The Folly of Realism gives a detailed account of the events leading up to Russia's annexation of Crimea and its ongoing war against Ukraine, arguing that the west failed to recognize the true nature of Russia's intentions and underestimated the risks of appeasement.

Vindman's book is a timely and important addition to the current discussion about how the west should deal with Russia's aggression. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the current crisis in Ukraine and the bigger geopolitical effects of Russia's actions.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio.

What a timely book. Alexander Vindman's book, They Folly of Realism dissects U.S. foreign policy from the fall of the Soviet Union through the Global War on Terror. He postulates that the United States made many mistakes with their foreign policy in post-Soviet Eastern Europe, especially with former Soviet republics, in the name of fighting terrorists and keeping Russia out of that fight.

Vindman is a retired military officer, who was born in Ukraine and immigrated to the United States as an infant. He has the perfect perspective to write this book. I hope this book will become a text in political science classes. It's that good. Vindman's analysis is thorough. And he parses blame out to ALL post-Soviet administrations, whether Republican or Democrat.

He discussed in detail how 9/11 affected the post-Soviet world and how the United States' desire to prevent future terror attacks affected policy makers' judgment when it came to dealing with Russia. Instead of seeing Putin as the threat he is, the U.S. chose to ignore what Putin was doing in the name of keeping Russia out of the middle eastern conflicts.

I really liked this book. As a former political science major, lawyer, and follower of world politics, I found this book to be informative and enlightening. If you are at all interested in what is currently going on in Ukraine and Russia, you should definitely read this book.

Unfortunately, this book is a necessary read. Vindman, an expert who should be listened to, acutely describes current events in his epilogue. Chilling, really!

As I try and write a review about this absolutely stunning book [I learned so much and I have bumped up the memoir by this author to higher on my TBR list], the farce that was the press conference between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy [a TRUE hero in my opinion] and the current administration aired and amidst my real embarrassment over how and what this country has become [I do not think I have EVER been so embarrassed by a U.S. president and his minions, even when he was in office previously], I just kept thinking how timely this book truly is and how now, even more than before, people need to be reading this book and learning lessons they may not have previously known they needed to learn. It will help you understand how we got there [no one is above blame here; both sides made serious mistakes along the way], more about Ukraine [with some of their history, both with the US and with Russia] and what needs to be done to both move forward and to make things right.

Jacques Roy is a fantastic narrator [he is one of my favorites] and he does this amazing book justice [I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to read parts of this book that were very upsetting]; very well done. I highly recommend listening to his narration [with this and any other book for that matter].

Thank you to NetGalley, Alexander Vindman, Jacques Roy - Narrator, Public Affairs, and Hachette Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. The Folly of Realism delivers a brief, too-the-point, and clear-eyed expert investigation of United States-Ukrainian relations, and it is a "must read" at this tragic and pivotal moment in history. Vindman's accessible and informed analysis points out the missed opportunities of the last six U.S. administrations -- in short, where the Republicans, the Democrats, and even the author himself got it wrong -- and makes a compelling case for a consistent policy informed by neo-idealism. Most importantly, Vindman makes the crucial argument that appeasing and enabling Russia continues a failed pattern of policy that promises disaster. Highly recommended for anyone who wants an accessible and educated view from a specialist on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for an opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A great overview of how Russia gained and still maintains its power, while Ukraine has struggled to get any recognition since gaining independence in 1991. All events are overlapped with the actions taken by different US administrations and this adds another layer of insight that helps us understand a bigger picture. In particular, the author describes the pitfalls of US decision-making regarding different Russian crimes and how the lack of action taken unlocked the monstrous scale of today’s aggression.
Here are a few quotes I liked, but the book definitely has more to offer for citation:

- “Grey zones are green light for dictators.”

- “Inaction by the west invited impunity producing deadly consequences.”

- “The fact that 6 US administrations have succombed to the same foreign policy shortfalls might suggest that we are destined to keep repeating the same mistakes, leading to a global catastrophe.”

I was surprised how this book manages not only to dive deeply into the events of the last 30-40 years, but also covers highly important aspects of UA-RU relationships throughout their history (starting from the 10th century!). Many of these events were thoroughly analyzed and clearly explained with prerequisites and outcomes. With that, I must say, sometimes the same facts were mentioned 3-4 times from different angles, which I think was a bit redundant. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to whoever is interested in world scale politics in general, and Ukraine / Russia / US foreign affairs in particular. Additionally, it explains different geopolitical methodologies and more in depth goes through the basics of neo-idealism, which presumably has become one of the best approaches for modern politics.

Thank you NetGalley for ARC copy!