This is the link to the Tolstoy article in Newsweek that Joe mentioned in class today:
"War and Peace" still looms large over the literary landscape, intimidating readers and writers much as it has for the last century and a half. Hemingway, as competitive as he was insecure, playfully talked about getting in the ring with Mr. Tolstoy. Henry James derided "War and Peace" as a "loose, baggy monster." Even Stalin—who never met an author he wasn't afraid to ban, jail or murder—knew better than to forbid Russians from reading "War and Peace." Over its lifetime, the book has become a yardstick for quality—and sometimes just a yardstick.
Yes, it is a long book, but it is an amazing book.
