kuragina), to whom he is sexually attracted. Hélène, who is rumoured to be involved in an incestuous affair with her brother, the equally charming and immoral Anatol, tells Pierre that she will never have children with him. Hélène has an affair with Dolokhov, who mocks Pierre in public. Pierre loses his temper and challenges Dolokhov, a seasoned dueller and a ruthless killer, to a duel. Unexpectedly, Pierre wounds Dolokhov. Hélène denies her affair, but Pierre is convinced of her guilt and, after almost being violent to her, leaves her. In his moral and spiritual confusion, he joins the Freemasons, and becomes embroiled in Masonic internal politics. Much of Book Two concerns his struggles with his passions and his spiritual conflicts to be a better man. Now a rich aristocrat, he abandons his former carefree behavior and enters upon a philosophical quest particular to Tolstoy: how should one live a moral life in an ethically imperfect world? The question continually baffles and confuses Pierre. He attempts to liberate his serfs, but ultimately achieves nothing of note.
　　
　　Pierre is vividly contrasted with the intelligent and ambitious Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. At the Battle of Austerlitz, Andrei is inspired by a vision of glory to lead a charge of a straggling army. He suffers a near fatal artillery wound. In the face of death, Andrei realizes all his former ambitions are pointless and his former hero Napoleon (who rescues him in a horseback excursion to the battlefield) is apparently as vain as himself.
　　
　　Prince Andrei recovers from his injuries in a military hospital and returns home, only to find his wife Lise dying in childbirth. He is stricken by his guilty conscience for not treating Lise better when she was alive and is haunted by the pitiful expression on his dead wife's face. His child, Nikolenka, survives.
　　
　　Burdened with nihilistic disillusionment, Prince Andrei does not return to the army but chooses to remain on his estate, working on a project that would codify military behavior and help solve some of the problems of Russian disorganization that he believes were responsible for the loss of life in battle on the Russian side. Pierre comes to visit him and brings new questions: where is God in this amoral world? Pierre is interested in panentheism and the possibility of an afterlife.
　　
　　Pierre's estranged wife, Hélène, begs him to take her back, and against his better judgment he does. Despite her vapid shallowness, Hélène establishes herself as an influential hostess in Petersburg society.
　　
　　Prince Andrei feels impelled to take his newly written military notions to Petersburg, naively expecting to influence either the Emperor himself or those close to him. Young Natasha, also in Petersburg, is caught up in the excitement of dressing for her first grand ball, where she meets Prince Andrei and briefly reinvigorates him with her vivacious charm. Andrei believes he has found purpose in life again and, after paying the Rostovs several visits, proposes marriage to Natasha. However, old Prince Bolkonsky, Andrei's father, dislikes the Rostovs, opposes the marriage, and insists on a year's delay. Prince Andrei leaves to recuperate from his wounds abroad, leaving Natasha initially distraught. She soon recovers her spirits, however, and Count Rostov takes her and Sonya to spend some time with a friend in Moscow.
　　
　　Natasha visits the Moscow opera, where she meets Hélène and her brother Anatol. Anatol has since married a Polish woman whom he has abandoned in Poland. He is very attracted to Natasha and is determined to seduce her. Hélène and Anatol conspire together to accomplish this plan. Anatol kisses Natasha and writes her passionate letters, eventually establishing plans to elope. Natasha is convinced that she loves Anatol and writes to Princess Maria, Andrei's sister, breaking off her engagement. At the last moment, Sonya discovers her plans to elope and foils them. Pierre is initially shocked and horrified at Natasha's behavior, but comes to realize he has fallen in love with her himself. During the time when the Great Comet of 1811–2 streaks the sky, life appears to begin anew for Pierre.
　　
　　Prince Andrei accepts coldly Natasha's breaking of the engagement. He tells Pierre that his pride will not allow him to renew his proposal of marriage. Shamed by her near-seduction and at the realisation that Andrei will not forgive her, Natasha makes a suicide attempt and is left seriously ill.
