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I Will Show You How It Was

The Story of Wartime Kyiv

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I Will Show You How It Was

By: Illia Ponomarenko
Narrated by: Sergey Nagorny
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About this listen

 Bloomsbury presents I Will Show You How It Was by Illia Ponomarenko, read by Sergey Nagorny.

"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."—Nicole Perlroth

“Destined to become a classic of modern war reporting.”—Luke Harding

A raw, irreverent account of a young Ukrainian reporter on-the-ground as his country heroically defends itself against the Russian invasion.

In late February 2022, a series of missiles and rocket strikes began falling upon Ukraine, as the Russian military barreled over the border and fanned out across the country. First they took Chernobyl, then Kherson, then Mariupol. Time stood still as the world waited for Ukraine to flatten underneath the boot of its neighbor.

Meanwhile, on the front lines in the capital city, Kyiv Independent reporter Illia Ponomarenko was seeing a different story on unfold: after months—years—of waiting for this long-feared attack, Ukraine was fed up and ready to fight back. The Russians bogged down hard in combat east and west of Kyiv. They got exhausted. They screwed up logistics. They sustained heavy losses. Their unbelievably overconfident blitz was failing.

I Will Show You How It Was is Illia Ponomarenko’s heart-wrenching memoir of the war on his homeland, offering a fiery diatribe against Russian hypocrisy and a moving look at what is being lost. But it’s also a story of pride and even elation as Ukrainian forces come together, find their mojo, and oust the invaders from Kyiv. The most powerful and personal chronicle of the war to date, I Will Show You How It Was is an exceptional literary achievement, chronicling a stunning feat of resistance and a courageous people set on a miraculous victory.©2024 Illia Ponomarenko (P)2024 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Art & Literature Eastern Europe Journalists, Editors & Publishers Military Russia Witty War
All stars
Most relevant
I was in Kyiv when the invasion started on 24th February 2022 so I can relate to "I will show you how it was" so very clearly. This is a great read/listen. If you were there, it will broaden your horizon as to what was happening. If you were not there it heightens your awareness of what the early days of the war were really like. I would recommend this to anyone who wants an insight into the early days of this war of russian aggression. Its an eye opener and the audio version is really well narrated by Sergey Nagorny.

I really enjoyed this as an audio book.

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Unbelievably sad and uplifting at the same time, captures the will to fight and survive.

A human and first person perspective on the first days of the war

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This is an incredible, must read/listen narrative about the early days of the invasion. The story is told with detail and pathos, it is a difficult subject, but it is covered well.

Simply Stunning

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This is the best book I've listened to about the build up and start of russia's genocidal invasion of Ukraine.

It has the human element about how Illia, his family and friends dealt with the expectation, or lack of expectation for some people, of the forth coming war as well as how people handled the realisation that war had started. You can really feel the tension and also the laughs that Illia and his friends have.

It also presents how the start of the war unfolded, how the fronts ebbed and flowed, really well but without detracting from the human angle of the story (which is after all really the main point about any event).

I cannot recommend this book enough. There are some wonderful books about the early parts of the war out there but, if you're only going to listen to or read one, well this has to be the one.

The best book about the start of russia's invasion

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As many of our politicians fail to sufficiently support Ukraine, here the story of its capital and its people who beat back Putin‘s hordes. A critical victory by the people of Ukraine and this book let‘s its readers and listeners experience these key months in history.

Touching and insightful

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