'Life and Fate' by Vasily Grossman is an epic story of Russia's involvement in the Second World War and has been ranked alongside Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'. At over 800 pages it is also a very long novel and the present work, 'Kindness and the Individual', is an attempt to distil the essence of 'Life and Fate' in the hope that this will encourage others to read Grossman's great novel. We need to remember the events to which he bears witness and this text is offered as an incentive to that end and as a reminder of the importance of kindness in human affairs. A retired history teacher, David Conduct now lives in Durham where he taught for over 20 years. A graduate of the universities of Hull, London, Warwick and Leicester, his main academic interest lies in the history of ideas. This is his seventh book. When not writing he can be found busking on YouTube at www.durhambusker.com