　　Book/Volume Three
　　
　　With the help of her family, especially Sonya, and the stirrings of religious faith, Natasha manages to persevere in Moscow through this dark period. Meanwhile, the whole of Russia is affected by the coming showdown between Napoleon's troops and the Russian army. Pierre convinces himself through gematria that Napoleon is the Antichrist of the Book of Revelation. Old prince Bolkonsky dies of a stroke while trying to protect his estate from French marauders. No organized help from any Russian army seems available to the Bolkonskys, but Nikolai Rostov turns up at their estate in time to help put down an incipient peasant revolt. He finds himself attracted to Princess Maria, but remembers his promise to Sonya.
　　
　　Back in Moscow, the war-obsessed Petya manages to snatch a loose piece of the Tsar's biscuit outside the Cathedral of the Assumption; he finally convinces his parents to allow him to enlist.
　　
　　Napoleon himself is a main character in this section of the novel and is presented in vivid detail, as both thinker and would-be strategist. His toilette and his customary attitudes and traits of mind are depicted in detail. Also described are the well-organized force of over 400,000 French Army (only 140,000 of them actually French-speaking) which marches quickly through the Russian countryside in the late summer and reaches the outskirts of the city of Smolensk. Pierre decides to leave Moscow and go to watch the Battle of Borodino from a vantage point next to a Russian artillery crew. After watching for a time, he begins to join in carrying ammunition. In the midst of the turmoil he experiences firsthand the death and destruction of war. The battle becomes a hideous slaughter for both armies and ends in a standoff. The Russians, however, have won a moral victory by standing up to Napoleon's reputedly invincible army. For strategic reasons and having suffered grievous losses, the Russian army withdraws the next day, allowing Napoleon to march on to Moscow. Among the casualties are Anatol Kuragin and Prince Andrei. Anatol loses a leg, and Andrei suffers a cannon wound in the abdomen. Both are reported dead, but their families are in such disarray that no one can be notified.
　　Book/Volume Four
　　
　　The Rostovs have waited until the last minute to abandon Moscow, even after it is clear that Kutuzov has retreated past Moscow and Muscovites are being given contradictory, often propagandistic, instructions on how to either flee or fight. Count Rostopchin is publishing posters, rousing the citizens to put their faith in religious icons, while at the same time urging them to fight with pitchforks if necessary. Before fleeing himself, he gives orders to burn the city. The Rostovs have a difficult time deciding what to take with them, and in the end load their carts with the wounded and dying from the Battle of Borodino. Unknown to Natasha, Prince Andrei is amongst the wounded.
　　
　　When Napoleon's Grand Army finally occupies an abandoned and burning Moscow, Pierre takes off on a quixotic mission to assassinate Napoleon. He becomes an anonymous man in all the chaos, shedding his responsibilities by wearing peasant clothes and shunning his duties and lifestyle. The only people he sees while in this garb are Natasha and some of her family, as they depart Moscow. Natasha recognizes and smiles at him, and he in turn realizes the full scope of his love for her.
　　
　　Pierre saves the life of a French officer who fought at Borodino, yet is taken prisoner by the retreating French during his attempted assassination of Napoleon, after saving a woman from being raped by soldiers in the French Army. He becomes friends with a fellow prisoner, Platon Karataev, a peasant with a saintly demeanor, who is incapable of malice. In Karataev, Pierre finally finds what he has been seeking: an honest person of integrity (unlike the aristocrats of Petersburg society) who is utterly without pretense. Pierre discovers meaning in life simply by living and interacting with him. After witnessing French soldiers sacking Moscow and shooting Russian civilians arbitrarily, Pierre is forced to march with the Grand Army during its disastrous retreat from Moscow in the harsh Russian winter. After months of trial and tribulation—during which the fever-plagued Karataev is shot by the French—Pierre is finally freed by a Russian raiding party, after a small skirmish with the French that sees the young Petya Rostov killed in action.
