Some Book Recommendations

As Christmas and New Year time approaches and all are looking for presents, we would like to list here some books you might find interesting – to read or to give as a cherished present. Check here for books in German.

In English, there is now quite a collection of books, especipally please check those published by the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (where you can also rent book on their website as a PDF or HTML text version, and save money and trees).

History of Ukraine

• • The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History, by Serhii Plokhy, W. W. Norton & Company 2023 ISBN 978-1324051190
    • See also other books by Serhii Plokhy, who is the Mykhailo Hrushevsky professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard University, where he also serves as the director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, USA.
  • Ukraine’s Nuclear Disarmament. A History, by Yuri Kostenko. Author Speaks about His Book in a Video for the ASEEES 2020 Convention
  • Russia’s War Against Ukraine, by Gwendolyn Sasse (Director, ZOiS/Einstein Professor for the Comparative Study of Democracy and Authoritarianism at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany). Interview/ Kennan Long View Series
  • The Crimea Question: Identity, Transition, and Conflict, by Gwendolyn Sasse (Director, ZOiS/Einstein Professor for the Comparative Study of Democracy and Authoritarianism at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
    
  • Dnipro: An Entangled History of a European City, by Andrii Portnov. Winner of the 2022 Ab Imperio Award for the Best Study in New Imperial History and History of Diversity in Northern Eurasia. Book presentation at the Ukrainian Institute London. Andrii Portnov is the co-director of the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies (VCPU), Germany
  • The Zelensky Effect, by Olga Onuch and Henry E. Hale. Part of the New Perspectives on Eastern Europe and Eurasia series. Olga Onuch is Professor of Comparative and Ukrainian Politics at The University of Manchester, UK. Henry E. Hale is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Co-Director of the Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia (PONARS Eurasia), The George Washington University, USA. Book launch 

Novels

• • The City, by Valerian Pidmohylnyi (first published in 1928), “a landmark event in the history of Ukrainian literature“
  • The Length of Days. An Urban Ballad, by Volodymyr Rafeyenko

Poetry

• • The Voices of Babyn Yar, by Marianna Kiyanovska, recently awarded numerous awards for its translation into English
  • Forthcoming: Cassandra.A Dramatic Poem, by Lesia Ukrainka. In October 2022, Live Canon and the Ukrainian Institute London presented the UK premiere of Lesia Ukrainka’s Cassandra at London’s Omnibus Theatre. In March 2023, the production toured to Oxford and Cambridge as part of the UK-Ukraine Season, produced jointly by the British Council and the Ukrainian Institute. (More)

Ukrainian cuisine and culture

• Summer Kitchens: Recipes and Reminiscences from Every Corner of Ukraine, by Olia Hercules
• Black Sea Dispatches and Recipes – Through Darkness and Light, by Caroline Eden. Winner of the Art of Eating Prize 2020; Winner of the Guild of Food Writers’ Best Food Book Award 2019; Winner of the Edward Stanford Travel Food and Drink Book Award 2019; Winner of the John Avery Award at the André Simon Food and Drink Book Awards for 2018

Prepared by Dr Oksana Seumenicht, DUAG co-founder