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Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire
From the author of Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution comes a revealing new account of the collapse of the Soviet Union’s European empire during months of largely peaceful revolution that profoundly changed the world.
At the start of 1989, six European nations were Soviet vassal states. By year’s end, they had all declared national independence, embark...more
At the start of 1989, six European nations were Soviet vassal states. By year’s end, they had all declared national independence, embark...more
Hardcover, 480 pages
Published
October 27th 2009
by Pantheon
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In November 1989 I was reading in USA Today that the Berlin Wall was going to come down. Impossible! I remember when it went up. I remember Kennedy speaking near it. I thought this wall would never come down.
I said to my wife, "Let's go see history in the making."
She said, "No, I can't, but you go."
I did. In fact, I think I was one of the first Americans to travel in East Germany since World War 2.
Now there is a book a...more
I said to my wife, "Let's go see history in the making."
She said, "No, I can't, but you go."
I did. In fact, I think I was one of the first Americans to travel in East Germany since World War 2.
Now there is a book a...more
view all 4 comments
A well written book that keeps the reader engaged in what could easily be a boring topic by telling great stories. (Though, for me, it seemed to slow down in the third section.)
I, as an American reading this in March 2011, kept thinking about the following parallels to modern day America and other world events:
* Afghanistan war (Gorbachev wanted to pull out as soon as he could because Russia couldn't afford a war they couldn't win; the Soviets were there for 10 years; US will...more
I, as an American reading this in March 2011, kept thinking about the following parallels to modern day America and other world events:
* Afghanistan war (Gorbachev wanted to pull out as soon as he could because Russia couldn't afford a war they couldn't win; the Soviets were there for 10 years; US will...more
No passado 9 de Novembro foi comemorado o vigésimo aniversário da queda do muro de Berlim. No âmbito desta comemoração a Editorial Presença teve a gentileza de me convidar a ler esta obra de Victor Sebestyen que de uma forma geral relata os últimos dias da Guerra Fria e de todo o Império Soviético.
Na altura de toda esta revolução, era eu ainda uma criança, tudo para mim era algo que acompanhei muito ao de leve na televisão. Mas de facto não tinha uma noção real do que passaram milhões ...more
Na altura de toda esta revolução, era eu ainda uma criança, tudo para mim era algo que acompanhei muito ao de leve na televisão. Mas de facto não tinha uma noção real do que passaram milhões ...more
A well-written and interesting look at what is actually the history of the Warsaw Pact countries during the 1980s.
It doesn't plow much new ground in terms of research. Sebestyen agrees with conventional wisdom that the seeds of Soviet failure were sown decades before, with disastrous economic policies modeled on a fundamentally bankrupt plan to export Soviet materials to Iron Curtain countries, and have Russia import finished goods produced there.
It does do a very nice j...more
It doesn't plow much new ground in terms of research. Sebestyen agrees with conventional wisdom that the seeds of Soviet failure were sown decades before, with disastrous economic policies modeled on a fundamentally bankrupt plan to export Soviet materials to Iron Curtain countries, and have Russia import finished goods produced there.
It does do a very nice j...more
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Kirsten
rated it
Recommends it for:
People interested in Soviet Russia, Eastern Europe, History of Communism
A highly readable book about the collapse of the Soviet's satellite empire in Eastern Europe. The chapters are broken up into pretty short doses, which makes it a quick read.
The book covers some of the failed coups that had taken place earlier, and then shows the shift within Moscow itself from the old guard to Gorbachev. It's especially fascinating to see the indifference Moscow showed towards the loss of their satellites and how little help was extended to Comrades in power.
...more
The book covers some of the failed coups that had taken place earlier, and then shows the shift within Moscow itself from the old guard to Gorbachev. It's especially fascinating to see the indifference Moscow showed towards the loss of their satellites and how little help was extended to Comrades in power.
...more
As in Dubcek’s famous political reform program slogan from the 1968 Prague Spring “Socialism with a Human Face”, this book presents history with a human face. An excellent brief account of the events leading to the fall of communism in the 1980-1989 time span written in a very delicious style. I only wished if the author could’ve added few more chapters covering the post revolution era and the success & failures in the democratic transition in the 5 nations.
A very tight overview of the personalities and timelines of collapse in Eastern Europe on a country-by-country basis. It adds an overlooked dimension by touching how foreign debt underminded the Socialist regimes. It also nicely touches on the role of the overthrown in their own demise, not just the more familiar stories of the revolutionaries.
As a witness to the events of 1989 in Romania and of what came before of course, I found this book among the better ones on the topic published for the general "Western" audience; too short and reduced to a bare bones story, I agree with its thesis but I wish the author had the space for considerable more analysis and background
I randomly picked this book up from the lease book area of the library because I know almost nothing about the post WWII world. I found the book interesting but rather difficult to get through because all the names of the Russian and Polish people are so different that I couldn't remember them and then had a hard time keeping up with what happened. Still, I feel like I know a bit more about the Cold War era and how it ended. How could I get out of High School without knowing "how" t...more
quite good synopsis of and description of the social pressures behind what happened in the 6 warsaw pact countries prior to the revolutions of 1989, from the long (but largely peaceful) march of solidarity in poland to the bloody overthrow of Ceauşescu in Romania.
This book is excellent. It is a well-written, well-researched account of the end of Communist rule in central and eastern Europe. Victor Sebestyen has plumbed the archives in many countries and has produced an informative, nuanced account of the end of the Soviet empire that is a joy to read.
This was a fantastic book by a journalist that clearly explains the major forces contributing to the The Fall of the Soviet Empire.
This book is more than just the Soviet Union and the Satellite States in 1989. The book covers just about every event from 1979 to fall of Ceausescu in December 1989. For me the book is great example of the mixture of history from above with history from below. There are some great profiles on Václav Havel, Lech Walesa, Erich Honecker, Nicolae Ceausescu, Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev, General Jaruzelski, Todor Zhivkov, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Senior and Janos Kadar. I can’t recommend this book...more
Paul
rated it
This is an excellent read on the end of the Cold War from the Eastern European point of view. Though the book ends in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, it tells the story of the 1980s in the Soviet Bloc. Relaying through vivid details the social pressures, economic conditions, and personalities that helped to topple an empire, this book stands as a great introduction to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
I loved this book! It was written in an exciting, fast-paced style that made it extremely easy to read. I've read so many other non-fiction books that were dry, scholarly, dusty tomes and took forever to read. Not so with this one.
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Victor Sebestyen was born in Budapest and was only an infant when his family left Hungary. He has worked for many British newspapers, including the Evening Standard. He lives in England.
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