In this finely written and penetrating book, Anna Reid combines research and her own experiences to chart Ukraine's tragic past. From the Polish churches of Lviv, to the coal mines of the Russian-speaking Donbass, from the Galician shtetlech to the Tatar shantytowns of Crimea, the book explores Ukraine's struggle to build itself a national identity, an identity that faces up to a bloody past, and embraces all the peoples within its borders.