The Theater - by James Verini (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

In the tradition of John Hersey's Hiroshima, a short and piercing look at a critical episode in the Ukraine war from the George Polk Award-winning author of They Will Have to Die Now.

In March of 2022, the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was bombed by Russian forces, the worst act of mass civilian killing in the still ongoing conflict. This brief book tells the story of a select number of survivors out of the many hundreds who had been driven from their homes to seek shelter there and were killed in an instant. It is a story of the ordinary men and women of the young country--theater workers, factory workers, actors, teachers--many of whom dismissed Putin's saber-rattling and were subsequently shocked by the onslaught and brutality of the invasion. Through their stories, we get deeply invested in their struggle for survival and their larger hopes and dreams for a better life in a land still deeply tied to past traumas. The mordant humor, pluck, and humanity of so many of these characters makes for inspiring reading amidst the reality of a bleak and tragic war. There is no better way to learn the history of the region, the larger forces and personalities that led to the conflict, and what is ultimately at stake in this most consequential European war since WWII, than this book.

Review Quotes

"The Theater is a shocking book... It's the best kind of war reporting: you can't bear to read it but you really can't bear to put it down. Future journalists will study this book for lessons on how to do their jobs."
--Sebastian Junger, New York Times bestselling author of In My Time of Dying

"An essential read to understand the human cost of the largest war in Europe since 1945."
--Serhii Plokhy, author of The Gates of Europe

"Impeccably reported, fantastically detailed, humane. Verini's book makes you care deeply about these people... He distills the full obscenity of Putin's invasion down to a single catastrophic moment."
--William Finnegan, Pulitizer Prize-winning author of Barbarian Days

About the Author

James Verini is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and National Geographic magazine. His work has received a National Magazine Award and a George Polk Award. He is the author of They Will Have to Die Now, about the battle that brought down ISIS.