War and Peace Volume 2 Author:Leo Tolstoy This novel focusses on Napoleon's invasion of 1812, but includes the years 1805 to 1820, roughly, in its depiction of the lives of over 500 characters, principally Natasha Rostova and the young men Bolkonsky and Bezukhov. Philosophies of life, social dynamics, and portrayals of characters of all classes make this tremendous novel at once a psych... more »ological, historical, and philosophical study of Russia and of humanity.« less