In the tradition of John Reed's classic Ten Days That Shook the World, this bestselling account of the collapse of the Soviet Union combines...
read full description
reviews
Sep 19, 2007
Chris
rated it: 
just incredible - this is, without a doubt, one of the best books I've ever read. I don't have any deep interest in Soviet/Russian history, but Remnick's writing is mesmerizing. And clever - plus it contains one of the best lines I've ever read: "I'm not sure it is possible to describe just how hard it is to acquire a reputation as a drunk in Russia."
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Feb 09, 2012
Philip
rated it:
Best book out there on the collapse of the Soviet Union. Remnick traveled to Moscow for a story, and the coup by the old army generals happened when he was there, and the kidnapping and holding of President Gorbachev. Gee, I don't know, which story should I cover--the summit talks next month between Pres. Bush and Gorbachev, or the coup?!
Remnick deftly brings together facts about the USSR and other stories into a single narrative. For example, the first chapter is called "A f More...
Remnick deftly brings together facts about the USSR and other stories into a single narrative. For example, the first chapter is called "A f More...
Sep 19, 2010
Gini
rated it:
This book, an account of the collapse of the Soviet Union published in 1993, humbled me in many ways. First and foremost, it's hard to come to terms with how uniformed I was during the time of periostrika. I had no idea of how Gorbachev lost his way during the transition, and Boris Yeltsin's leading role in it. From watching them on the U.S. news I thought Yeltsin was just kind of a drunk and a boob, and Gorbachev, a noble man. Regardless of his behavior while Russia's elected leader, Yeltso
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Aug 07, 2009
Matt
rated it: 
This was a really really good book. Asked point blank by goodreads what I learned from this book, I'd have to say I learned about the Gorbachev period, which had sort of a dead zone in my knowledge.... not entirely, of course, since I lived through parts of it, but I certainly have more of a handle on it now than I did before.
There's a lot to like here-- Remnick shows his level of access to ordinary and extraordinary people here, and it's deep. He talks to lots and lots of people, and More...
There's a lot to like here-- Remnick shows his level of access to ordinary and extraordinary people here, and it's deep. He talks to lots and lots of people, and More...
Aug 06, 2011
A fascinating account of the end of perestroika and glasnost by one who was there, who had access to the principals and can tell a very good -- and often disturbing -- tale. Remnick reported for the Washington Post, and was posted to Moscow during the final years of Communist Party rule. What is clear is that the rule of the Party failed because it rotted out from within: corruption, drunkenness and the Marie Antoinette "Let them eat cake" syndrome. He delves back into Soviet history t
More...
Aug 25, 2011
Aaron
rated it:
I thought Lenin's Tomb was a masterpiece. I decided to read it because we are at the twentieth anniversary of the end of the Soviet Union. And I remember it well! Almost twenty years after it was written, the book is still relevant. Remnick stated that "time will help sort out the Gorbachev era." However, there is no doubt that Lenin's Tomb is an excellent source for understanding the downfall of the Soviet Regime. Now if you ask my right-wing friends the sources of that downfall,
More...
Nov 17, 2008
azink
rated it:
Remnick does a great job of examining the events of 1988-1991 and how the communist regime in Russia finally collapsed. Not only is the book eye-opening, with many grim details of life under this system, but he gives many first-hand interviews with a broad spectrum of people within Russia with differing views of the collapse and communism in general. He talks to die-hard Stalinists, reform-minded glasnost backers, and even ethnic minorities disaffected and shut out of the system.
I More...
I More...
Nov 28, 2010
Joakim
rated it:
Review-
Very enjoyable read. Non-history buffs will love this book. I've read this book in four days because I couldn't put it down.
What Have I learned from this book?
-History of the Soviet Union in a nutshell. The roles of CPSU and KGB in altering history. Why socialism failed. Key figures in Soviet history and their contribution. Why majority of the Russia was submerged in poverty when Soviet Union was formally dissolved in 1991. What was it like to live there as a chil
Very enjoyable read. Non-history buffs will love this book. I've read this book in four days because I couldn't put it down.
What Have I learned from this book?
-History of the Soviet Union in a nutshell. The roles of CPSU and KGB in altering history. Why socialism failed. Key figures in Soviet history and their contribution. Why majority of the Russia was submerged in poverty when Soviet Union was formally dissolved in 1991. What was it like to live there as a chil
May 14, 2009
Matthew
rated it:
This book is excellent. I wish it weren't so editorial, at points, but the opinionation is humane (which is more than you can say for most).
Like I do with most non-fiction, I struggled to keep a solid pace with this book; but unlike most non-fiction, I was assiduous, and often eager, in returning.
Any book, let alone a quasi-historical text, that contains a paragraph like the following wins.
"I arrived at the October Regional Party Committee, a gray concr More...
Like I do with most non-fiction, I struggled to keep a solid pace with this book; but unlike most non-fiction, I was assiduous, and often eager, in returning.
Any book, let alone a quasi-historical text, that contains a paragraph like the following wins.
"I arrived at the October Regional Party Committee, a gray concr More...
Jun 16, 2010
Joyce
rated it:
Remnick's "Lenin's Tomb" is one of the most educational books I have ever read. It is well-worth the read. The writing is excellent and therefore easy and enjoyable to read. It is also well researched, having been written from Remnick's personal experiences in the Soviet Union while these events were occurring and endless interviews he had with both the everyman and key figures.
