“Dr. Russ Glenn in his latest work, Brutal Catalyst, has proven himself to be the foremost authority on urban recovery from war. This seminal work that captures innumerable lessons learned from recent history is now and will continue to be biblically indispensable for Ukrainian and all civil authorities in providing an essential blueprint for recovery from the devastations of war. This splendid tome also has broad applicability for those urban areas recovering from the severe impact of natural disasters. Meticulously researched and brilliantly written, Brutal Catalyst is another magnificent and invaluable achievement from one of the most distinguished scholars in the areas of warfare and recovery from it.”

— Lieutenant Colonel Daniel T. Miltenberger (US Army, retired), former faculty and staff, US Army War College, co-author, Guide to IGOs, NGOs, and the Military in Peace and Relief Operations

“Urban warfare is brutal and disruptive, damaging both physical and social systems. Corruption, crime, and ethnic conflict are among the consequences of this disruption. Dr. Glenn, one of the world’s premier scholars of urban operations, examines the situation in Ukraine in light of historical context to inform civil and military leaders alike on the perils and promise of post-war recovery in cities. This is an essential read for those seeking to learn how to plan and implement urban recovery efforts.”

—    ­Dr. John P. Sullivan, Research Fellow, Arizona State University Future Security Initiative; Instructor, Safe Communities Institute, University of Southern California

“Brutal Catalyst fills a significant gap in the professional libraries of soldiers and diplomats alike. As the commander of multiple urban battles in Iraq and Syria, I found that if the operation’s purpose is anything other than a Carthaginian outcome, reconstruction planning is at least as complex and important as planning for the battle itself. Most of the world’s population is now urbanized so that city fighting will be unavoidable in future wars. Russ Glenn’s examination of the impact of war on Ukraine’s cities is exactly what future post-conflict planners will need to help them understand their task.”

—    Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland (US Army, retired), former Deputy Commanding General of US Forces in Afghanistan

“In Brutal Catalyst, soldier-historian Russ Glenn delivers a clear, well-argued, well-documented study of the manmade disasters that befall cities at war, post-war, and even by accident, as in the case of the Halifax explosion. Brutal Catalyst is neither a military nor an urban history but takes each as context. Accessible to the general public, this book is of particular interest to soldiers, historians, and political scientists who need to understand the complex systems that constitute cities today. After the fall of Aachen eighty years ago this fall, the 1st Infantry Division sent Lieutenant Robert G. Botsford, a one-time writer for The New Yorker, into the city to assess the condition of its facilities. Botsford’s report concluded, “the city is as dead as a Roman ruin, but unlike a ruin, it has none of the grace of gradual decay.” Such is the fate of most cities in which modern armies fight. Brutal Catalyst promotes understanding of that and what recovery will be like. Like Aachen, Ukraine’s cities will recover, but the road ahead will be long and hard.”

—    Colonel Gregory Fontenot (US Army, retired)
Commander, 1st Brigade, 1st (US) Armored Division in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1995-1996

“Dr. Glenn’s Brutal Catalyst strikes the key chords on the spectrum of considerations vital to the ongoing and future recovery of Ukraine’s cities. The deadly material and human costs of war being inflicted upon a liberal democracy by an authoritarian Russia haunt us daily in the news and social media. Yet history tells us that cities and peoples devastated in war can rebuild and come back even stronger than before. The analysis and policy guidance found in this important new work is indispensable reading for governmental and private donors who provide the lifeblood funding which supports international urban recovery efforts.”

—    Dr. Robert J. Bunker, Director of Research and Analysis, C/O Futures, LLC and past Minerva Chair, US Army War College

“At last, compelling proof that widely applicable lessons from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine go way beyond both the tactical and the military. Nothing brings to life the concept of cities as finely woven and finely balanced “systems of systems” as starkly as the compelling, hyper-contemporary examples in Russell Glenn’s Brutal Catalyst. What is clear is that repairing such systems after shock or crisis requires a comprehensive and coordinated approach balanced in both the short and long terms. Glenn’s insights clearly signpost the nature of urban recovery from this war and other conflicts yet to come. This book deserves, and needs, to be widely read.”

—    Lieutenant Colonel Ben Baker MBE (British Army, retired), former British Foreign Office Urban Conflict and Security Advisor 

“An expert in how wars are waged and the destructive impact of conflict in urban areas, Russell W. Glenn’s historically informed analysis is a must-read for any town planner, government official, economist, or private donor contemplating how Ukraine rebuilds and recovers from the present war.”

