Set against the sweeping panoply of NapoleonÂ's invasion of Russia, <I>War and Peace</I>— presented here in the first new English translation in forty years—is often considered the greatest novel ever written. At its center are Pierre Bezukhov, searching for meaning in his life; cynical Prince Andrei, ennobled by wartime suffering; and Natasha Rostov, whose impulsiveness threatens to destroy her happiness. As Tolstoy follows the changing fortunes of his characters, he crafts a view of humanity that is both epic and intimate and that continues to define fiction at its most resplendent.<BR> * Includes an introduction, note on the translation, cast of characters, maps, notes on the major battles depicted, and chapter summaries BACKCOVER: “The best translation so far of TolstoyÂ's masterpiece into English.”<BR> —Robert A. Maguire, professor emeritus of Russian studies, Columbia University <BR><BR> “In TolstoyÂ's work part of the translatorÂ's difficulty lies in conveying not only the simplicity but the subtlety of the bookÂ's scale and effect. . . . Briggs has rendered both with a particular exactness and a vigorous precision not to be found, I think, in any previous translation.”<BR> —John Bayley, author of <I>Elegy for Iris</I>