This monumental work by James Mace — renowned American scholar of Ukrainian history and prominent public intellectual — is devoted to uncovering the full historical truth about the darkest chapters of the totalitarian past that continue to shape Ukraine’s political, economic, educational, and moral life. The essays collected in this volume offer a profound analysis of the reasons behind the failure of the Ukrainian national liberation struggles in the early twentieth century and expose the terrifying mechanisms of Stalinist totalitarian rule.

A central focus of the book is the Holodomor of 1932–1933, which James Mace convincingly interprets as an artificially engineered genocide directed against the Ukrainian people. Drawing on extensive documentary evidence and eyewitness testimonies, the author reveals the scale of the Kremlin’s terror policies toward Ukraine and demonstrates the inseparable connection between the country’s past, present, and future aspirations for independence and social progress.

The collection also includes articles devoted to the pressing issues of contemporary Ukraine, including the development of civil society and the country’s political, economic, cultural, and educational challenges. Based on a vast body of historical evidence, Mace argues that overcoming the “post-genocidal” condition of society is an essential prerequisite for the successful development of an independent and democratic Ukrainian state.

This edition is intended for historians, journalists, students, and all readers interested in the history and present-day realities of Ukraine.

Second edition.

688 pages. Hardcover.