I recommend this book to everyone, for it offers everyone something to learn. For me, the majority More...
I recommend this book to everyone, for it offers everyone something to learn. For me, the majority More...
Sep 23, 2009
Gemma
rated it:
Unsurprisingly, this reads like an awesomely extended compendium of a New Yorker article.
I'm reading lots of books about the fall of the USSR right now, and this one is an engaging complement to the more academic works, with Remnick weaving in the experiences of individuals into the historical events.
I'm reading lots of books about the fall of the USSR right now, and this one is an engaging complement to the more academic works, with Remnick weaving in the experiences of individuals into the historical events.
May 21, 2011
Adrian
rated it:
The Decline and Fall of Soviet Russia. Describes the ignominy and total corruption of the state, and the horrors and drudgery that the Soviet people endured, with penetrating detail. Excellent reading, and highly recommended for anybody interested in the era.
Jan 18, 2009
Becky
rated it:
I loved this view of Soviet and post-Soviet life - each chapter is a different story of a different person and how their experiences tie in with the history of Russia. It filled in the holes from my own experiences with people there.
Jan 10, 2012
Matthew
rated it:
An excellent book about the decline and fall of the Soviet Union, one of the most important events in recent memory. I wasn't really around at the time (I was busy being a baby), so it's an event that I don't have any personal experience of, which means books like this are very interesting for me.
Feb 25, 2011
Lauren
rated it:
Amazing vivid rendering of the events before during and after the end of the Soviet Union. He was there and he makes you feel like you are there as it happens. Remnick was prescient in that you can see in the narrative the roots of the dysfunctional Russia of today.
Feb 14, 2010
Randy
rated it:
Insightful and well-written. I read this book in conjuction with other books on this era and/or geopolitical background spanning many eras. Balkan Ghost by Robert Kaplan is a very good read and compliment to Remnick's book.
Jul 10, 2009
Tamar
rated it: 
This was a great overview of the break up of the Soviet Union from a journalist's perspective, although some sections were a bit slow.
Aug 15, 2011
Thomas
rated it:
David Remnick is completely deserving of the Pulitzer for this thorough examination of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Dec 16, 2009
Brian
rated it:
Although it jumps around a lot in the sequence of Soviet history, it is an incredibly informative and interesting read. The author, who spent much time in the former Soviet Union as a Western journalist, presents first-hand interviews and views of people affected by the regime, some with positive views of it and some with negative ones. Although he doesn't hide his own views of these events, he does seek to allow the events and people who experienced them to speak for themselves. A very relevant
More...
Mar 26, 2009
Terry
rated it:
Remnick earned his Pulitzer for this book. I gained important insights into the crumbling Soviet empire.
Dec 24, 2008
Lynette
rated it:
Loved discovering David Remnick through this book. Great read before I went to Russia for three weeks.
Feb 17, 2011
Sandy
rated it:
This is a good look at Soviet history thru the prism of the end of Soviet history. Remnick was a western journalist in Moscow at the time and did a great job of capturing the personal feel of Russia/the Soviet Union and putting it in its historical context in a very readable way. I read this the year I lived in Russia and particularly enjoyed his observations about things like the first time you fall on the ice and get your "welcome to Russia" bruises. At the time I had just fallen for
More...
Dec 16, 2009
Raghu
rated it:
This book by Remnick, an American journalist with vast expertise on the Soviet Union, details the end of the Soviet empire, by basically tracing the events of 1988-1991, when the communist rule finally collapsed.
There are interesting interviews with die-hard Stalinists and elusive henchmen of Stalin, like Molotov and a bit of Lazar Kaganovich.
Remnick is not a great admirer of Gorbachev and it comes thru in the book. He is unsympathetic towards his various predicaments. It is also unc More...
There are interesting interviews with die-hard Stalinists and elusive henchmen of Stalin, like Molotov and a bit of Lazar Kaganovich.
Remnick is not a great admirer of Gorbachev and it comes thru in the book. He is unsympathetic towards his various predicaments. It is also unc More...
Aug 05, 2008
Lorenzo
rated it:
David Remnick reports on the final uproarious days of USSR.
As a foreign correspondent for the Washington Post he managed to look at the regime in a personal way.
Under the fiery socialist frown of gigantic Lenin statues he noodles around more as a Moscovite than as a foreigner.
Remnick met interesting people of all social censes and visited unusual places to give us an intriguing picture of the melt of a Colossal Snowman during the Russian thaw.
It should More...
As a foreign correspondent for the Washington Post he managed to look at the regime in a personal way.
Under the fiery socialist frown of gigantic Lenin statues he noodles around more as a Moscovite than as a foreigner.
Remnick met interesting people of all social censes and visited unusual places to give us an intriguing picture of the melt of a Colossal Snowman during the Russian thaw.
It should More...
Jul 30, 2011
Tom
rated it:
One of the best history books that I have ever read, it is about the fall of the Communist regime in the Soviet Union.
Jul 13, 2010
Recommended by Viking River Cruises for their Waterways of the Czars tour.
May 31, 2007
Khorberg
rated it:
David Remnick, former Moscow correspondent for the Washington Post and current editor of the New Yorker, takes the reader to down to the street level to view of the last days of the Soviet Union. You don't need to have a PhD to understand the political and historical going ons that form the background of the book. Remnick often descends into that sprawling New Yorker shit (as Charlie Kaufman would describe it) but he never loses the reader's interest in the daily lives of Russians on the brink o
More...