　　
　　Meanwhile, Andrei, wounded during Napoleon's invasion, has been taken in as a casualty and cared for by the fleeing Rostovs. He is reunited with Natasha and his sister Maria before the end of the war. Having lost all will to live, he forgives Natasha in a last act before dying.
　　
　　As the novel draws to a close, Pierre's wife Hélène dies in a botched operation (implied to be an abortion). Pierre is reunited with Natasha, while the victorious Russians rebuild Moscow. Natasha speaks of Prince Andrei's death and Pierre of Karataev's. Both are aware of a growing bond between them in their bereavement. With the help of Princess Maria, Pierre finds love at last and, revealing his love after being released by his former wife's death, marries Natasha.
　　Epilogues
　　
　　The first epilogue begins with the wedding of Pierre and Natasha in 1813. It is the last happy event for the Rostov family, which is undergoing a transition. Count Rostov dies soon after, leaving his eldest son Nikolai to take charge of the debt-ridden estate.
　　
　　Nikolai finds himself with the task of maintaining the family on the verge of bankruptcy. His abhorrence at the idea of marrying for wealth almost gets in his way, but finally in spite of rather than according to his mother's wishes, he marries the now-rich Maria Bolkonskaya and in so doing also saves his family from financial ruin.
　　
　　Nikolai and Maria then move to Bald Hills with his mother and Sonya, whom he supports for the rest of their life. Buoyed by his wife's fortune, Nikolai pays off all his family's debts. They also raise Prince Andrei's orphaned son, Nikolai Andreyevich (Nikolenka) Bolkonsky.
　　
　　As in all good marriages, there are misunderstandings, but the couples–Pierre and Natasha, Nikolai and Maria–remain devoted to their spouses. Pierre and Natasha visit Bald Hills in 1820, much to the jubilation of everyone concerned. There is a hint in the closing chapters that the idealistic, boyish Nikolenka and Pierre would both become part of the Decembrist Uprising. The first epilogue concludes with Nikolenka promising he would do something with which even his late father "would be satisfied..." (presumably as a revolutionary in the Decembrist revolt).
　　
　　The second epilogue contains Tolstoy's critique of all existing forms of mainstream history. He attempts to show that there is a great force behind history, which he first terms divine. He offers the entire book as evidence of this force, and critiques his own work. God, therefore, becomes the word Tolstoy uses to refer to all the forces that produce history, taken together and operating behind the scenes.
　　Principal characters in War and Peace
　　Main article: List of characters in War and Peace
　　War and Peace character tree
　　
　　 * Count Pyotr Kirillovich (Pierre) Bezukhov — The central character and often a voice for Tolstoy's own beliefs or struggles. He is one of several illegitimate children of Count Bezukhov; he is his father's favorite offspring.
　　 * Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky — A strong but cynical, thoughtful and philosophical aide-de-camp in the Napoleonic Wars.
　　 * Princess Maria Nikolayevna Bolkonskaya — A pious woman whose eccentric father attempted to give her a good education. The caring, nurturing nature of her large eyes in her otherwise thin and plain face are frequently mentioned.
　　 * Count Ilya Andreyevich Rostov — The pater-familias of the Rostov family; terrible with finances, generous to a fault.
　　 * Countess Natalya Rostova — Wife of Count Ilya Rostov, mother of the four Rostov children.
　　 * Countess Natalia Ilyinichna (Natasha) Rostova — Introduced as a beautiful and romantic young girl, she evolves through trials and suffering and eventually finds happiness. She is an accomplished singer and dancer.[citation needed]
　　 * Count Nikolai Ilyich Rostov — A hussar, the beloved eldest son of the Rostov family.
　　 * Sofia Alexandrovna (Sonya) Rostova — Orphaned cousin of Vera, Nikolai, Natasha and Petya Rostov.
　　 * Countess Vera Ilyinichna Rostova — Eldest of the Rostov children, she marries the German career soldier, Berg.
