--- product_id: 637467574 title: "Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin and Russia’s War Against Ukraine" price: "€ 41.98" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 5 url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/637467574-overreach-the-inside-story-of-putin-and-russia-s-war store_origin: HR region: Croatia --- # Deep geopolitical insight Pushkin House Book Prize 2023 Winner Published Nov 2022 Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin and Russia’s War Against Ukraine **Price:** € 41.98 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📖 Unlock the Kremlin’s secrets before everyone else does! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin and Russia’s War Against Ukraine - **How much does it cost?** € 41.98 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/637467574-overreach-the-inside-story-of-putin-and-russia-s-war) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Award-Winning Insight:** Winner of the prestigious Pushkin House Book Prize 2023, recognized for unparalleled investigative journalism. - • **Firsthand Insider Accounts:** Features exclusive testimonies from Kremlin insiders, captured soldiers, and frontline reporting for authentic perspectives. - • **Comprehensive Geopolitical Analysis:** Delivers a panoramic, on-the-ground view of the Russo-Ukrainian war’s origins and early months, unmatched in clarity and depth. - • **Masterfully Researched & Accessible:** Written by seasoned Moscow correspondent Owen Matthews, blending 25+ years of experience with compelling storytelling. - • **Essential Reading for Thought Leaders:** A Times Best Book of Summer 2023 and Telegraph Book of the Year, perfect for professionals seeking to understand global power shifts. ## Overview Overreach is a critically acclaimed paperback published in November 2022 that offers an authoritative investigation into the Russo-Ukrainian war. Drawing on over 25 years of journalistic experience and exclusive insider testimonies, Owen Matthews reveals the complex political and historical forces behind the conflict. Winner of the Pushkin House Book Prize 2023 and recognized by major media as a top geopolitical read, this book is essential for professionals seeking a nuanced understanding of one of the 21st century’s most consequential crises. ## Description Winner of the Pushkin House Book Prize 2023 *A Telegraph Book of the Year* A Times Best Book of Summer 2023 *Shortlisted for the Parliamentary Book Awards* An astonishing investigation into the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war – from the corridors of the Kremlin to the trenches of Mariupol. The Russo-Ukrainian War is the most serious geopolitical crisis since the Second World War – and yet at the heart of the conflict is a mystery. Vladimir Putin apparently lurched from a calculating, subtle master of opportunity to a reckless gambler, putting his regime – and Russia itself – at risk of destruction. Why? Drawing on over 25 years’ experience as a correspondent in Moscow, as well as his own family ties to Russia and Ukraine, journalist Owen Matthews takes us through the poisoned historical roots of the conflict, into the Covid bubble where Putin conceived his invasion plans in a fog of paranoia about Western threats, and finally into the inner circle around Ukrainian president and unexpected war hero Volodimir Zelensky. Using the accounts of current and former insiders from the Kremlin and its propaganda machine, the testimony of captured Russian soldiers and on-the-ground reporting from Russia and Ukraine, Overreach tells the story not only of the war’s causes but how the first six months unfolded. With its panoramic view, Overreach is an authoritative, unmissable record of a conflict that shocked Europe to its core. Review: Großartig! - Eine minutiöse Auflistung der Ereignisse mit aufschlussreichen Erläuterungen zu jedem Schritt. Auch wenn man wenig über die Ukraine und Russland wissen sollte, bringt dieses Buch mehr als nur Fakten, sondern auch ein tieferes Verständnis der Ursachen. Mutig und klar, wie immer bei Owen Matthews. Review: Eye Opening - "Overreach" is enlightening not because of any novel analysis, secret information, or surprise revelations, but because of its straightforward presentation of the collective destructive march of the rump of Imperial Russia, the resentful remnants of a debased Soviet Union, and the current opportunistic elite of a kleptocratic diminished Russia, towards a war they will never win, that sucks them back into the twentieth century, and earned them the scorn of Europe for decades. I particularly liked pages 155 through 158 where Mr. Matthews describes the actors and processes in which the important decisions are made in Russia, a form of careless nepotism and intelectual inbreeding similar to a prison gang, leaving the impression that Russia is actually a criminal organization with an insipid looking flag rather than a nation state. A telling comment of the author is that Russia actually manufactures nothing that the West wants. Even their best weapons are third world trash. Basically, the war with Ukraine has ruined Russia's resource extraction based economy and they have nothing else to fall back on. A big reveal in "Overreach" is the vulnerability of the government and people to the health, whims, and mental fitness of one man, Putin. Unlike many Western nations, Russia has no plan for governmental succession or a history of peaceful political inheritance. While America may face mountains during elections, Russia faces a cliff when its dictator exceeds his shelf life, like North Korea without the rabid family and military control or China minus the entrenched party discipline. Besides religion and mock imperial history, there is no new cult manefesto, no compelling economic theory, no political planks, no party dogma, no enduring ideology, no fanatical storm troopers, no Hammer and Sickle insignia, no Red Star banner, no Mao caps, not even an iconic but unreable "Mein Kamph", nothing to pretend to hold the rudderless ship of state together. Even the armed forces stink. It will be like the 1990s all over again, every man and criminal for himself, until the next mob boss slimes his way to the top. Having said all that, I have a couple of beefs. First, there is no index. I thought that was odd for a book that begs to be re-read and researched for teaching and learning, as it is a