Horror stories from the Soviet-Afghan War by the Nobel Prize in Literature winner - A new translation of Boys in Zinc based on the revised text. From 1979 to 1989, Soviet forces were involved in a devastating war in Afghanistan that cost thousands of casualties on both sides. While the Soviet Union spoke of a 'peacekeeping mission', the dead were returned in sealed zinc coffins. Boys in Zinc presents the candid testimonies of soldiers, doctors and nurses, mothers, wives, and sisters describing the enduring consequences of the war. Through their stories, Svetlana Alexievich shows us the truth of the Soviet-Afghan conflict: the deaths and beauty of small everyday moments, the shame of returning veterans, the worries of those left behind. When first published in the USSR in 1991, Boys in Zinc caused a major controversy due to its indiscreet and heartbreaking view of the reality of war. Pages: 304, Dimensions: 13x13cm