"To Die With Such Men" by Shannon Monaghan

Shannon Monaghan is a military historian whose last book, A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men, offered an account of select British special operations unit members who were so important during World War II.

This time around, Monaghan covers a more recent conflict, one that’s still going on: the war between Ukraine and Russia. In To Die With Such Men (Hurst & Co.), the reader is taken behind the lines as Monaghan recreates some of the missions fought in the early stages of a war that started in 2022 when Russia invaded the country. Through extensive interviews with members of Ukraine’s International Legion, the author follows a core group of Western volunteers in Ukraine, fighting together from the early battle for Kyiv through to battles at Severodonetsk and Bakhmut, through May 2023.

While not in Ukraine herself, Monaghan recreates battle scenes that portray urban combat in riveting detail. Dialogue from soldiers like Dan, Ginger, and Greg, along with a description of frontline action, complete with a rundown on the weaponry involved, has one ducking for cover.

“There’s so much body-cam video and audio of this war that it’s possible to detail battles,” she said. “The war has changed a lot since it started. There was a lot of urban warfare at first that’s evolved into a 21st century version of WWI with drones taking the place of the barbed wire,” said Monaghan.

The relentless tension of war is broken by Monaghan’s ability to incorporate the banter of the barracks into the account, where black humor and poignant reflections take hold.

While the International Brigade may have contained as many as 20,000 soldiers from Western countries at the start of the war, that number has declined substantially once the realization of what the conflict requires settled in, she said, adding that many of those she interviewed for the book about their service through the summer of 2023 are still there.

Ukraine remains steadfast in its opposition to Russian rule, said Monaghan. “The Ukrainian determination to win is there,” she said.

The Trump Administration’s efforts to end the fighting in Ukraine may have brought confusion, but “if there’s a silver lining, it’s that the U.S. position has forced European nations to double down on their support for Ukraine,” she said.

Among the heroes in this book is Oleksii Chubashev, a TV reporter in Ukraine whose military reality show allowed him to step into the Ukrainian special forces. Having some knowledge of English placed him as an officer in the International Legion. The men who served under Chubashev “genuinely liked working with him: he was smart, charismatic, and a true believer in the cause,” noted Monaghan.

Understanding why some people go out of their way to face danger is at the heart of Monaghan’s book. The soldiers she interviewed knew they might be criticized for fighting someone else’s war. But they also knew it was the right thing to do, she said.