Set against the sweeping panoply of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, "War and Peace" -- 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. * 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 Tolstoy's masterpiece into English. " -- Robert A. Maguire, professor emeritus of Russian studies, Columbia University "In Tolstoy's work part of the translator's difficulty lies in conveying not only the simplicity but the subtlety of the book'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. " -- John Bayley, author of "Elegy for Iris"