A true story of murder and conspiracy that points directly to Vladimir Putin; by The Guardian’s former Moscow bureau chief.On November 1; 2006; journalist and Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London. He died twenty-two days later. The cause of death? Polonium—a rare; lethal; and highly radioactive substance. Here Luke Harding unspools a real-life political assassination story—complete with KGB; CIA; MI6; and Russian mobsters. He shows how Litvinenko’s murder foreshadowed the killings of other Kremlin critics; from Washington; DC; to Moscow; and how these are tied to Russia’s current misadventures in Ukraine and Syria. In doing so; he becomes a target himself and unearths a chain of corruption and death leading straight to Vladimir Putin. From his investigations of the downing of flight MH17 to the Panama Papers; Harding sheds a terrifying light on Russia’s fracturing relationship with the West.
#71452 in Books 2016-04-16Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .58 x 6.00l; .76 #File Name: 0993597505256 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Well researched; but could use much more editingBy K. RobinI'd like to give this 3.5 stars; not quite 4 and not quite 3. First the good: The material is incredibly well researched. The documentation of his sources is terrific; though hard to follow in the Kindle edition (not the author's fault). I was fascinated by the recounting of events leading up to the disaster; the heart-breaking stories of those who sacrificed their health if not their lives; and his impressions of Chernobyl today. Now the bad: Leatherbarrow admits he is not a writer and this proves to be true. I found myself wanting to take a red pencil to many of his sentences. He credits the staff of Reddit for helping edit the book. In my opinion; the manuscript could have used even more rigorous editing. There were whole paragraphs repeated almost word for word in different chapters of the book. His account of exploring an abandoned British installation; though interesting; was unrelated to the overall story. The nighttime stroll through Kiev (part of his trip to Chernobyl) really wasn't relevant to the subject matter either. I would still recommend this book for those interested in the Chernobyl crisis; though be prepared to get jarred occasionally by the writing and organization of the material.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. This book was straight up fantastic!!!By Booklover21This book was straight up fantastic!!! I wanted to learn more about this horrific event so I could use the information for my own book series and this phenomenal story went from being a research project to a book that I couldn't put down. From the get go; Mr. Leatherbarrow had me very intrigued with his story of how he came to write this book and how much time; effort and money it took to actually get him halfway across the world to the very site where all of this took place. As a fellow author; I truly commend his efforts to make this book 100% personal. His touch adds a layer that most books can't compete with because other authors don't put their heart and soul into a book like Mr. Leatherbarrow did. From the breakdown of the plot woven neatly with his our journey to Chernobyl; to the riveting pictures he added into the book; this work is more than worthy of my 5-star review. I am so glad I bought this book and will be recommending it to everyone I know. Thank you Mr. Leatherbarrow; thank you. My only wish is that you left your contact info somewhere in the book so I could write to you somehow and thank you personally.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Images Reflecting the PastBy Stephen O. SproutIf you're interested in Chernobyl; read this book. It is a description of a trip an amateur photographer made to Chernobyl (or Pripyat). The author is not an expert on nuclear energy; but; he has apparently studied the Chernobyl disaster in detail. There are some interesting technical details in the book; although; this is not the book to read if you want technical information. There are some interesting details on the human beings involved in the accident; although Medvedev's book on Chernobyl is a better description of what each person did. Another book about the human side of the story is Voices from Chernobyl. Chernobyl 01:23:40 provides some images to go with Voices of Chernobyl; although it provides images of things; not people. I wasn't impressed by the photos until I read the book. The Chernobyl accident can be seen from many perspectives; and this book provides one more perspective.
