Accidental czar : the life and lies of Vladimir Putin

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Title:

Accidental czar : the life and lies of Vladimir Putin

Author:

Weiss, Andrew S., author.

Brown, Box, artist.

Summary:

"In the West's collective imagination, Vladimir Putin is a devious cartoon villain, constantly plotting and scheming to destroy his enemies around the globe and in Ukraine. But how did an undistinguished mid-level KGB officer become one of the most powerful leaders in Russian history? And how much of Putin's tough-guy persona is a calculated performance? In Accidental Czar, Andrew S. Weiss, a former White House Russia expert, and Brian "Box" Brown show how Putin has successfully cast himself as a cunning, larger-than-life political mastermind--and how the rest of the world has played into the Kremlin's hands by treating him as one. They shatter all of these myths and expose the man behind the façade." -- inside front jacket flap.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

251 pages : chiefly colour illustrations ; 23 cm

Genre:

Biographical comics.

Nonfiction comics.

Comics (Graphic works)

Personal Subject:

Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich, 1952--Comic books, strips, etc.

Subject Term:

Presidents -- Russia (Federation) -- Biography -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Geographic Term:

Russia (Federation) -- History -- 1991- -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Russia (Federation) -- Politics and government -- 1991- -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Author(s):

Brown, Box,

Publisher:

First Second,

Publication Date:

2022

ISBN:

9781250760753

Publication Information:

New York : First Second, 2022.

Call Number:

741.5 WEISS

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003598474	New Adult Nonfiction	741.5 WEISS	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

This riveting graphic novel biography chronicles Vladimir Putin's rise from a mid-level KGB officer to the autocratic leader of Russia and reveals the truth behind the strongman persona he has spent his career cultivating.

In the West's collective imagination, Vladimir Putin is a devious cartoon villain, constantly plotting and scheming to destroy his enemies around the globe and in Ukraine. But how did an undistinguished mid-level KGB officer become one of the most powerful leaders in Russian history? And how much of Putin's tough-guy persona is a calculated performance?

In Accidental Czar , Andrew S. Weiss , a former White House Russia expert, and Brian "Box" Brown show how Putin has successfully cast himself as a cunning, larger-than-life political mastermind--and how the rest of the world has played into the Kremlin's hands by treating him as one. They shatter all of these myths and expose the man behind the façade.

Author Notes

Andrew S. Weiss is the James Family Chair and Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where he oversees research on Russia and Eurasia. He served in various policy roles at the National Security Council, the State Department and Pentagon during both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Brian "Box" Brown is an Eisner Award-winning author whose comics have appeared in the New York Times , Playboy , and New York magazine. His books include the New York Times -bestselling Andre the Giant: Life and Legend , Tetris: The Games People Play , Is This Guy for Real? : The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman , Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America , Child Star , and Accidental Czar (with writer Andrew S. Weiss). boxbrown.com

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Weiss, a Russia analyst and former White House adviser, and cartoonist Brown (Child Star) shred Vladimir Putin's hypermasculine persona in this witty and incisive graphic biography. The Putin of these pages is less of a mastermind and more of a man constantly on the defensive and ruled by paranoia, whose attempts at fomenting discord occasionally grant him short-term advantages. Focusing on the constant political maneuvering behind Putin's ascension from low-level KGB bureaucrat in the 1980s to global chaos agent, Weiss argues that Putin operates in a country founded on grift: "What we think of as corruption is actually the glue that holds everything together." Russia's invasions of neighboring countries, notably Ukraine, are framed as part of Putin's strategy to gird the country from perceived Western aggression, which he believes has driven seismic protests like the Arab Spring. Weiss's enjoyable and digestible unwinding of Putin's labyrinthine history is complemented by Brown's wry, stripped-down comics. Readers scrambling to understand shifting global politics will appreciate this accessible takedown of a larger-than-life figure. (Nov.)