—    Dr. Rhys Crawley, University of New South Wales Canberra,
author of the Official History of Australian Operations in Afghanistan, 2005-2010

“Dr. Russell Glenn has produced a well-researched and historically contextualized study of war-torn Ukrainian urban spaces. His observations and conclusions inform a traditional audience of military professionals and provide exceptional insights for organizations addressing war’s influence in cities. Brutal Catalyst is a uniquely informative volume that will empower these responding agencies with practical, actionable solutions, instilling a profound sense of hope and optimism for the future in themselves and the people they are helping, inspiring and motivating them in their crucial work.”

—    Dr. Howard G. Coombs, Director of the Queen’s University Centre for International and Defence Policy, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

“Cities are complex ecosystems made even more so by conflict. This compelling study of urban populations devastated by military force—from Tokyo to Mariupol—explores the myriad challenges of successful recovery. It is an essential starting point for anyone hoping to bring such cities back to life.”

—    Lieutenant General J.J. Frewen AO DSC (Australian Army, retired)

“When I first walked the high ground in Frankfurt, Germany, my warrior-historian father shared pre-WWII pictures of the city, devastation from the war, and how the city was rebuilt. He noted that we were standing on rubble delivered by human chains and looking at a new city rebuilt largely with US help. Russell Glenn’s book captures the idea that we know how to do this, brilliantly, and why we must close out the war in Ukraine properly to avoid recurrence.”

—    Major General Paul D. Eaton (US Army, retired)

“Having an effective and executable recovery plan after a major conflict is foundational to the long-term success of any war-torn nation. Dr. Glenn’s solid historical research and astute pragmatic analysis identify key trends that policymakers should consider as they grapple with what to do in Ukraine now and postwar. Truly appreciating these trends allows critical leaders to set the conditions for recovery and renewed growth as Ukraine rises from the ashes. This book is valuable to both military and civilian professionals as well as the informed and interested public.”

—    Major General Anthony Funkhouser (US Army, retired), former Commander, Afghanistan Engineer District–South, 2010-2011

“Dr. Russ Glenn adroitly captures all the issues and ramifications facing a nation state and its military dealing with the hard, harsh realities of urban warfare within its borders. I know Dr. Glenn as one of the foremost authorities on urban warfare. He has studied and researched this topic going back to the ’90s and looked at urban warfare and urban disasters from a global perspective from small, limited interventions such as the city of Mogadishu, Somalia, during Operation Restore Hope (1992) to major combat operations like the one in cities such as Kharkiv in Ukraine. The urban warfare in Ukraine is the subject of his newest book, Brutal Catalyst. This seminal book covers all aspects and complexities of urban warfare and its long- and short-term impacts. He takes the reader through all of these consequences, from the destruction of a city’s infrastructure, housing, power, water, food, and medical to the impacts on law enforcement, looting, and black markets. He even discusses the psychological impacts on civilians including children and those displaced by the ravages of urban conflict, and how these refugees must be planned for and appropriately taken care of. He not only identifies what has happened in Ukraine from the beginning of the war with Russia but goes even deeper with an analysis of what could still happen with the introduction of a tactical nuclear weapon used by the Russians. This is a book that is rich with data and historical examples of what other cities, such as Manila, Tokyo, and Berlin, had to deal with in the aftermath of WWII. In this vein he writes about a collaborative planning initiative between a collective of Ukrainian organizations and leaders as well as international partners called ReStart Ukraine. He makes the point that it is this kind of collaboration and planning that must be done to start the rebuilding of Ukraine’s cities and population. In the book’s final chapter Dr. Glenn makes this keen observation:

“To imply the only balance of importance is that between levels of government would be to mislead. The number of parties involved in Ukraine’s urban recovery is myriad and varies from city to city. Yet those parties inevitably share characteristics such as the desire to be heard, assist others in greater need, and redress social tensions.”

The bottom line is that this well written and researched book tells it like it is. There are no easy answers or solutions to solving all the issues and problems resulting from urban conflicts and warfare. It will take hard, dedicated, collaborative planning along with an incredible amount of resources, both financial and human, to fix all the various problems created by the aftermath of bombing and combat in the cities of Ukraine. Dr. Glenn makes the point that it will take an international effort to reconstruct Ukraine and get it back on its feet after the war is over. I recommend that this book become required reading for military leaders and planners, government leaders, city officials, and US Department of State leaders as well as those of international aid organizations such as PVOs and NGOs.

—    Lt Colonel John M. Allison (USMC, retired)