War and Peace (Deluxe Hardbound Edition)

In spite of all of the grumbling on here, this is a lovely book, especially for the price. Of course, it has thin pages, but they are high quality Bible paper, designed for very dense books such as this with over 1200 pages. The gilding is very nice, not sloppy at all. The only downside is the barcode in the middle of the back cover, but really this is not so serious. Does anyone expect to get something like a beautiful old first edition for this price? It is a VERY nice edition and worth every penny.

First and foremost, the other negative reviews have valid points but I'm still rating this 5 stars. It's the best looking edition of War and Peace I've found, with a reasonable price tag. Let's go over some of the other reviews: 1) Did my book come in slightly damaged? Yes. However, the book was packaged as tight and secure as possible that the package felt like a brick. I could tell the company really tried to ensure a safe delivery, but it's coming from overseas and it was slightly damaged in delivery. Do the pages stick together? Yes, but only initially. It is bible quality paper (as described), and I went through the book page by page like how I would with any new bible with really thin pages. Did my book have a barcode on the back? No. The FiNGERPRINT barcode in on the inside of the back cover. I'm not sure if this is the new standard, but the review showing the barcode on the back is only 2 months old. I can only speak to my copy, and it's perfect. Is the book from India? Yes? Why does that even matter?

The pages are like tissue though

Size of a “normal” book. Looks great in my apartment and adds nicely to the overall decor. Purchased other titles of the same aesthetic to compliment this one and add to the whole decor. Really like how it turned out!

Very sturdy book. Fine pages like it's a Bible. My kid loved it.

Got this for my sister for Christmas and she loved it, she especially loved the illustrations in the book and how beautiful it is.

War and Peace is a great read

According to the front matter on the inside of the book, this edition of War and Peace was produced somewhere in India. While the artwork of the cover and the gold paint on the pages are beautiful touches, I'm afraid that the quality of the physical book and the detail to attention in its production are simply NOT commensurate with the $30+ dollars they are charging. For this same money (or far less, in fact), you could buy a fine edition of this novel produced in the US, UK, or Canada in any of the available translations* (see footnote). SPECIFIC PROBLEMS: --the pages stuck together and had to be peeled apart every time I tried to turn the page. Just putting up with this long enough to read the first few chapters was enough to suggest how INCREDIBLY ANNOYING this was going to be for the length of one of the world's most famously LONG books, not to mention the HIGH RISK OF EVENTUALLY TEARING THE PAGES. --the pages are also SUPER THIN, obviously printed on paper of very cheap quality. You can actually see the print of one side of each page THROUGH the other side, which can get distracting when reading. You will also have a hard time keeping these pages in good order: impressions by your thumb, fingers, and hand can be left on them quite easily, and let's face it - to finish THIS novel, you're going to have to hold it for a LONG time. ---Lastly, this may or may not be just a problem with my own copy, but those beautiful gold painted edges to the text block will probably show signs of damage (mine did, despite my having purchased a NEW edition). The cover also felt a little "rough" in some places, which really shouldn't happen. MANY OTHER REVIEWERS HAVE NOTED SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THEIR COPIES, SO THAT LAST BULLET ASIDE, IT'S NOT JUST A CASE OF MY RECEIVING "A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT". There are clearly issues at the site of production. *(footnote about translation) This particular translation, if you want to know, is the Louise and Alymer Maude translation, which has been out for exactly a century as of the time of writing this review. It's widely considered one of the better translations but, given how long it's been out, it is exceedingly easy to find in both paperback and hardback for far less money, and even a cursory search on Amazon will reveal that you can shop for this translation and find it in a wide range of cover arts and editions to make yourself happy. Not only are there cheap, beautiful versions of this translation available, but there is even a revised and corrected version of this translation available from Oxford University Press (and both the paperback and hardcover versions are very nice to have and hold), so there's no reason to pay $30+ for a shoddily assembled book just to read this particular translation. If you are interested in other translations, I highly recommend the Anthony Briggs translation - of which both the paperback edition and clothback hardcover editions are absolutely gorgeous items you will treasure.

The product is not new and really damaged. Really disappointing.

A beautiful book, but the pages are so thin that the writing can be faintly seen through to the other side, which gives a slightly confusing to the eye effect. Also, worse, in 2 cases the printing went awry. One page was cut oddly and about a vertical inch of the words were cut off. Another had folded during the printing and so is a bit of a mess.

The book's cover is absolutely beautiful. Though there's one thing, the pages are very thin, other than that everything is good. Love it!!

Very pretty version, and would look amazing on any collector's bookshelf. That said- the pages are so thin, like old school Bible pages. You can see the print from the other side of the page on the page you're reading and with a book such as War and Peace which is already not a light read, it adds undue difficulty.

This is the best edition of War And Peace I've got. This has a beautiful cover art with embossed double eagle symbol which is rare. I Iove this book.