Alison Rose's Reviews > I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv

Yet another book I wish the putin-fluffers in Congress and elsewhere would read, except that they all have zero capacity for learning and growing as people.

This is a really excellent and up-close look at not just the Battle For Kyiv at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but also the lead-up to the war and the city of Kyiv itself. Ponomarenko's love for his city is palpable and poignant. It makes the reader feel like they love it too, even if they've never been there, as I have not. And being a journalist means that he has an ear toward all sectors of the country and the events, from government to the front lines to everyday civilians. Seeing all of this directly through his eyes was very compelling, most especially in the weeks before the full-scale war began, as Ukrainians were having to live every day as though it might begin that night. For most of us, it is impossibly to fully understand what that experience would feel like, but I think this account gets us as close as we can to understanding.

I also appreciate what a light this book shines on the might and resilience of the Ukrainian military, a force which so many around the world doubted preemptively and who proved them all wrong ten-fold. And I'll tell you what, if the US and other Western nations had fully backed Ukraine from the very start, and given them the weapons and supplies they needed without all this handwringing and hesitation, this war could likely be over by now with Ukraine victorious. Sadly, I don't think any Western leaders will learn the key lesson from this.

I did have a few minor quibbles, none of which touch on the actual reporting itself or the rightness of Ukraine in the war. The book is definitely written in a conversational tone, which for the most part works well but at times almost felt a bit too irreverent and sometimes a little forced. (There was no need to use the word "dude" so often.) It's also a bit scattered in its structure, where we sort of hop back and forth in the timeline a little, especially in the first third or so, and it can be a bit confusing. I don't think it needed to be in a completely linear format, but I think it could have been smoothed out just a little.

And then...look, I would never ever tell Ukrainians how they should feel about their own country or military or government, and I fully recognize that the adulation and hero-worship many in the West showed toward President Zelenskyy might have been a little overboard at times and probably annoyed Ukrainians a bit. I happen to admire Zelenskyy greatly and think he proved himself to be the leader the country needed, but I am also aware that his pre-2022 presidency had not been perfect, that he'd made some mistakes and bad moves, and that he did not always live up to the promises he'd made in his campaign and upon his election. There is nothing wrong with valid criticism of a president even in wartime. But it really felt like Ponomarenko just despised him, and did not hold himself back from exhibiting that. I have a few acquaintances in Ukraine who have expressed that they got irritated with Western media constantly referencing Zelenskyy's past as a comedic actor, as though that's all there was to him. But Ponomarenko repeatedly referred to him in the first half or so as "the actor" or "the comedian" or even a clown one time. He sneered at things like a Christmas display being up for too long past the holiday and cast every decision made as wrong, often without any explanation. Now, once the full-scale war began and Zelenskyy declared he was staying in Kyiv, he was staying with his people, and he was ready to do whatever needed to get Ukraine the help they required, the tone does shift, and Ponomarenko does acknowledge the leadership and bravery, although still while calling him a comedian-turned-president. Again, it is 100% his right to feel about the man however he does, and he certainly has far more information and understanding and experience of him than anyone outside the country. But it just felt like a little too much personal animus seeping through, and it didn't really serve the narrative in any way I could see.

But again, those are all minor issues, and overall this was a gripping and forthright account of a time of paramount importance, not just to Ukraine but the whole Western world. I am generally not someone who celebrates the death of even the worst people, and I know that whatever monster comes after him will probably be as bad if not worse, but I admit...the day putin shuffles off this mortal coil will be a good one.

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