Review by Martin Koenigsberg
I just finished my 11th Book Review of the Year!!
I’m not sure what to make of this little book. Starts as a Biography of Putin, questioning his origin story- and then seems to try to be both a history of his actions and speeches and an indictment of all the crimes political and military the author believes Putin has spawned. James Greensmith, a writer on Eastern Europe and Authoritarianism brings in common decency, international law, and some interesting psychological gambits to try and keep it all together. There’s little new here, but some readers may enjoy having the Putin story laid out in survey form. It certainly is topical, with this review being written as the Ukrainian War of Independence goes into its third year… I found the book a bit hard to read as the author loves to make a point- repeat it- support it with some quotes or facts – and then draw any conclusions for the reader- at least once if not twice. I like a little agency in my reading- and this book is more of a directed read. I prefer authors who sit back a little and let their readers conclude on their own- Greensmith likes to sit on the reader’s shoulder and tell them what to think. It got old fast – even though I am familiar with a lot of areas of this story from earlier reading. There are readers, though, who do like more direction from the author- and this book is for them. There are some adult themes, but no graphic injury description, so this is best read by the Junior Reader over 13/14 years with a political interest and some adult guidance. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, there is limited usefulness. Gamers may like the look inside the strong man’s POV- but can probably find other sources for this. What kind of modeler outside of the Russian Federation is looking to model Putin or his toadies, not much for those guys. The Military Enthusiast might find the look inside the Russian View interesting- but I think there are better resources for the Military angle. It’s an interesting book that may find an audience.
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