This book is part of Oxford's series "What Everyone Needs To Know" (by the way, they do have the trademark on that phrase). Our library recently bought this title for our collection, in part given the timely topic at this moment. I decided to go ahead and read it to learn more as well as to write this brief review. This is a second edition of the book. The author is a professor of History and Slavic Studies at the University of Victoria and writes on modern Ukraine and Russian-Ukraine relations.
- Why Ukraine?
- The Land and the People.
- The Making of Modern Ukraine.
- Ukraine After Communism.
- The Orange Revolution and the EuroMaidan.
- Russia's Annexation of the Crimea and the War in the Donbas.
- The War in Ukraine as an International Issue.
Each chapter then has a series of basic questions with answers. Some sample questions the book answers are:
- Why did Ukraine become a key reference point of American political struggles?
- Was Ukraine always part of Russia?
- When and why did Ukraine give up its nuclear arsenal?
- What assistance has the United States provided Ukraine since 2014?
In addition, the book also includes a chronology, a map, a set of notes documenting facts, and a list for further reading. The book covers the country from its early days up until the first year or so of Zelensky's presidency. As the author writes, he focuses mainly on "Ukraine's complex national and civic identity" (xv). He does address that and a bit more as he also looks at Ukraine's relations with Russia as well as Ukraine's interactions with the United States and the international community.
The book is more an academic textbook, in other words I would not label it for pleasure reading (unless you are a policy wonk, history buff, or similar reader), but it should be of interest to general readers who want to learn more about the topic. While the text can be a bit dry at times, the book is still very accessible. The question and answer format is good to allow readers to read a bit at a time here or there. Some readers may want to read the book cover to cover. Other readers may want to just find topics of interest and focus on those. If you need a basic book that covers the topic well, this book will do the job.
For academic libraries, this can be a good book to introduce the topic to students. For students who may be writing research papers on Ukraine and the war with Russia, this can be a good text to get them started. It can provide an overview of the issues, and the references from the notes and further reading can give students additional sources to read and explore. I would also say this can be a good selection for public libraries seeking to add a book on what is a topic right out of the news at this time. If a public library does not have much on Ukraine, this book can be a good start.
Overall, at a little under 200 pages, not including notes and reading list, this is a book anyone can read and get a basic understanding of the country and the relevant issues. I really like it, and it would be one I would hand to students and other patrons wanting to learn more about the topic. Bottom line is this is a pretty good primer on the topic.
4 out of 5 stars.
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