The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky
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- Create Date：2024-01-24 13:21:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Simon Shuster
- ISBN：B0BM9WSRHB
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Reviews
R。Z。
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An amazing real-time account of the early days of the Ukraine invasion by Russia。 An unnamed journalist is given access to Ukraine President Zelensky， his wife， and closest advisors as they hunker down in Kiev， visit the battlegrounds of this war， and discover who they can trust and who they cannot。 Little by little， President Zelensky leaves the conduct of the war to experienced leaders and finds his ongoing role as the "Showman" who must convince the United States and other NATO countries that An amazing real-time account of the early days of the Ukraine invasion by Russia。 An unnamed journalist is given access to Ukraine President Zelensky， his wife， and closest advisors as they hunker down in Kiev， visit the battlegrounds of this war， and discover who they can trust and who they cannot。 Little by little， President Zelensky leaves the conduct of the war to experienced leaders and finds his ongoing role as the "Showman" who must convince the United States and other NATO countries that they must help Ukraine win because Russia is not likely to stop at this one invasion。 All of Europe is at risk， and also the United States， if Russia succeeds in conquering Ukraine。 This is a brilliant account of a comedian who ran for president， won， and is now facing choices that put the entire world at risk if Putin resorts to using his nuclear arsenal。 That Zelensky is up to the task is never in doubt as we learn of the personality traits confirmed by his wife that made him so successful in his earlier career as a television comedian in both Russia and Ukraine。 Read this book。 You'll learn more about NATO， politics worldwide， and the high stakes we are facing today！ 。。。more
Sergii Kulyk
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Few things to consider about the author （Семен， moscow-born propaganda tool and genocide enabler）。In 2014 alone， Simon Shuster: 1） denied the possibility of a russian invasion; 2） claimed that many Ukrainians would have welcomed it; 3） suggested that Ukraine was heading for a "civil war" on the day russia invaded; 4） told to accept the reality of annexation。 A literal agent Few things to consider about the author （Семен， moscow-born propaganda tool and genocide enabler）。In 2014 alone， Simon Shuster: 1） denied the possibility of a russian invasion; 2） claimed that many Ukrainians would have welcomed it; 3） suggested that Ukraine was heading for a "civil war" on the day russia invaded; 4） told to accept the reality of annexation。 A literal agent 。。。more
Indra
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The author has a history of spreading pro-russian narratives and it shows in this book too。 He goes at great lengths to turn a hardworking， strong-willed， dedicated， passionate， reasonable， multilayered man who really loves his country into a would be-madman-dictator thirsty for flattery。 I would not be surprised if the author was on the payroll of the russians or Ukrainian oligarchs。 He certainly has sources among them and he has written about criminals like Putin and his crony， Ukrainian oliga The author has a history of spreading pro-russian narratives and it shows in this book too。 He goes at great lengths to turn a hardworking， strong-willed， dedicated， passionate， reasonable， multilayered man who really loves his country into a would be-madman-dictator thirsty for flattery。 I would not be surprised if the author was on the payroll of the russians or Ukrainian oligarchs。 He certainly has sources among them and he has written about criminals like Putin and his crony， Ukrainian oligarch Medvedchuk with a strangely wistful sympathy， none of which he offered to Zelenskyy， see here https://time。com/6144109/russia-ukrai。。。。 Or he is simply a useful fool， I don't know。 Certainly， the Russian propaganda will make a use of this book because one of their chief goals is to discredit and get rid of Zelenskyy to weaken Ukraine。 Russia has put a lot of resources in meddling in Ukraine's inner affairs for many years and will stop at nothing to destabilize the situation in the country。 Either consciously or unconsciously the author aids them in it。Shuster has superficial understanding of Ukraine and nature of this war。 Make no mistake - Ukraine doesn't reject peace talks with Russia because Zelenskyy just wishes to be so， Ukraine keeps fighting because there can't be a compromise with an opponent who is set to wipe you from your existence， from your identity， （how hard is to get it？）。 The very survival， the future of Ukraine is at stake and it， as well as security of other countries that border Russia， depend on Ukraine winning or losing。 Both Zelenskyy and Ukrainian defenders on the frontline are acutely aware of it， yet Shuster and many others in the world seem to be too thick to grasp it。The author's sources and analytical skills are questionable， his information is often inaccurate mixed with his own fantasies and his argumentation is weak and manipulative。If you want to get to know Zelenskyy， learn Ukrainian， learn Russian - there are a lot of interviews with him and people close to him both before his presidency and after available on the internet and other material， listen to his reasoning， thoughts， look at his deeds and work， and make your own conclusions instead of relying on questionable journalists who hide behind unnamed sources and seek to grab money capitalizing on Zelenskyy's name and the predicament of Ukraine。 Or wait until the war and his presidency are over and someone finally writes a well-researched and balanced biography of the man。P。S。 I would recommend to read The Zelensky Effect written by Olga Onuch and Henry E。 Hale。 It's not a biography but the authors are real researchers who have researched Ukraine for years and put Zelenskyy in the context of his time and space。Edit。 17。01。2024。According to Serhiy Leshchenko， one of advisors of Zelensky's chief of staff， Shuster didn't have access to Zelenskyy's bunker。 https://youtu。be/-YJ6tLywcfM？t=594 。。。more
