I Will Show You How It Was

Reviews

Candid and arresting. Searing . . . a clear and resounding call for Westerners to revisit the fight and remember their initial enthusiasm for solidarity . . . Though Kyiv has not been taken and the beauty of springtime has once again come to the city, the war is still not over, and it is something that Ponomarenko has not forgotten. He hopes that we, also, will not forget. A kind of love letter to journalism, to Ukraine and, above all, to Kyiv as it drives the enemy from the gates . . . a heartfelt addition to the plethora of books on the war. Ponomarenko’s meticulous and painful description of the period stirred up gut-wrenching emotions from the time and will quickly take any reader back to those harrowing days. A raw, candid account from a young Ukrainian reporter covering his country’s defiant stand against the Russian invasion. Brilliant, dark and devastating. Illia Ponomarenko's memoir of the battle for Kyiv following Russia's 2022 invasion is destined to become a classic of modern war reporting. I Will Show You How It Was describes the folly and arrogance of Vladimir Putin's military plan, the thump and boom of battle, and the heroic fightback against the odds by Ukrainian soldiers and ordinary civilians. A vivid, dramatic, and moving account. A clear-eyed account of Ukraine under siege . . . a gripping account of Ukrainians’ struggle, offering moral clarity about the causes of the war. Remarkable . . . [I Will Show You How It Was] lives up to its title, with countless pages that are alternately heart-rending, stomach-churning, and even inspiring. This is an important story, and Ponomarenko tells it with passion and intelligence. A revelatory portrait of the horror and absurdity of the conflict spiked with much-needed threads of humanity and hope. Brings to life in vivid detail what it was like on the ground before, during, and after the Russian onslaught on the capital city . . . [makes] the reader feel the fear, uncertainty, and danger that the fog of war forces regular people to endure. Ponomarenko stands defiant. A story of searing clarity from Ukraine’s frontlines of an unfathomably resilient, freedom loving people who refuse to bend to Putin’s assault on truth and human life. We in the West must take note. Ukrainians are doing our work for us and we own them immeasurable gratitude. Never has this been clearer than in Illia Ponomarenko’s heartbreaking—and ultimately hopeful—prose. A delightful, moving, painful, compulsively readable narrative of the early months of the Russian invasion. A gifted storyteller, Illia Ponomarenko talks to you as if you are sitting side-by-side, looking out the window of an apartment building in his beloved Kyiv, drinking cheap vodka shots and watching the sunrise after a long night of remembering—the heroism, the fear, the history, the love— the glories gained and the lives lost. This is, very possibly, the Ukraine war’s very own Dispatches. Brilliant. Kyiv was doomed, destined to fall within a few short weeks if not days--those were the expectations of many, both friends and foes of Ukraine in February of 2022. The Ukrainian people surprised the world by fighting back, saving their capital, and turning the tide of the war. This eyewitness account of the battle for Kyiv explains not only how it happened but also why the Ukrainians fought and keep fighting today, once again against all the odds. A roaring, scathing expose of Russia’s ‘case’ for war; a wry, vivid, deeply personal account of the invasion; a moving portrait of young Ukrainians’ bewilderment and rage. At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the world thought that Ukraine would not be able to withstand the military power of Russia. But people decided to fight for their freedom. Nothing is predestined. It is the decisiveness to act that determines the society that has a future. And this is what this book is about. Both memoir and action film, detailed journalism and personal reflection . . .Taking us to the streets of his beautiful city, [Ponomarenko] reminds us that this fight is primarily for something. It is an embrace of the good, a defense of home, an affirmation of life in the midst of death. A personal Ukrainian perspective on the realities of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, vital for understanding the nature of this war of aggression and the motivation of Ukrainians. In this masterful blend of memoir and reportage, Ukrainian journalist Ponomarenko covers the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine with rigor and surprising wit. Determined to combat the ‘shameless lies’ that Vladimir Putin used to justify Russia’s assault on Kyiv, Ponomarenko shares his on-the-ground observations of Ukrainian resistance … Such balanced takes and sardonic humor enliven the proceedings throughout. The results are lucid, stirring, and hard to shake. Expand reviews