INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
"Shuster crafts an intimate account of the Russian invasion, which vividly captures Zelensky’s transformation from a clean-cut funnyman into a war hero out of central casting." --New York Times Book Review; Editors' Choice Selection
“The Showman surpasses all similar efforts to date and is set to be the standard by which all other works on Mr. Zelensky and Ukraine’s wartime politics will be judged." —Wall Street Journal
A monumental account of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the forging of a leader, The Showman provides an insider’s perspective on the war reshaping our world, based on unprecedented access to Volodymyr Zelensky and the high command in Kyiv.
Time correspondent Simon Shuster chronicles the life and leadership of Volodymyr Zelensky from the dressing rooms of his variety shows to the muddy trenches of Ukraine’s war with Russia. Based on four years of reporting; extensive travels with President Zelensky to the front; and dozens of interviews with him, his wife, his friends and enemies, his advisers, ministers and military commanders, Shuster tells the intimate and revealing story of the president’s evolution from a slapstick actor to a symbol of resilience.
In their most candid accounts of the war so far, members of Zelensky’s inner circle show how the president’s character changed under the strains of leadership and the horrors he witnessed each day. His wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, describes her escape from Kyiv with their children, her life on the run, and the tensions that emerged in her marriage as she struggled to return to a meaningful role in the administration. Ukraine’s top military commander, General Valery Zaluzhny, shares the untold story of his fraught relationship with the president and the subsequent consequences.
Reflecting on their own regrets and critical decisions, Zelensky and his senior aides open up about the causes of the Russian invasion and how it may have been avoided. They describe with astonishing frankness how their peace talks with Vladimir Putin fell apart and how their faith in the U.S. faltered, both under Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The Showman provides the first inside account of Zelensky’s life amid the invasion, offering a clear-eyed view of his failures to prepare for it and his willingness to silence dissent under martial law. What emerges is a complex picture of a man struggling to break what he sees as a historical cycle of oppression that began generations before he was born. Even as the war drags on, Zelensky lays out his vision for its future course and, through his actions, demonstrates his strategy for countering the Russians and keeping the West on his side.
The Showman, as a work of eyewitness journalism, provides an essential perspective on the war defining our age, resulting in a riveting, vivid portrait of the invasion as experienced by its number one target and improbable hero.
0 有用 逝者如斯 2024-02-26 12:52:57 中国香港
这是一本关于不完美世界,并如何对抗;英雄主义v.s.国家政治;平凡人和巨龙的故事。主角希望本书发布的时候,故事已经结束;但现在远远无望。另,Zelensky入行喜剧也是因为Monty Python呢。
0 有用 永思 2025-02-23 14:02:29 北京
2025已读007 今年读完的第二本英文书。2024年5月初购于加拿大多伦多大学书店,赶在俄乌战争全面爆发三周年之前一天读完,而书里主要记述的是2022年的事,以哈尔科夫大反攻和赫尔松战役为结束(另外分出一条支线讲了泽连斯基当选之前的人生经历),尾声里提到一点泽连斯基2022年底访美的情况。在书的结尾作者对当时的局势还是颇为乐观的,但在今日读来难免让人有些心情复杂。
0 有用 umi 2024-12-31 14:53:19 美国
依旧进行时的战争让大家都始料未及 不知道即将到来的新一年又会如何收场
0 有用 VICKY HAN 2025-08-13 14:53:50 上海
Because the war is still on, there are not a lot of inside knowledges of the war. But you could get a glimpse of Zelensky’s mindset changes during the war.