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A review by kennethjohnston9
Invasion: The Inside Story of Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival by Luke Harding
4.0
This obviously isn't a complete account, but serves its purpose fairly well. Above all else, this is supposed to be timely and it is, covering a war that started in February, has a writing cut-off of September, and was in-print in November. If you're looking for a book that conveys the tone of the war with decent (but not exhaustive details) this is a good place to start.
It's somewhat chronological, but there is plenty of jumping around to focus on various areas or themes, like Mariupol or Zelenskyy's rise. There is plenty of first-hand reporting with good access to prominent Ukrainians and everyday civilians and frontline soldiers. All the emotions are there, the anger and despair and hope of a besieged people.
The biggest weakness is the military details. Not a huge deal for most readers, but some of the writing in the first third is odd or incorrect. Some of the equipment is wrong or even completely made up (in one uncorrected quote). Really not a huge hurdle, but for a military audience, some parts might read like describing a basketball game with soccer terminology. The final third is much better in terms of accuracy, with excellent coverage of major Ukrainian military successes in the second half of the year.
Oh, and there is a bizarre section where Harding compares the bombing of a civilian population to Nazi bombings. No mention or distinction between Allied bombing of civilians in Dresden or Tokyo, so it feels like a bizarre overcorrection in order to tie Russian behavior to the Nazis. If you're going to make that point, no issue, but don't do it by omission.
There will be better books on this conflict, but this is a solid jumping off point.
It's somewhat chronological, but there is plenty of jumping around to focus on various areas or themes, like Mariupol or Zelenskyy's rise. There is plenty of first-hand reporting with good access to prominent Ukrainians and everyday civilians and frontline soldiers. All the emotions are there, the anger and despair and hope of a besieged people.
The biggest weakness is the military details. Not a huge deal for most readers, but some of the writing in the first third is odd or incorrect. Some of the equipment is wrong or even completely made up (in one uncorrected quote). Really not a huge hurdle, but for a military audience, some parts might read like describing a basketball game with soccer terminology. The final third is much better in terms of accuracy, with excellent coverage of major Ukrainian military successes in the second half of the year.
Oh, and there is a bizarre section where Harding compares the bombing of a civilian population to Nazi bombings. No mention or distinction between Allied bombing of civilians in Dresden or Tokyo, so it feels like a bizarre overcorrection in order to tie Russian behavior to the Nazis. If you're going to make that point, no issue, but don't do it by omission.
There will be better books on this conflict, but this is a solid jumping off point.