Our Enemies Will Vanish

The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence

De: Yaroslav Trofimov

Narrado por: David Furr

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist • Winner of the Peterson Literary Prize

“Our Enemies Will Vanish achieves the highest level of war reporting: a tough, detailed account that nevertheless reads like a great novel. One is reminded of Michael Herr's Dispatches . . . Frankly, it's what we have all aspired to. I did not really understand Ukraine until I read Trofimov's account.” —Sebastian Junger

A revelatory eyewitness account of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and heroism of the Ukrainian people in their resistance by Yaroslav Trofimov, the Ukrainian chief foreign-affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Yaroslav Trofimov has spent months on end at the heart of the conflict, very often on its front lines. In this authoritative account, he traces the war’s decisive moments—from the battle for Kyiv to more recently the gruelling and bloody arm wrestle involving the Wagner group over Bakhmut—to show how Ukraine and its allies have turned the tide against Russia, one of the world’s great military powers, in a modern-day battle of David and Goliath. Putin had intended to conquer and annex Ukraine with a vicious blitzkrieg, redrawing the map of Europe in a few short weeks with seismic geopolitical consequences. But in the face of this existential threat, the Ukrainian people fought back, turning what looked like certain defeat into a great moral victory, even as the territorial battle continues to seesaw to this day. This is the story of the epic bravery of the Ukrainian people—people Trofimov knows very well.

For Trofimov, this war is deeply personal. He grew up in Kyiv and his family has lived there for generations. With deep empathy and local understanding, Trofimov tells the story of how everyday Ukrainian citizens—doctors, computer programmers, businesspeople, and schoolteachers—risked their lives and lost loved ones. He blends their brave and tragic stories with expert military analysis, providing unique insight into the thinking of Ukrainian leadership and mapping out the decisive stages of what has become a perilous war for Ukraine, the Putin regime, and indeed, the world.

This brutal, catastrophic struggle is unfolding on another continent, but the United States and its NATO allies have become deeply implicated. As the war drags on, it threatens to engulf the world. We cannot look away. At once heart-breaking and inspiring, Our Enemies Will Vanish is a riveting, vivid, and first-hand account of the Ukrainian refusal to surrender. It is the story of ordinary people fighting not just for their homes and their families but for justice and democracy itself.

Vital and necessary history marred by a terrible narrator

Trofimov’s work is the best work of journalism on our century’s largest conflict. It is gripping, infuriating, sad, and inspiring by turns. However, you would think that the producers of a book about Ukraine would have chosen a narrator who had at least rudimentary experience with Slavic names. This is not the case here. The narrator’s pronunciation of Ukrainian personal and place names is abysmal and does not do justice to the importance of the narrative.

A Solid Account of the War in Ukraine

This is by leaps and bounds the best work on the Russo-Ukrainian War I've managed to find. Avoiding the overindulgence in atrocity porn and emotional tourism that constitute a great deal of reporting on the conflict in the media, the author presents a straightforward yet compelling narrative that relates events in their historical and political context. If you enjoy classic war reporting and are interested in a full account of the war (so far), I can't recommend this book enough

Detailed and enthralling if not a little one sided

I liked the personal interviews and anecdotes woven I. With the historical timeline. Good performance

good account of the events

Great good and narration. One note is that many proper names are mispronounced but I guess it is of a lesser importance to largeer audiance.

Riveting

Factual. Engaging from beginning to end. Well worth the time. Wished for more to "read." Narration was excellent.