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cslanzi's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Given the topic this book actually flowed very well. The first part gives more of an overall history of the region while the second is more about her current war itself. Vey informative, lots of interesting info I didn’t know before.
caidyn's review
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Now, this was the book I was looking for. An insider's view of the Russo-Ukranian War and how it developed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
iryna_olsha's review against another edition
5.0
everyone should read this book and I really mean everyone.
Knowing the aggressors and ukraine’s complicated and tortured past is a must, especially if you’re against tyranny and believe in democracy
This book was wonderfully written and Plohky is an intelligent expert who with just a few hundred pages, can give you an educated and insightful experience
I talked to mom, how Plohky kept his writing very objective yet you couldn’t help picking sides. And we alsmost laughed when having this conversation, because how can you not choose sides?!! Clearly Russia is a tyran regime with an awful dictator who they call their democratic elected president.
i hate russia! i hate putin!! i hate this war!!!
слава україні 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
let’s never forget the heroes that have died for our country🇺🇦
let’s remember the brave soldiers who have been fighting for over 2 years and who keep fighting to this day🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Knowing the aggressors and ukraine’s complicated and tortured past is a must, especially if you’re against tyranny and believe in democracy
This book was wonderfully written and Plohky is an intelligent expert who with just a few hundred pages, can give you an educated and insightful experience
I talked to mom, how Plohky kept his writing very objective yet you couldn’t help picking sides. And we alsmost laughed when having this conversation, because how can you not choose sides?!! Clearly Russia is a tyran regime with an awful dictator who they call their democratic elected president.
i hate russia! i hate putin!! i hate this war!!!
слава україні 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
let’s never forget the heroes that have died for our country🇺🇦
let’s remember the brave soldiers who have been fighting for over 2 years and who keep fighting to this day🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
larry1138's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.75
I listened to the Audible audiobook version.
Serhii Plokhy has written an engaging and authoritative recounting of the history of Russia and Ukraine that then feeds into a well-researched recounting of the first year of the Russo-Ukrainian War. I knew much of what was stated in this book because we've all lived through the very current events that it covers, but I was very satisfied with the historical narrative that Plokhy weaved to show how Ukraine (Kiev) and Russia (Moscow) have been entangled and disentangled throughout their history, and how that history feeds into the current conflict.
This book piqued my interest in studying old eastern European history focusing on the kingdoms of Kievan Rus, Muscovy, Novgorod, Crimea, and the other kingdoms around Poland, Romania, and the Baltics. But until a "Shortest History of" book comes out for these, I'll settle for great books like this one to fill in the gaps. The current tragic war in Ukraine is due to some factors that go back hundreds of years and others that only occurred in 2021. Plokhy's strength is to provide the reader with a satisfying and conclusive narrative that ties together all these factors to make sense of a superficially senseless conflict. That's just the first part of the book, which is incredible in it's own right, covering Russian and Ukrainian history from the very first kingdoms to the machinations of the Russian empire, Cold War politicking, and the fall of the Soviet Union into the modern iterations of both nations.
The latter part of the book is an accurate and engaging war story, recounting the maneuvers and politics of the war from February 2022 until spring 2023 at publishing (pre-Pregozhin insurrection, though I would love to see an updated epilogue addressing that particular bit of the war). Ukraine watchers will recall the events of Snake Island, the battle at Hostomel airport, the sinking of the Moskva, the Bucha massacre, and various other events large and small mentioned here. For those who haven't followed the war closely, this book may be your first introduction into what modern warfare actually looks like in the 2020s, and what geopolitical analysts account for when observing military and political leaders of nations in conflict.
A very high recommend for me for anyone who wants to get to know the Russo-Ukrainian War in better detail, both from a historical perspective and from a tactical and strategic conflict analysis perspective.
Serhii Plokhy has written an engaging and authoritative recounting of the history of Russia and Ukraine that then feeds into a well-researched recounting of the first year of the Russo-Ukrainian War. I knew much of what was stated in this book because we've all lived through the very current events that it covers, but I was very satisfied with the historical narrative that Plokhy weaved to show how Ukraine (Kiev) and Russia (Moscow) have been entangled and disentangled throughout their history, and how that history feeds into the current conflict.
This book piqued my interest in studying old eastern European history focusing on the kingdoms of Kievan Rus, Muscovy, Novgorod, Crimea, and the other kingdoms around Poland, Romania, and the Baltics. But until a "Shortest History of" book comes out for these, I'll settle for great books like this one to fill in the gaps. The current tragic war in Ukraine is due to some factors that go back hundreds of years and others that only occurred in 2021. Plokhy's strength is to provide the reader with a satisfying and conclusive narrative that ties together all these factors to make sense of a superficially senseless conflict. That's just the first part of the book, which is incredible in it's own right, covering Russian and Ukrainian history from the very first kingdoms to the machinations of the Russian empire, Cold War politicking, and the fall of the Soviet Union into the modern iterations of both nations.
The latter part of the book is an accurate and engaging war story, recounting the maneuvers and politics of the war from February 2022 until spring 2023 at publishing (pre-Pregozhin insurrection, though I would love to see an updated epilogue addressing that particular bit of the war). Ukraine watchers will recall the events of Snake Island, the battle at Hostomel airport, the sinking of the Moskva, the Bucha massacre, and various other events large and small mentioned here. For those who haven't followed the war closely, this book may be your first introduction into what modern warfare actually looks like in the 2020s, and what geopolitical analysts account for when observing military and political leaders of nations in conflict.
A very high recommend for me for anyone who wants to get to know the Russo-Ukrainian War in better detail, both from a historical perspective and from a tactical and strategic conflict analysis perspective.