Was updated after the failed coup by Russian expert Hedrick Smith. You'll see how present day Russian devolved from the Soviet Union and what the key factors were. Smith writes clearly. Just good recent history...or could be used as extra reading for those studying Russian History either in the classroom or as an avocation. Important story told well.
Hedrick Smith puts Gorbachev up among the great leaders of the world (Churchill, Bismarck). Of course, the Soviet Union disappeared 40 days after this book came out, and Gorbachev became irrelevant.
