Never Say War

“Grand in scope, intimate in detail…Seierstad deftly traces…how a society is able to rationalize corruption and repression in the name of patriotism… Essential reading.”—Booklist (starred review)

“A revealing look at what’s behind the new Iron Curtain.” —Kirkus (starred review)

“A totally unprecedented, behind the scenes portrait of Putin's Russia at war. Astonishing. A major work.” —Antony Beevor, author of Russia: Revolution and Civil War and The Second World War

“Superlative…A book of unusual power.” —The Times of London

“Extraordinary…A journalistic book that moves beyond journalism, mixing in cultural history with reportage…Scenes are written with a reporter’s eye and a novelist’s touch.”—Financial Times

“Hypnotically good. Seierstad has outdone herself with a book that reveals deep and troubling truths about our time. In her telling, Russians emerge as a unique people, big-hearted, black-humored and self-reliant, but nurtured by a tragic sense of their own history.”—Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life and To Lose a War: The Rise and Fall of the Taliban

“Novelistic in scope, insightful, and humane…Seierstad’s steadfast empathy and personal warmth give her a direct line to the motivations of everyone from blood-soaked mercenaries to Putin’s most implacable critics.”—Howard Amos, author of Russia Starts Here: Real Lives in the Ruins of Empire

“Fascinating…A vivid depiction of wartime life in the heart of Russia.”—Irish Times

““What kind of man enlists to fight in Ukraine? A Russian soldier…tells his heart-wrenching story to Åsne Seierstad. Her book takes readers on a journey to St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Siberia. A necessary read.” —Jana Bakunina, author of The Good Russian: In Search of a Nation’s Soul

““Never Say War is a portrait of the Russia that’s now in the ascendant…a tragic view, leavened by Seierstad’s humane and sharp-eyed prose. A salutary read.”—Spectator