'Not merely the first full account of the war in Ukraine, but may set the standard for some time to come ... a remarkable achievement, with Matthews's expert eye like an all-seeing drone, buzzing from one side of the conflict to the other'
- Telegraph
'A vivid and revealing first draft of history ... The strength of his account lies in his ability to tell the story from many angles, weaving them into a single, fast-paced narrative ... fascinating'
- Financial Times
'The best current analysis of the countdown to war'
- Serhii Plokhy, TLS
'There will be many more books on Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but Owen Matthews' extraordinary perspective has produced an interim account of special value.'
- Daily Mail
'A wave of hurriedly written books about the Russo-Ukrainian war is about to crash over our bookshops and overburdened shelves, but it is hard not to feel sorry for most of their authors. Owen Matthews has already come out with what is not only one of the fastest, but also likely to be the best, setting a painfully high benchmark for those who follow.'
- Times
'The best new book on Russia ... a classic as enduring as Orwell's Homage to Catalonia'
- Literary Review
'Superb ... a true page-turner'
- Andrew Roberts, BBC History