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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cautionary note, October 1, 2003
Clearly, Wilson's book may not be ignored by anyone who who is interested in the pesky "Ukrainian Question." One must admire his scope (from antiquity to the present, post-Soviet Ukraine--one half of the book is dedicated to post 1991 Ukraine)and the depth of his research. Its greatest merit lies in that it offers an "outsider's" perspective to the traditional russocentric or "nationalistic" readings of the Ukrainian history and identity. On the other hand, its explicit agenda to "debunk myths" and to "set the record straight" proves somewhat too facile and, ultimately, unfair. It is not that Ukrainians are devoid of "mythologies" or that the current post-Soviet Ukrainian elites are not prone to create new myths. But so what? Ukraine's "elder brother," Putin's Russia (or, for that matter, George Bush's U.S.A) does not subscribe to persistent national mythologies. Wilson is correct in sending warning salvos against various self-seving interpretations of the Ukrainian by some national historians, but his determination to completely "de-construct" Ukrainian nationality leads to a dead-end. Thus, despite the many details and frequent insights, in the end Wilson fails to resolve the very question which he set to analyze: what is a "Ukrainian?" This is a central issue that goes beyond Wilson's personal academic interest, inasmuch some 300 years of Russian imperial control, cultural and linguistic repressions, and territorial fragmentation still haunt the national Ukrainian psyche. Timely as this book is, it only raises more questions, which the author fails to resolve with such rhetorical stunts as "supposedly," "could" and "should." That is intellectual cheating. The reader, therefore, should read this book not only with interest but also with great care and not be swayed by its breezy
prose, implied objectivity and casual arrogance. Even those previous reviewers, whose disdain for President Kuchma and his cronies I fully share, should balance Wilson's model of Ukrainian nationhood with alternate narratives. This is a good book, but it should not be considered definitive.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The one book to read about Ukraine, October 1, 2002
I was immensely impressed with Professor Wilson's book on Ukraine. He starts with pre-historic times and ends with the 21st century, showing why this country of 50 million people is important and why it is in a critical period in its history. Wilson's knowledge is immense, the result of much scholarship, interviews and many visits. His is an objective view that aims to be fair, which means that many members of the Ukrainian political right and left will be displeased with parts of this book. I found that it filled many gaps in my knowledge and underlined Ukraine's precarious stuation. It is now ruled by a ... elite (read old communist commisars) an elite that has no loyalty to the Ukrainian people. It has tried to plunder the country's resources as quickly as possible. This elite is not interested in the rule of law or fair taxation. ... So the country has venal oligarchs on the right, supporting Kuchma, and the communist party on the left. It is still powerful in Ukraine's parliament and is oppsed to any real economic reform. Ukraine needs a miracle or else it will again be swallowed up by Russia, which as Profesor Wilson points out, will not be good for the world. Not onl;y will the attempt mean a civil war but if Russia succeeds it will once again try for empire. A final note: this is not an entertainment, a fun read, like many books about countries. You have to be seriously interested in understanding modern Ukraine. Look at it more as a textbook. I found it invaluable, especially this new edition which brings it up to 2002.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Impressive Accomplishment, November 24, 2002
This book tries to do two jobs, and it does them both very well. The first task is to explain the history of the Ukrainian national idea. It is not really a history of the nation, but more of a history of how the consciousness that there was a people and nation came into existance. (In other words, he does not go into a lot of detail about cossack revolts and wars and the like, but he shows how these affected the way people thought.) Wilson does a trememdous job here. The second task of the book is to see what the Ukrainians have made of their independence since 1991. This is extremely important, since the American media has generally ignored Ukraine since independence and focused solely on Russia. I had a little trouble following all of Wilson's material here, since I had so little foundation on what has happened in Ukraine recently. However, Wilson presents his facts clearly, and where possible makes useful comparisons to developments in Russia, Czech Rep., Poland, etc., so I could get a handle on things. In short, this is simply a superb book, one that will take the reader very far in understanding Ukraine and the challenges before it.
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