"A riveting account of the groups ascent and fall." - Joshua Hammer, New York Review of Books "In The Wagner Group: Inside Russias Mercenary Army, Jack Margolin, an investigative journalist, tells the full story, offering portraiture and political context and taking us from Leningrad to Moscow, from the killing fields in Syria to the burned-out cities of Ukraine, from the louche underworld of post-Cold War Russia to the upper reaches of the Kremlin. Along the way, he describes the ever-growing role of private military and security companiesso-called PMSCs. Its a tale of violence and political intrigue that reads like a Tom Clancy novel written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky." - Arthur Herman, Wall Street Journal "Chronicle[ s] his extraordinary, villainous career and how Wagner came to be." - The Economist "Meticulously researched . . . Margolins gripping narrative describes how this power struggle [ between Prighozin and Putin] led to Wagners aborted mutiny in June 2023, after which Prigozhin acted as if he could avoid the normal fate of traitors. In August 2023, his aircraft exploded in the sky." - Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs "Jack Margolin, an independent researcher and expert on modern mercenaries, provides a deeply reported history of the Wagner private military company." - Miles Johnson, Financial Times "Margolin builds to a fascinating portrait of a modern Russian political sphere governed by symbolism and performance (Prigozhins dramatic killing in a private jet explosion was meant as a response to his theatrical statements) and a global order in which violence easily permeates civil society by posing as mere business. Its a vital window onto the weird world of secretive, privatized modern warfare." - Publishers Weekly "Jack Margolin takes the reader through an extensive array of leaks, first-hand accounts and original documented evidence to reveal the inner workings of Russias infamous mercenary army . . . Margolin demonstrates that Wagner is not an aberration, but a manifestation of the new geopolitical order of global capital, global crime and the entrepreneurs that thrive in it." - History of War Magazine "Investigative researcher Jack Margolin tells its story, from the groups inception to the fiery death of its leader in a jet plane accident . . . as riveting and as exciting as any thriller." - Michael Glitz, Parade "Margolin shines a bright light onto the shadowy Wagner mercenary group, at once deeply-researched and as readable as a thriller." - Mark Galeotti, author of Putin's Wars "With an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Wagner, Margolin takes readers deep into the shadowy underworld of the notorious mercenary group. A must read for anyone interested in understanding the history of the Orchestra and its most important musicians." - Clarissa Ward, CNN Chief International Correspondent and author of On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist "An important book about the worlds most dangerous mercenary outfit. Margolin unearths new details that will surprise readers." - Sean McFate, National Defense University and author of The New Rules of War "In this gripping and meticulous guide to Russias most notorious mercenary group, Margolin charts Wagners heady rise and Prigozhins calamitous fall with an eye to an international context and the Wests own complicity." - Jade McGlynn, author of Russia's War "This fascinating history of the Wagner Group (and of the connected but competing group Redut) is filled with details not reported elsewhere, based on the authors own interviews and extensive research of Russian-language blogs, social media posts, and leaked documents. It will appeal to anyone interested in the criminality, violent military exploits, and political infighting of Vladimir Putins Russia." - Kimberly Marten, Barnard College, Columbia University "The Wagner Group, by Jack Margolin, sheds valuable light on Putin's patronage-based regime and its use of paramilitary proxies by situating adeptly Wagner's story in its broader historical and international context." - Amy Knight, Times Literary Supplement