great history of the causes and beginning of the conflict. Second, and I admit bias as an Infantryman for thirty one years, but there are no maps. Zero. Yes, I know we have the internet and atlases, but I don't want to have to read with my tablet next to me or another big book laying alongside. A few maps showing the political boundaries of Eastern Europe, the basic geography of the region, and laying out the large combat formations and major military movements of the forces involved, would have been helpful. If Crimea and the Donbas were important enough for the Russians to go to war for and kill both Ukranians and their own soldiers by the thousands, it would be nice to graphically see why somewhere in the book. Not having photos was not a big deal as most readers have a decent idea of what the principal actors look like and how badly busted Russian tanks burn, but they would have been an asset too. I am going to be bold enough to recommend reading the concluding chapter twelve FIRST ("Til Vahall") as it explains where the rest of the material is going without taking anything away from the journey. Mr. Mathews' recommendation of Woodward's "Plan of Attack" is a good one too. Russians are not the only people capable of a herd mentality, group think, and self-delusion. ## Features - Binding: paperback - Language: english - Manufacturer: Mudlark - Brand: Mudlark - Publication date: 2022-11-10T00:00:01Z ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #134,655 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #232 in Crime & Criminals #943 in Specific Topics in Politics & Government #970 in Military History | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 117 Reviews | ## Images ![Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin and Russia’s War Against Ukraine - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81toiutXZqL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Großartig! *by C***T on 10 December 2024* Eine minutiöse Auflistung der Ereignisse mit aufschlussreichen Erläuterungen zu jedem Schritt. Auch wenn man wenig über die Ukraine und Russland wissen sollte, bringt dieses Buch mehr als nur Fakten, sondern auch ein tieferes Verständnis der Ursachen. Mutig und klar, wie immer bei Owen Matthews. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Eye Opening *by 1***O on 26 February 2024* "Overreach" is enlightening not because of any novel analysis, secret information, or surprise revelations, but because of its straightforward presentation of the collective destructive march of the rump of Imperial Russia, the resentful remnants of a debased Soviet Union, and the current opportunistic elite of a kleptocratic diminished Russia, towards a war they will never win, that sucks them back into the twentieth century, and earned them the scorn of Europe for decades. I particularly liked pages 155 through 158 where Mr. Matthews describes the actors and processes in which the important decisions are made in Russia, a form of careless nepotism and intelectual inbreeding similar to a prison gang, leaving the impression that Russia is actually a criminal organization with an insipid looking flag rather than a nation state. A telling comment of the author is that Russia actually manufactures nothing that the West wants. Even their best weapons are third world trash. Basically, the war with Ukraine has ruined Russia's resource extraction based economy and they have nothing else to fall back on. A big reveal in "Overreach" is the vulnerability of the government and people to the health, whims, and mental fitness of one man, Putin. Unlike many Western nations, Russia has no plan for governmental succession or a history of peaceful political inheritance. While America may face mountains during elections, Russia faces a cliff when its dictator exceeds his shelf life, like North Korea without the rabid family and military control or China minus the entrenched party discipline. Besides religion and mock imperial history, there is no new cult manefesto, no compelling economic theory, no political planks, no party dogma, no enduring ideology, no fanatical storm troopers, no Hammer and Sickle insignia, no Red Star banner, no Mao caps, not even an iconic but unreable "Mein Kamph", nothing to pretend to hold the rudderless ship of state together. Even the armed forces stink. It will be like the 1990s all over again, every man and criminal for himself, until the next mob boss slimes his way to the top. Having said all that, I have a couple of beefs. First, there is no index. I thought that was odd for a book that begs to be re-read and researched for teaching and learning, as it is a great history of the causes and beginning of the conflict. Second, and I admit bias as an Infantryman for thirty one years, but there are no maps. Zero. Yes, I know we have the internet and atlases, but I don't want to have to read with my tablet next to me or another big book laying alongside. A few maps showing the political boundaries of Eastern Europe, the basic geography of the region, and laying out the large combat formations and major military movements of the forces involved, would have been helpful. If Crimea and the Donbas were important enough for the Russians to go to war for and kill both Ukranians and their own soldiers by the thousands, it would be nice to graphically see why somewhere in the book. Not having photos was not a big deal as most readers have a decent idea of what the principal actors look like and how badly busted Russian tanks burn, but they would have been an asset too. I am going to be bold enough to recommend reading the concluding chapter twelve FIRST ("Til Vahall") as it explains where the rest of the material is going without taking anything away from the journey. Mr. Mathews' recommendation of Woodward's "Plan of Attack" is a good one too. Russians are not the only people capable of a herd mentality, group think, and self-delusion. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excelente *by C***N on 21 September 2023* No tiene pérdida, la Rusia más oscura contada de forma brillante. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hr/products/637467574-overreach-the-inside-story-of-putin-and-russia-s-war](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/637467574-overreach-the-inside-story-of-putin-and-russia-s-war) --- *Product available on Desertcart Croatia* *Store origin: HR* *Last updated: 2026-07-28*