Synopses & Reviews
For this authoritative work on the slow collapse of the Soviet Union, Fred Coleman draws on over thirty years of first-hand observations and personal experiences as a Moscow correspondent. Having interviewed at length major Soviet figures-from Sakharov to Gorbachev and Yeltsin-and having tapped the once top-secret Soviet archives, Coleman demonstrates that communism was already doomed from Stalin's death in 1953, and that the West greatly overestimated the Soviet military threat. Aided by his own unique access to the inside stories, Coleman provides a comprehensive and compelling account of the demise of one of history's great superpowers.
Review
"
The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Empire is destined to become a classic. It is likely to be read and used for research far into the future by many generations...Masterfully written by a first-person eyewitness, one of the great reporters of his time." --
Dan Rather"Must reading for all who seek a clear picture of the Soviet period." --Malcolm Toon, former United States ambassador to Moscow
"Fred Coleman was not afraid to meet with the persecuted and write the truth about them...This is what makes his book significant." --Elena Bonner, Andrei Sakharov's widow
"This book is a must for anyone who wants to understand how painful it could be for a nation to part with its past." --Alexander Likhotal, chief spokesman for Mikhail Gorbachev
Synopsis
A definitive account of the Soviet Empire's collapse -- by the only living American correspondent to report from Moscow during the last four decades.
In 1917, John Reed, an American journalist, wrote Ten Days That Shook The World, the classic account of the 1917 Communist revolution in Russia. Now, Fred Coleman, a Moscow correspondent who spent over 30 years gathering observations, has produced this sweeping examination of the collapse of the Soviet Empire.
Among Coleman's revelations are the inside stories behind:
-- Krushchev's fall from power
-- Why Brezhnev's invasion of Czechoslovakia was doomed to failure
-- Gorbachev's rationale for risking reform
-- Yeltsin's death blow to the Soviet state
Coleman has created an indispensible history of the Soviet Union that will be read for years to come.
Must reading for all who seek a clear picture of the Soviet period". -- Malcolm Toon, Former U.S. Ambassador To Moscow
About the Author
Fred Coleman lives in France, where he is the European Correspondent of
USA Today. He reported from Moscow between 1964 and 1995.