Tolstoy's sweeping, panoramic portrait of Russia facing the crisis of Napoleon's invasion of the country is rightly considered one of the greatest novels ever written. Through the parallel and interconnected lives of three main characters, Tolstoy explores the effects of the war on them and all the people they know. Pierre Bezuhov, the illegitimate son of a wealthy aristocrat, is ill at ease and ungainly in the formal society of upper-crust St Petersburg and, as the novel opens, prefers boozy carousing with male companions to formal dinner parties where he feels a misfit. In search of meaning and direction in his life, Pierre is fated to endure much - a disastrous marriage to a beautiful fortune hunter who betrays him with other men, a period of near-insanity during which he becomes convinced that he is destined to assassinate Napoleon - before he finds the consolation and redemption for which he spends most of the novel looking. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, ambitious, patriotic and intelligent, fights with the Russian forces at the Battle of Austerlitz, where he is reported missing and is, for some time, assumed to be dead. When he returns to his estates, it is only to face the loss of his wife in childbirth and a political situation which, it becomes clear, will force him eventually to take up arms again. Natasha Rostov is the lively, spontaneous and charming daughter of a noble family who, in the course of the novel, is loved by both Pierre and Prince Andrei. One she inadvertently betrays through a misguided and temporary passion for a rakish wastrel, the other she finally marries. Focusing on the three central characters but opening out on to a vast canvas peopled by hundreds, War and Peace is a study of an entire society under pressure. All human life really is there.

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on Book Reports at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to Book Reports and other relevant topics.