Book by Ukrainian author makes Washington Post 2025 best non-fiction list
Ordinary People Don't Carry Machine Guns: Thoughts on War by Artem Chapeye has been included in The Washington Post's list of the best non-fiction titles of 2025.
Source: The Washington Post (WP)
Details: On 20 November, The Washington Post published 50 notable works of non-fiction from 2025 as selected by the staff of The Washington Post's Book World, which includes a work by the Ukrainian writer.
Quote from the WP: "A Ukrainian husband and father who considered himself a pacifist decided that he couldn't live with himself if he didn't join the war to defend his country against Russian invasion. In these pages, he brings a philosopher's eye to the destruction he's witnessed, illustrating what war is like for those who weren't born to be fighters."
Chapeye says the book was written with non-Ukrainian readers in mind. It consists of three essays in which Chapeye describes how military service has transformed him as a person.
The book has also been shortlisted for BBC News Ukraine Book of the Year.
Background: Artem Chapeye is a Ukrainian writer, translator, reporter and traveller, and a member of PEN Ukraine. In February 2022, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A collection of his work has been published in English translation under the title The Ukraine.
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