Kiev

by Michael F. Hamm

In a fascinating "urban biography," Michael Hamm tells the story of one of Europe's most diverse cities and its distinctive mix of Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, and Jewish inhabitants. A splendid urban center in medieval times, Kiev became a major metropolis in late Imperial Russia, and is now the capital of independent Ukraine. After a concise account of Kiev's early history, Hamm focuses on the city's dramatic growth in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first historian to analyze how each of Kiev's ethnic groups contributed to the vitality of the city's culture, he also examines the violent conflicts that developed among them. In vivid detail, he shows why Kiev came to be known for its "abundance of revolutionaries" and its anti-Semitic violence.

Genres: History, Ukraine, Nonfiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1993

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely interesting, but perhaps not as detailed as could be expected (and getting toward a bit of outdatedness, now that it's just over 20 years since its initial publication). Still, there are relatively few books in English dedicated to the city's history in the 19th (and early 20th) century, and it does have some interesting information. Some things are repeated apparently unnecessarily and I've certainly read more interesting writing even in other academic texts, and the book is sometimes clearly based on research conducted while the Soviet Union still stood and shortly after its fall (which is perfectly reasonable, given the book's 1993 publication date).

[Stefan Halikowski]

Good quality research and writing from the '90s, when thinking was not dominated by any politically-correct agenda. Chapters on Polish Kiev, which was the dominant language even though the Russians were pushing hard to Russify from1818, and especially after the Polish insurrection of 1863. Don't agree with some of the comments from other reviewers here, individuals like Governor DImitry Bibikov do stand out of the narrative.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

as far as historical books on cities go, this was a surprisingly easy read. Heavily researched and with a dizzying amount of facts and numbers. This isn't a book that covers individual stories, but it does give a solid, academic history of Kiev.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Ukraine is always in the news, I thought I would read about its main city of Kiev. There was lots of history - at least up to 1917 - that was informing and interesting. Some of the history (such as the pogroms towards the Jewish settlers) was hard to read. And then I read in the epilogue that Stalin and then the Nazi's destroyed many of the architectural treasures in Kiev. This book held my interest.

[Michal Wigal]

Industrial technocrats