War & Peace Podnotes, A Study Guide

Thank you for giving this project a chance. The goal is for it to supplement your reading of War & Peace with commentary and context. Each episode usually summarizes a chapter. The episode descriptions will also provides information on how each chapter plays out. Each episode is expected to remain under 10 minutes. A few may be a tad longer but 10 minutes is the goal.  These are Cliffnotes on a podcast, hence Podnotes. This introduction provides some of the motivation for attempting this Herculean effort: namely, this is the fictional book that stands above all others in its profundity. It is like the top part of the pyramid on the back of a dollar bill, somehow rising above, and standing apart from, all other literary works of man.This introduction also provides a quick background on Tolstoy and how his aristocratic background and military experience at the Battle of Crimea likely informed War & Peace.