LoveReading Says
Somewhat randomly Christopher Miller found himself studying and teaching in Eastern Ukraine even before Russia illegally invaded Crimea in 2014. Later as a journalist working for the Kyiv Post he’s in the thick of it - firstly in Kyiv for the uprising, next Crimea and then later the Eastern oblasts where a horrible war rumbles away, only really to grab the full attention of the West on 24th February 2022 when Putin launched a full scale invasion. Over the course of more than a decade Miller seems to have hardly left the country, right up until as recently as December when he returned to Bakhmut at the height of a raging battle between Ukrainian forces and a mostly Wagnerian enemy.
Miller is a brilliant and brave journalist who writes compassionately about the people he meets, and he meets a lot of people. He consistently heads into the heart of the action, finding the characters who will share their stories which are at the centre of a bigger picture. I lost count of how many times he found himself at a checkpoint with a gun in his face using either Russian or Ukrainian to talk his way through. And he has seen a lot of death. Some of it up close - there are a number of occasions where he can count himself lucky to be alive. Needless to say there are horrors within these pages, but Miller never dramatises nor glorifies. Quite the opposite.
In a war of propaganda, lies and betrayals, The War Came To Us offers both context and truth. The early chapters of the book where life is relatively normal, draw you in to the culture of Ukraine and provide an opportunity to sense what peace felt like at a time when the country was progressing away from corruption and towards democracy. It was a time of hope. This hope of course shatters, and when it does Christopher Miller is there to search through the pieces. This is great journalism from a man who knows Ukraine intimately and isn’t afraid to report the reality of what is happening in a country he clearly loves. Riveting, informative and heartbreaking.
Greg Hackett
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| Primary Genre |
History
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The War Came to Us Synopsis
WINNER OF THE WITOLD PILECKI INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD SPECIAL PRIZE
A WATERSTONES AND IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
A breathtaking exploration of Ukraine's past, present, and future, and a heartbreaking account of the war against Russia, written by a leading journalist who has lived and worked in Ukraine for over a decade.
'Vivid… Shocking… [Miller] brings a seasoned, personal perspective to his account of both the 16-month conflict and its wider roots.'
Daily Telegraph
'A beautiful blend of memoir, reportage and history...superb.'
Irish Times
'...powerful and insightful...Miller provides a human dimension to a bloody conflict.'
Kirkus Reviews
When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine just before dawn on 24 February 2022, it marked his latest and most overt attempt to brutally conquer the country, and reshaped the world order. Christopher Miller, the Ukraine correspondent for the Financial Times and a foremost journalist covering the country, was there on the ground when the first Russian missiles struck and troops stormed over the border. But the seeds of Russia's war against Ukraine and the West were sown more than a decade earlier.
This is the definitive, inside story of its long fight for freedom. Told through Miller's personal experiences, vivid front-line dispatches and illuminating interviews with unforgettable characters, The War Came To Us takes readers on a riveting journey through the key locales and pivotal events of Ukraine's modern history. From the coal-dusted, sunflower-covered steppe of the Donbas in the far east to the heart of the Euromaidan revolution camp in Kyiv; from the Black Sea shores of Crimea, where Russian troops stealthily annexed Ukraine's peninsula, to the bloody battlefields where Cossacks roamed before the Kremlin's warlords ruled with iron fists; and through the horror and destruction wrought by Russian forces in Bucha, Bakhmut, Mariupol, and beyond.
With candor, wit and sensitivity, Miller captures Ukraine in all its glory: vast, defiant, resilient, and full of wonder. A breathtaking narrative that is at times both poignant and inspiring, The War Came To Us is the story of an American who fell in love with a foreign place and its people - and witnessed them do extraordinary things to escape the long shadow of their former imperial ruler and preserve their independence.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781399406789 |
| Publication date: |
24th October 2024 |
| Author: |
Christopher Miller |
| Publisher: |
Bloomsbury Continuum an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
416 pages |
| Primary Genre |
History
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