By the Second Spring - by Danielle Leavitt (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An intimate, affecting account of life during wartime, told through the lives that have been shattered.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many Americans have identified deeply with the Ukrainian cause, while others have cast doubt on its relevance to their concerns. Meanwhile, even as scores of Americans rally to the Ukrainian cause and adopt Volodymyr Zelensky as a hero, the lives of Ukrainians remain opaque and mostly anonymous.

In By the Second Spring, the historian Danielle Leavitt goes beyond familiar portraits of wartime heroism and victimhood to reveal the human experience of the conflict. An American who grew up in Ukraine, Leavitt draws on her deep familiarity with the country and a unique trove of online diaries to track a diverse group of Ukrainians through the first year of Russia's full-scale invasion. Among others, we meet Vitaly, whose plans to open a coffee bar in a Kyiv suburb come to naught when the Russian army marches through his town and his apartment building is split in two by a rocket; Anna, who drops out of the police academy and begins a tumultuous relationship with a soldier she meets online; and Polina, a fashion-industry insider who returns home from Los Angeles with her American husband to organize relief. To illuminate the complex resurgence of Ukraine's national spirit, Leavitt also tells the story of Volodymyr Shovkoshitniy--a nuclear engineer at Chernobyl who went on to lead a daring campaign in the late 1980s to return the bodies of three Ukrainian writers who'd died in a Soviet gulag.

Writing with closeness and compassion, Leavitt has given us an interior history of Europe's largest land war in seventy-five years.

Review Quotes

"The war between Ukraine and Russia, alas, is easy for most of us to ignore by now, unless there is an audacious attack that captures our attention for a day or two. This is why Danielle Leavitt's book is so important, for she focuses on seven people across Ukraine and details their everyday lives of courage and resistance. From a coffee-shop owner outside Kyiv to a villager who runs a pig farm, to a young female cadet, Leavitt shows the consequences of the illegal invasion and, along the way, eloquently and calmly bears witness to the West's failure to stop Vladimir Putin." --Jim Kelly, Air Mail

"[A] remarkable book . . . Leavitt provides historical context to demonstrate how Putin's war is a continuation of Russian oppression dating from the czarist and Soviet empires, and skillfully uses the seven stories to reveal the full magnitude of that history . . . By the Second Spring celebrates the ordinary people who ultimately are heroes because of their humanity, not despite it." --Deborah Mason, BookPage (starred review)

"Moving and poignant . . . [Leavitt] creates a nuanced--and often devastating--portrait of life in Ukraine under the Russian siege . . . Leavitt introduces [her subjects] within family and historical contexts, mingling history with the personal and creating dynamic storytelling." --Shelf Awareness

"Movingly and realistically portrayed, [By the Second Spring] is an important work of contemporary witness." --Marcia Welsh, Library Journal

"Affecting portraits of Ukrainians caught up in a war whose origins trace back centuries . . . Apart from offering memorable portraits of her dramatis personae, each of whom copes in one way or another with all the hardships of war and occupation, Leavitt serves up fascinating observations befitting a top-tier ethnography . . . Elsewhere she offers helpful explanations of why, despite Russia's imperial ambitions, Ukraine truly is a separate nation--and why it behooves the West to defend it. A vividly written, memorable series of profiles in courage and fierce resistance." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Leavitt [showcases] Ukrainian resilience and resistance--themes that appear in many guises, including grassroots relief efforts . . . with empathy, candor, and a cautious optimism for Ukraine's future." --Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs

"[Danielle Leavitt] looks beyond the body counts and geopolitics--which have become especially harsh of late--to capture the experiences of 'most Ukrainians [who] remain unknown and faceless, represented only abstractly in blue and yellow flags hanging from the occasional window.' Leavitt's accounts push back against the 'flattening' of fellow human beings, rendering them 'palpable and resonant' as they 'live inside the madness of an unwanted and brutal modern war.'" --Harvard Magazine

"The largest war in Europe since the end of the carnage of World War II is related and explained here through the lives of seven ordinary people by an extraordinary writer. Danielle Leavitt, an American who grew up in Ukraine and studied Eastern European history, has a gift of empathy that is matched only by her knowledge of the country and her talent as a storyteller. This is the book one can trust." --Serhii Plokhy, the author of Chernobyl Roulette: A War in the Nuclear Disaster Zone and The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine

"By the Second Spring achieves something extraordinary: it captures war as it is lived, not just as it is remembered. Leavitt brings together the immediacy of a diary, the intimacy of a novel, and the analytical depth of serious scholarship. Following seven Ukrainians through the first year of invasion, she vividly conveys the raw texture of war while never losing sight of the broader historical currents at play. The result is a remarkable window into how people survive and make sense of history as it unfolds. We witness how uncertainty, fear, and hope shape daily life under occupation, while seeing how the tides of history remake individual worlds. Leavitt skillfully reveals the human dimension of war, illuminating both collective resilience and the true cost of modern conflict." --Alexa Hagerty, author of Still Life with Bones: Genocide, Forensics, and What Remains

"In this powerful and deeply human account, Danielle Leavitt brings the war in Ukraine to life through the eyes of seven individuals whose lives have been irrevocably changed by Russia's invasion. With compassion and keen insight, she illuminates their struggles, resilience, and hope, reminding us that behind every headline are real people facing unimaginable challenges. This is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the true cost of war and to stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people." --Kateryna Yushchenko, First Lady of Ukraine 2005-2010

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