Bill D: I have seen an abridged paperback that left out all the theoretical parts -- that is, the ones I liked best & still remember.

In the original Russian, the conversations that were spoken in French are given in French, and then translated into Russian in footnotes. Thus, the opening appears as "Eh bien, mon prince,..." & is glossed as "Nu, knyaz'...". I remember that 60 years after, but if you asked me what kind of man Kutuzov or Bezukhov was, I would have no idea. My world is made of words, not people.

It would be nice if one did not have to cut & paste, but could reply to a particular post, which would be quoted automatically with an indent, to be edited down to what was relevant.