Abby Jensen
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Shuster backstabbed Zelenskyy and threw him under the bus in his disgusting article in Time magazine fall 2023 where he painted a picture of Zelenskyy as a delusional madman in his bunker， style of Hitler in "Der Untergang"。 This is not innocent， as it is timed to influence decisionmakers in the West to abandon Ukraine。 This is not like writing a biography of Churchill， in that these events are still ongoing， books like this will likely influence perceptions and may cause harm to Ukraine and inf Shuster backstabbed Zelenskyy and threw him under the bus in his disgusting article in Time magazine fall 2023 where he painted a picture of Zelenskyy as a delusional madman in his bunker， style of Hitler in "Der Untergang"。 This is not innocent， as it is timed to influence decisionmakers in the West to abandon Ukraine。 This is not like writing a biography of Churchill， in that these events are still ongoing， books like this will likely influence perceptions and may cause harm to Ukraine and influence the course of war。Shuster continues his slander and backstabbing of Zelenskyy in this book， but in a very subtle and devious way so that people who don´t already know a lot about Zelenskyy don´t realise it。 One small example: Quote from the book:"When he took office in the spring of 2019， aged 41， the President promised not to live in the properties reserved for government officials， especially not the one in the gated community of Koncha-Zaspa， among the most palatial。 It featured a billiard room， a home theatre and a separate wing with an indoor pool。 Previous heads of state had filled it with gaudy furniture。Zelensky， as a comedian， mocked them for it。 ‘Guys， how about we let some kids live in these residences，’ he’d said。 Yet now here he was， coming home each day through an entrance where a pair of life-sized lions sat carved in stone。The press never forgave him for it， and it helps explain why he was not a popular leader during the third winter of his presidency。 He was a reformer who’d promised to evict the politicians from their mansions。Yet on the night of the Russian invasion， there was Zelensky in his mansion， bathed in soft light from the chandelier。"The truth is that Zelenskyy and his wife hated living in the mansion， but were forced to move for security reasons which meant that living in the mansion was actually of less cost to the taxpayers and staying in their old home caused great inconvenience to their neighbours。 Shuster cannot be unaware of this but lies by omission to make Zelenskyy look like a corrupt hypocrite。 Just one small example of how Shuster subtly slanders and misrepresents while carefully avoiding looking obviously malicious and attempting to appear fair and objective。As for how Shuster has often spoken like a russian propagandist， other commenters have given examples， and more examples may easily be found。Notice that the readers who praise this book all openly declare that they know very little of Zelenskyy， Shuster or Ukraine， whereas the critical reviewers are all Ukrainians or otherwise demonstrate in-depth knowledge of Zelenskyy and the war。 Who are most trustworthy？ 。。。more
Ryo
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I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway。I didn't really know much about Zelensky other than what was prominently in the news when the Russian invasion made a lot of headlines in 2022。 So this book definitely taught me a lot of things about him， like his rather extensive show business career before the presidency， and his sometimes strained relationship with his wife。 It paints a very sympathetic picture of a president who's had to defend his country against a hostile inva I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway。I didn't really know much about Zelensky other than what was prominently in the news when the Russian invasion made a lot of headlines in 2022。 So this book definitely taught me a lot of things about him， like his rather extensive show business career before the presidency， and his sometimes strained relationship with his wife。 It paints a very sympathetic picture of a president who's had to defend his country against a hostile invasion and beg wealthier countries for more resources， and it shows him doing so without a lot of political experience。 It's also honest about some of his shortcomings， like his sensitivity to and avoidance of criticism， and his sometimes showman-like tendencies （like the title says）。 The book does go into a lot of detail about battles against Russian invading forces， and at times it felt like it was getting bogged down in those details。 It also jumps back and forth in time， sometimes within the same paragraph， which left me confused in a few places， as someone who's not intimately familiar with Ukrainian history。 The author tells a lot of the story as a personal account， as he was actually there in Ukraine， personally interviewing many of Zelensky's staff as well as Zelensky himself。 It was at a few times distracting when the author inserted himself into the narrative when his presence in the scene didn't add anything， but it was mostly effective at making a more personal， human story about a man who's leading an entire country in wartime。 The author himself states that his time with the president "did not bring into focus every aspect of his character，" which seems fair given that the subject is a president， and I appreciated the honesty from the author。 I read some reviews that the author is pro-Russia or anti-Ukraine， and I'm not sure where that comes from， but that definitely was not apparent in reading this book。 Russia and Putin are definitely the bad guys in this book， and they're portrayed as committing atrocities against innocent people。 。。。more
Grace Ellen Hanna
