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A review by _askthebookbug
Invasion: The Inside Story of Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival by Luke Harding
4.0
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.” - Ernest Hemingway
22 Feb 22 recorded the highest number of weddings in so many countries round the globe. Popularly called as “Lucky Twosday”, expecting parents thronged gynaecologists for planning their babies’ delivery on this Tuesday. However, Putin and his friends had other plans for the Lucky Twosday: To wage a war against Ukraine. Luke Harding so poignantly covers what happened before and after of 22/2/22.
I half-expectedly started this book with the notion that the book is all but an account of events. It was, and it was more than that. It is about how a man blinded by a belief, decides to wreck a home - in this case, Ukraine. It is about how a former TV actor-turned-President and his people, stood up to the second largest Army in the world. It is also about resilience, patriotism and the shattering of a whim that fire-power can pin down the grit of a common man.
It is more than 16 months since Russia invaded Ukraine and about 7 months since this book was published. The war still goes on. So is it relevant? Undoubtedly, yes. For the book is not a mere second-hand journalism reportage. The author explains why Putin did what he did, how he amassed and brain washed 17 year old boys to war, and how he expected the people of Ukraine to welcome his soldiers with open arms (which grossly misfired). He also explains how Zelenskyy stood his ground, the people’s love for Ukraine and what lies ahead. Both the countries have been at war since the 17th century but Luke Harding’s Invasion is significant, for Putin’s war is homogenous to Hitler’s. Genocide - a word that can be associated with both.
22 Feb 22 recorded the highest number of weddings in so many countries round the globe. Popularly called as “Lucky Twosday”, expecting parents thronged gynaecologists for planning their babies’ delivery on this Tuesday. However, Putin and his friends had other plans for the Lucky Twosday: To wage a war against Ukraine. Luke Harding so poignantly covers what happened before and after of 22/2/22.
I half-expectedly started this book with the notion that the book is all but an account of events. It was, and it was more than that. It is about how a man blinded by a belief, decides to wreck a home - in this case, Ukraine. It is about how a former TV actor-turned-President and his people, stood up to the second largest Army in the world. It is also about resilience, patriotism and the shattering of a whim that fire-power can pin down the grit of a common man.
It is more than 16 months since Russia invaded Ukraine and about 7 months since this book was published. The war still goes on. So is it relevant? Undoubtedly, yes. For the book is not a mere second-hand journalism reportage. The author explains why Putin did what he did, how he amassed and brain washed 17 year old boys to war, and how he expected the people of Ukraine to welcome his soldiers with open arms (which grossly misfired). He also explains how Zelenskyy stood his ground, the people’s love for Ukraine and what lies ahead. Both the countries have been at war since the 17th century but Luke Harding’s Invasion is significant, for Putin’s war is homogenous to Hitler’s. Genocide - a word that can be associated with both.