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34 reviews for:
Invasion: The Inside Story of Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival
Luke Harding
4.03 AVERAGE
34 reviews for:
Invasion: The Inside Story of Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival
Luke Harding
4.03 AVERAGE
Top notch reporting. Read this book now if you want to understand why Putin will ultimately lose his foolish game. Slava Ukraine!
There was hesitation in my approaching this. I’d read and been disappointed by his Collusion about Trump and Putin. This however wasn’t grounded in speculation and the circumstantial. This is compelling journalism.
It begins just before the invasion with the author dining with the Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov. This explores the backstory and the war in the Donbas which began in 2014. The next section details Zelensky that unlikely hero. The most compelling sections describe the destruction of Mariupol.
The author asks analysts how the world’s second largest military could be halted so decisively. Many point to the nature of Planet Putin, how it is a vertical model. Decisions are made inefficiently and often with incomplete information. Conversely expertise and materiel appear to be abundant on the Ukrainian side, though one has to ponder the human cost, the inevitable attrition of such a slugfest.
It begins just before the invasion with the author dining with the Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov. This explores the backstory and the war in the Donbas which began in 2014. The next section details Zelensky that unlikely hero. The most compelling sections describe the destruction of Mariupol.
The author asks analysts how the world’s second largest military could be halted so decisively. Many point to the nature of Planet Putin, how it is a vertical model. Decisions are made inefficiently and often with incomplete information. Conversely expertise and materiel appear to be abundant on the Ukrainian side, though one has to ponder the human cost, the inevitable attrition of such a slugfest.
Picked good areas of the general picture from the war in Ukraine to illuminate what that country is going through. I appreciated the personal touches to tell this story.
Listened as an audiobook, it was pretty interesting but just felt like it was going from one anecdote to another.
Great reporting on the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It's heartbreaking to think about the deaths of civilians and military personnel who are being driven to oblivion by the wims of a madman in Russia. It is horrifying to think about the war in the Ukraine as another Spanish Civil War. A miniature conflict that is a precursor for a larger world war. It remains to be seen how things will play out. I look forward to reading further reporting about this conflict. I am especially interested to read more about the internal political struggle happening in Russia at the moment. But who knows how long we'll have to wait for that information.
Luke Harding does it once more, an outstanding and fast-paced look at the intersection of Europe and Russia. His remarkable reporting and keen eye for detail takes what could've been an overwhelming story of loss, terror, and needless suffering and turns it into a story weaved with threads of hope and joy. I trust his reporting and writing more than just about any other contemporary reporter out there.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
This is an excellent journalistic account of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It's obviously a tiny bit out of date so some of the more recent events aren't covered, although I expect an updated version at some point in 2023.
Harding is a Guardian journalist with extensive experience of covering Russia - from where he was unceremoniously banned as Putin's grip became increasingly dictatorial. It doesn't just cover events of the war itself but the events leading up to it and tries to explain some of Putin's motivations. It emphasises that Putin and his comrades expected the invasion to be a walk in the park and when it wasn't they found themselves totally unable to deal with it in any ways except increasing violence.
The best thing about the book though is that Harding uses lets people talk about their experiences. Not just Ukrainians but Russians who have opposed Putin. You get to hear the voices of people on the ground. On the receiving end of Russian occupation.
I really recommend it. It's a well-researched and sharply written account that I'm sure will be followed up with not just by Harding but other journalists. There's a lot to be said for journalistic training being a valuable tool for explaining complicated events in clear ways - when they want to. But then I always loved AJP Taylor whose history writing was influenced by his journalistic writing.
Harding is a Guardian journalist with extensive experience of covering Russia - from where he was unceremoniously banned as Putin's grip became increasingly dictatorial. It doesn't just cover events of the war itself but the events leading up to it and tries to explain some of Putin's motivations. It emphasises that Putin and his comrades expected the invasion to be a walk in the park and when it wasn't they found themselves totally unable to deal with it in any ways except increasing violence.
The best thing about the book though is that Harding uses lets people talk about their experiences. Not just Ukrainians but Russians who have opposed Putin. You get to hear the voices of people on the ground. On the receiving end of Russian occupation.
I really recommend it. It's a well-researched and sharply written account that I'm sure will be followed up with not just by Harding but other journalists. There's a lot to be said for journalistic training being a valuable tool for explaining complicated events in clear ways - when they want to. But then I always loved AJP Taylor whose history writing was influenced by his journalistic writing.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced