Total Wars and the Making of Modern Ukraine, 1914-1954

‘This book ought to be studies by citizens everywhere who seek to understand the long duration of the current Ukrainian crisis.’

Alan Kimball, The Russian Review vol 76:02:2017

Outstanding rated title. Essential addition to most library collections.

‘This volume is recommended for libraries with a strong AP history population or those libraries with a significant Ukrainian population… Students can utilize the material for research purpose.’

Annemarie Roscello, American Association of School Librarians

‘The book gives a clear, concise, and convincing account and is well documented by a wide range of English and Slavic language literature. It is a valuable addition to synthetizing historical accounts on the history of Ukraine.’

Kai Struve, Slavic Review summer 2017

"George O. Liber’s Total Wars and the Making of Modern Ukraine, 1914-1954, is a detailed, often very competent and thoughtful synthesis…At its best, Total Wars handles great complexity impressively…it is often a very useful survey of a history whose complexities need to be confronted even-handedly and also always directly."

Tarik Cyril Amar, The American Historical Review, Volume 122, Issue 4, 1 October 2017

"Liber [advances] a sophisticated argument about the role of wartime violence in the shaping of a modern Ukrainian identity... This excellent book will be of interest to an academic and general audience alike."

Sery Yekelchyk, University of Victoria, University of Toronto Quarterly, vol 87 3, Summer 2018

"This extensive study of forty years of Ukrainian history provides a missing link between authoritative textbooks of Ukrainian history and monographs analyzing Ukraine’s importance as a geographical flashpoint."

Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, Lee College, East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies, vol VI, 1

"Liber’s landmark study paves the way to a new understanding of the intertwined histories of Ukraine, the USSR, Germany, and East Central Europe in the twentieth century."

Oleksandr Zaitsev, Ukrainian Catholic University, Harvard Ukrainian Studies

"Total Wars and the Making of Modern Ukraine, 1914–1954 is a persuasive synthesis of the modern Ukrainian historical experience. Instead of defending or condemning that experience, Liber shows how Ukraine came to assume statehood amidst the turmoil of the violent twentieth century."

Hiroaki Kuromiya, Department of History, Indiana University

"George Liber makes the concept of 1914–1945 as a modern 'Thirty Years War' the fulcrum of a timely and interesting take on Ukrainian history in the first half of the twentieth century."

Frank Sysyn, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta