Read "Haji Murad" and "After the Ball" by Tolstoy

low-low price of zero): http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2728/ Hadji Murad (or Hadji Murat) From Goodreads: In 1851 Leo Tolstoy enlisted in the Russian army and was sent to the Caucasus to help defeat the Chechens. During this war a great Avar chieftain, Hadji Murád, broke with the Chechen leader Shamil and fled to the Russians for safety. Months later, while attempting to rescue his family from Shamil’s prison, Hadji Murád was pursued by those he had betrayed and, after fighting the most heroic battle of his life, was killed. Tolstoy, witness to many of the events leading to Hadji Murád’s death, set down this story with painstaking accuracy to preserve for future generations the horror, nobility, and destruction inherent in war. Aftrer the Ball (or After the Dance) from Wikipedia: " . . . serves as an example of Tolstoy’s commentary on high culture and social governance, as explored through one man’s experience with love."