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🌟 4。5 stars！ 🌟Similar to what another reviewer shared， the social media chatter surrounding this book had me expecting to read a piece of pro-Russian propaganda。 What I found， however， was a balanced， conversational， incredibly thoughtful piece of reporting。 If Simon Shuster is trying to advance the Russian agenda， then he REALLY needs a new job。Given an almost unparalleled level of access to Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelensky and senior members of the Ukrainian government during the first ye 🌟 4。5 stars！ 🌟Similar to what another reviewer shared， the social media chatter surrounding this book had me expecting to read a piece of pro-Russian propaganda。 What I found， however， was a balanced， conversational， incredibly thoughtful piece of reporting。 If Simon Shuster is trying to advance the Russian agenda， then he REALLY needs a new job。Given an almost unparalleled level of access to Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelensky and senior members of the Ukrainian government during the first year（ish） of Russia's unjustified invasion， Shuster managed to make me feel like I was there living the events with him。 He captured the sense of （almost） camaraderie felt in the government bunker in the days immediately post-invasion， the devastation of the war crimes committed in Bucha， and the subtle but unmistakeable changes seen in Zelensky and others as months of war chipped away at a nation's collective sense of humanity。 The Showman is one of the more well-sourced books I've ever read （and I read a ton of non-fiction）。 This level of access to the key players in such a seismic world event is remarkable， and I think the fact that Zelensky's team trusted Shuster with this responsibility is indicative of their confidence in his impartiality。This level of access means that Shuster is able to write about Ukraine's war effort from a lens that few others have。 At times， this means that he shows moments that would typically be kept from public view。 Conflict between government officials， crises of conscience among leaders， serious doubts about strategy， and egos growing faster than seats at the table can accommodate happen in every nation， whether or not a reporter is there to write about it。 Shuster is clear-eyed about the challenges Ukraine will face in the years ahead， but he is also very obviously hopeful for the nation。It is clear that Shuster believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal with little sense of moral conscience。 It is also clear that he sees Ukraine's path to victory as challenging and Zelensky as a leader experiencing growing pains as he moves from a TV star to a world leader。 These are dialectics that seem hard for many folks to hold during a time of such intense political strife， but I believe that becoming comfortable with them is essential to creating a sustainable democracy （whether that be in Ukraine， the US， or elsewhere）。If you're someone who knows a lot about the war in Ukraine， someone who knows very little， or someone who thinks "I really wish I understood that better，" The Showman by Simon Shuster is an excellent， interesting place to start！ And， if you're someone who is compelled to ignore this book due to claims of the author being a Russian asset， I urge you to read it with an open mind instead。 I think you'll be pleasantly surprised。 （Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for the advance copy of this book！） 。。。more
Natali
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Author is pro-russian。
Роман
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Author is well known grifter。 We， Ukrainians， do not advise you to read this author， especially when he writes about our country （which he hates with all his heart）。
Oleh Vovkodav
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Author is famous in spreading controversial and manipulative information about Ukrainians and their fighting against russian aggression。 And now he wrote a book just to make a money on the war， continuing to repeat a high quality russian disinformation。
Brendan Dowd （History Nerds United）
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Before reading The Showman by Simon Shuster， I came across various social media posts which portrayed Shuster as a Russian asset。 After finishing the book， I can confirm that if he is a Russian asset， then he is terrible at it。The Showman chronicles the rise of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mostly centered on his time at war with Russia but also on his transition from actor to politician。 Shuster makes all of this feel rather personal。 He met with nearly everyone in the book for intervi Before reading The Showman by Simon Shuster， I came across various social media posts which portrayed Shuster as a Russian asset。 After finishing the book， I can confirm that if he is a Russian asset， then he is terrible at it。The Showman chronicles the rise of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mostly centered on his time at war with Russia but also on his transition from actor to politician。 Shuster makes all of this feel rather personal。 He met with nearly everyone in the book for interviews and he is often willing to say what he thinks about what he witnesses。 I am not kidding about the Russian asset part。 Shuster is willing to examine the good and bad parts of all of his characters with the exception of Putin。 Let there be no mistake， Shuster thinks what Russia is doing is criminal and the atrocities all go back to Putin。However， no one will confuse this as a puff piece praising Zelensky as a saint and fearless warrior。 There are numerous places where Shuster points out his mistakes， miscalculations， and a worry about who Zelensky might become when this is all said and done。 Zelensky is human after all and is learning to be a politician under the worst of circumstances。 This doesn't mean he gets a free pass from the press， though。The story tells itself but Shuster's voice enhances the book and makes it feel like a conversation。 I pictured myself sitting at a bar hearing about all of this from an old friend who just came back from overseas。 I highly recommend it。（This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and William Morrow。） 。。。more
Ярослава
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