　　 * Pyotr Ilyich (Petya) Rostov — Youngest of the Rostov children.
　　 * Prince Vasily Sergeyevich Kuragin — A ruthless man who is determined to marry his children well, despite having doubts about the character of some of them.
　　 * Princess Elena Vasilyevna (Hélène) Kuragina — A beautiful and sexually alluring woman who has many affairs, including (it is rumoured) with her brother Anatole
　　 * Prince Anatol Vasilyevich Kuragin — Hélène's brother and a very handsome, ruthless and amoral pleasure seeker who is secretly married yet tries to elope with Natasha Rostova.
　　 * Prince Ipolit Vasilyevich — The eldest and perhaps most dim-witted of the Kuragin children.
　　 * Prince Boris Drubetskoy — A poor but aristocratic young man who is determined to make his career, even at the expense of his friends and benefactors, marries a rich and ugly woman to help him climb the social ladder.
　　 * Princess Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskoya — The mother of Boris.
　　 * Fyodor Ivanovich Dolokhov — A cold, almost psychopathic officer, he ruins Nikolai Rostov after his proposal to Sonya is refused, he only shows love to his doting mother.
　　 * Adolf Karlovich Berg — A young Russian officer, who desires to be just like everyone else.
　　 * Anna Pavlovna Sherer — Also known as Annette, she is the hostess of the salon that is the site of much of the novel's action in Petersburg.
　　 * Maria Dmitryevna Akhrosimova — An older Moscow society lady, she is an elegant dancer and trend-setter, despite her age and size.
　　 * Amalia Evgenyevna Bourienne — A French woman who lives with the Bolkonskys, primarily as Princess Marya's companion.
　　 * Vasily Dmitrich Denisov — Nikolai Rostov's friend and brother officer, who proposes to Natasha.
　　 * Platon Krataev - The archetypal good Russian peasant, whom Pierre meets in the prisoner of war camp.
　　
　　 * Napoleon I of France — the Great Man, whose fate is detailed in the book.
　　 * General Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov — Russian commander-in-chief throughout the book. His diligence and modesty eventually save Russia from Napoleon.[citation needed]
　　 * Osip Bazdeyev — the Freemason who interests Pierre in his mysterious group, starting a lengthy subplot.[citation needed]
　　 * Tsar Alexander I of Russia — He signed a peace treaty with Napoleon in 1807 and then went to war with him.
　　
　　Many of Tolstoy's characters in War and Peace were based on real-life people known to Tolstoy himself. His grandparents and their friends were the models for many of the main characters, his great-grandparents would have been of the generation of Prince Vasilly or Count Ilya Rostov. Some of the characters, obviously, are actual historic figures.
　　Adaptations
　　Film
　　
　　The first Russian film adaptation of War and Peace was the 1915 film Война и мир (Voyna i mir), directed by Vladimir Gardin and starring Gardin and the Russian ballerina Vera Karalli. It was followed in 1968 by the critically acclaimed four-part film version War and Peace, by the Soviet director Sergei Bondarchuk, released individually in 1965-1967, and as a re-edited whole in 1968. This starred Lyudmila Savelyeva (as Natasha Rostova) and Vyacheslav Tikhonov (as Andrei Bolkonsky). Bondarchuk himself played the character of Pierre Bezukhov. The film was almost seven hours long; it involved thousands of actors, 120 000 extras, and it took seven years to finish the shooting, as a result of which the actors age changed dramatically from scene to scene. It won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for its authenticity and massive scale.
　　
　　The novel has been adapted twice for cinema outside of Russia. The first of these was produced by F. Kamei in Japan (1947). The second was the 208-minute long 1956 War and Peace, directed by the American King Vidor. This starred Audrey Hepburn (Natasha), Henry Fonda (Pierre) and Mel Ferrer (Andrei). Audrey Hepburn was nominated for a BAFTA Award for best British actress and for a Golden Globe Award for best actress in a drama production.
