The Folly of Realism

How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine

By: Alexander Vindman

Narrated by: Jacques Roy, Alexander Vindman

A bestselling national security expert delivers a chilling analysis of how Western indecision and apathy made possible the return of brutal Russian expansionism—with catastrophic consequences.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, six US presidential administrations of both parties pursued policies for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia that emboldened Russia, playing into its imperialist, centuries-long mythos of regional hegemony. The result: military aggression and full-scale invasion. It was all too foreseeable.

In The Folly of Realism, leading national security expert and bestselling author Alexander Vindman argues that America’s mistakes in Eastern Europe result from policymakers’ fixation on immediate, short-term problem-solving and misplaced hopes and fears. He proposes a new long-term, values-based approach that insists on the fundamentals of liberal democracy and a rules-based world order.

Enlivened by firsthand accounts and behind-the-scenes interviews with leading Washington and international policymakers and culminating in the shocking brutality of Putin’s invasions of Ukraine, the book exposes the follies of western foreign policymaking, sources of the dangerous return of Russian imperialism, and proscribes how it can be contained.

©2025 Alexander Vindman (P)2025 PublicAffairs

Critic reviews

"Alex Vindman combines decades of experience in the U.S. military and government with academic insight to explain how successive American administrations misjudged Russia and emboldened the Kremlin to start the largest conventional war in Europe since 1945. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand what went wrong and how it can be fixed"
—Serhii Plokhy, the author of The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History

Excelent insights

I like the insights, the clear writing of complex ideas, the factual detail. A must read.

Good book, unlistenable narration

A well-written and important book rendered completely unlistenable by terrible narration. How did this happen?

listen

I did not enjoy a good book being read by a bad voice. I almost gave up on it and returned the book.

Defining Realism in the Context of American Modern History

I'm very appreciative of the writers personal experience and expertise with this book. Not only does this give context to current events, it gives the reader many insights to an otherwise mysterious processes.

Good work with solid background.

I liked his non partisan look at the situation. I don’t like that America needs to relearn its lessons over and over again.

Recommend for everyone!

Fair and balanced view of a person who knows the subject personally, and wants to improve peace all over the world.

The book is well written by an author who is very qualified to give an analysis on this subject.

I loved the book and the content! Very well written…
The narrator uses a repetitive voice pattern that makes it difficult to listen to. It is a voice pattern suited for a short news story or documentary, but not for a book.

Thought-provoking

I learned so much from this audiobook! I’m downloading the author’s other book right now. I applaud his courage.

Great story

Reader sounded like he was pinching his nose during the whole read. the story was very interesting, but the reader was very distracting.