INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! "Shuster crafts an intimate account of the Russian invasion
which vividly captures Zelensky’s transformation from a clean-cut funnyman into a war hero out
of central casting. " - New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Selection “ The Showman
surpasses all similar efforts to date and is set to be the standard by which all other works on
Mr. Zelensky and Ukraine’s wartime politics will be judged." — Wall Street Journal A monumental
account of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the forging of a leader The Showman provides an
insider’s perspective on the war reshaping our world based on unprecedented access to
Volodymyr Zelensky and the high command in Kyiv. Time correspondent Simon Shuster chronicles
the life and leadership of Volodymyr Zelensky from the dressing rooms of his variety shows to
the muddy trenches of Ukraine’s war with Russia. Based on four years of reporting extensive
travels with President Zelensky to the front and dozens of interviews with him his wife his
friends and enemies his advisers ministers and military commanders Shuster tells the
intimate and revealing story of the president's evolution from a slapstick actor to a symbol of
resilience in this compelling political biography. In their most candid accounts of the war so
far members of Zelensky’s inner circle show how the president’s character changed under the
strains of leadership and the horrors he witnessed each day. His wife First Lady Olena
Zelenska describes her escape from Kyiv with their children her life on the run and the
tensions that emerged in her marriage as she struggled to return to a meaningful role in the
administration. Ukraine’s top military commander General Valery Zaluzhny shares the untold
story of his fraught relationship with the president and the subsequent consequences.
Reflecting on their own regrets and critical decisions Zelensky and his senior aides open up
about the causes of the Russian invasion and how it may have been avoided. They describe with
astonishing frankness how their peace talks with Vladimir Putin fell apart and how their faith
in the U.S. faltered both under Donald Trump and Joe Biden shaping international relations
for years to come. The Showman provides the first inside account of Zelensky’s life amid the
invasion offering a clear-eyed view of his failures to prepare for it and his willingness to
silence dissent under martial law. What emerges is a complex picture of a man struggling to
break what he sees as a historical cycle of oppression that began generations before he was
born. Even as the war drags on Zelensky lays out his vision for its future course and through
his actions demonstrates his strategy for countering the Russians and keeping the West on his
side. The Showman as a work of eyewitness journalism provides an essential perspective on
the war defining our age resulting in a riveting vivid portrait of the invasion as
experienced by its number one target and improbable hero. This definitive work of eyewitness
journalism reveals the full story of the war and the man at its center: Unprecedented Access:
Go inside the war rooms and presidential offices with President Zelensky his wife his
advisers and his top military commanders for their most candid accounts of the conflict. From
Comedian to Commander: Witness the intimate revealing story of Zelensky's evolution from a
slapstick actor to a global symbol of resilience and a formidable wartime leader. High Command
Conflict: Learn the untold story of the fraught relationship between President Zelensky and his
top military commander General Valery Zaluzhny and its consequences on the battlefield.
