September 27, 1999
Gorbachev, who currently heads a Moscow think tank (the Gorbachev Foundation), takes a hard look at world affairs in a memoir that showcases both the former Soviet premier's intelligence and his self-defeating idealism. He sharply warns that Russia is slipping back toward authoritarian rule with a paralyzed parliament and mass media firmly controlled by big government and oligarchs. Downplaying the role of nationalist movements in hastening the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, he acrimoniously blames its disintegration on Boris Yeltsin, whom he accuses of an irresponsible quest for power. In issuing vigorous calls for the peaceful, democratic co-development of all nations, for nuclear disarmament and for a strengthened U.N., he tries to present himself as a democratic humanist. But too often he still sounds like a die-hard Marxist-Leninist. While he condemns Bolshevik one-party rule as a colossal disaster, he assigns nearly all of the blame to Stalin and clings to the fantasy that under Lenin the Party still maintained strong democratic traditions. He upholds the idea of socialism, arguing that genuine socialism has never been tried--not in the Soviet Union, China, Cuba or elsewhere. His support of a stronger U.N., furthermore, is based at least as much on his distrust of the U.S. (he has harsh words for the NATO war on Yugoslavia) as it is on any faith in the international organization. In the end, this is the memoir of a humane man who appears never to have been able to appreciate the difference between abstraction and real life or, as a socialist might say, between theory and practice.
Starred review from November 15, 1999
Gorbachev's authorship alone makes this book an important text--at least for Western readers. The former secretary general (and later president) of the Soviet Union frankly discusses the USSR's deviations from socialism that led to totalitarianism and how perestroika sought to place the Soviet Union on the path of justice, democracy, and equality. In the book's most compelling section, "The Union Could Have Been Preserved," Gorbachev does not shy away from placing the blame for the collapse of the USSR (and the policy of perestroika) on Communist hardliners and on Boris Yeltsin's "intrigues." He also laments the current problems of Russia and the other countries of the former Soviet Union: the poor economies, the disintegration of social programs, and the rise in lawlessness, attributing these and many others to the end of the union. In the final section, he gives an overview of the new thinking that went on in the USSR during his tenure as boss and how this can be applied to a number of current worldwide challenges. This section also contains a solid critique of NATO and its role in Kosovo and the U.S.'s post^-cold war foreign policy. Gorbachev's take on history and his analysis of global issues are unique and provocative no matter where one stands in the political spectrum. ((Reviewed November 15, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)
November 15, 1999
In these three essays, the former Soviet leader discusses the 1917 revolution, the Soviet Union and its demise, and international relations He feels that a 1917 revolution in Russia was inevitable, although subsequent mistakes by Soviet leaders turned the result into something less than the ideal Socialist state, in which he clearly still believes. The second part is most like his previous books, including Memoirs and The August Coup, in being his own account of his own time. He details at considerable length the 1991 efforts to negotiate and ratify a Union treaty among the republics and the numerous advantages that a formal federation would have brought to all. The third section emphasizes international relations now that the confrontation of the Cold War has ended and a New World Order is emerging. While the shape of that order cannot be predicted, Gorbachev optimistically looks forward to greater emphasis on human rights and values in a better world. This title will appeal primarily to an informed audience.--Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York
Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.