　　Opera
　　
　　 * Initiated by a proposal of the German director Erwin Piscator in 1938, the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev composed his opera War and Peace (Op. 91, libretto by Mira Mendelson) based on this epic novel during the 1940s. The complete musical work premiered in Leningrad in 1955. It was the first opera to be given a public performance at the Sydney Opera House (1973).
　　
　　Music
　　
　　 * Composition by Nino Rota
　　 * Referring to album notes, the first track "The Gates of Delirium", from the album Relayer, by the progressive rock group Yes, is said to be based loosely on the novel.
　　
　　Theatre
　　
　　The first successful stage adaptations of War and Peace were produced by Alfred Neumann and Erwin Piscator (1942, revised 1955, published by Macgibbon & Kee in London 1963, and staged in 16 countries since) and R. Lucas (1943).
　　
　　A stage adaptation by Helen Edmundson, first produced in 1996 at the Royal National Theatre, was published that year by Nick Hern Books, London. Edmundson added to and amended the play for a 2008 production as two 3-hour parts by Shared Experience, directed by Nancy Meckler and Polly Teale. This was first put on at the Nottingham Playhouse, then toured in the UK to Liverpool, Darlington, Bath, Warwick, Oxford, Truro, London (the Hampstead Theatre) and Cheltenham.
　　
　　On the 15th-18th July, The Birmingham Theatre School performed this seven-hour epic play at The Crescent Theatre in Brindleyplace with great success. Birmingham Theatre School is the only drama school in the world to perform the new adaptation of War and Peace. Directed by Chris Rozanski and Assistant to Director was Royal National Theatre performer Anthony Mark Barrow with Vocals arranged by Dr Ria Keen and choreography by Colin Lang.
　　Radio and television
　　
　　 * In December 1970, Pacifica Radio station WBAI broadcast a reading of the entire novel (the 1968 Dunnigan translation) read by over 140 celebrities and ordinary people.
　　
　　 * War and Peace (1972): The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) made a television serial based on the novel, broadcast in 1972-73. Anthony Hopkins played the lead role of Pierre. Other lead characters were played by Rupert Davies, Faith Brook, Morag Hood, Alan Dobie, Angela Down and Sylvester Morand. This version faithfully included many of Tolstoy's minor characters, including Platon Karataev (Harry Locke). ,
　　
　　 * A dramatized full-cast adaptation in ten parts was written by Marcy Kahan and Mike Walker in 1997. The production won the 1998 Talkie award for Best Drama and was around 9.5 hours in length. It was directed by Janet Whitaker and featured Simon Russell Beale, Gerard Murphy, Richard Johnson, and others.
　　
　　 * La Guerre et la paix (TV) (2000) by François Roussillon. Robert Brubaker played the lead role of Pierre.
　　
　　 * War and Peace (2007): produced by the Italian Lux Vide, a TV mini-series in Russian & English co-produced in Russia, France, Germany, Poland and Italy. Directed by Robert Dornhelm, with screenplay written by Lorenzo Favella, Enrico Medioli and Gavin Scott. It features an international cast with Alexander Beyer playing the lead role of Pierre assisted by Malcolm McDowell, Clémence Poésy, Alessio Boni, Pilar Abella, J. Kimo Arbas, Ken Duken, Juozapas Bagdonas and Toni Bertorelli.
　　
　　Full translations into English
　　
　　 * Clara Bell (from a French version) 1885-86
　　 * Nathan Haskell Dole 1898
　　 * Leo Wiener 1904
　　 * Constance Garnett (1904)
　　 * Louise and Aylmer Maude (1922-3)
　　 * Rosemary Edmonds (1957, revised 1978)
　　 * Ann Dunnigan (1968)
　　 * Anthony Briggs (2005)
　　 * Andrew Bromfield (2007), translation of the first completed draft, approx. 400 pages shorter than other English translations.
　　 * Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (2007)