Man Who Changed the World: The Lives of Mikhail S. Gorbachev

by Gail Sheehy

Mikhail Gorbachev's influence on recent events in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and the entire world is nothing short of astounding. But, until now, very little has been known about Gorbachev the man. Gail Sheehy presents the most intimate, comprehensive, and lively account ever published about this intriguing world figure. 16 pages of halftones.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Politics

401 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Gail Sheehy is an American writer and lecturer, most notable for her books on life and the life cycle. She is also a contributor to the magazine Vanity Fair.

Her fifth book, Passages, has been called "a road map of adult life". Several of her books continue the theme of passages through life's stages, including menopause and what she calls "Second Adulthood", including Pathfinders, Spirit of Survival, and Menopause: The Silent Passage. Her latest book, Sex and the Seasoned Woman, reveals a hidden cultural phenomenon: a surge of vitality in women's sex and love lives after age fifty. She has also authored a biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton titled Hillary's Choice. Her novel Middletown, America is being adapted as a TV miniseries. (from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Joe Thacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, worth a read and a place in your library, what has stuck with me all these years is how he knew he needed to change the system but had no idea how, to get to the top means drinking lots of kool-aid so by the time you reach the top you have no experiences to provide an alternative road map.

How my rating works:

5 = Changed how I viewed the world
4 = A must read but not revolutionary
3 = I recommend to read
2 = Probably don’t read
1 = do not read.

[J.A.]

Picked this up at the annual employee appreciation day giveaway.

I heard him speak when I was a student at the University of Utah.

[Bruce Slough]

very good insight into Soviet Union politics pre-Berlin wall

[Teague Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating insight onto the transformation and eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the man responsible for it.

[Michael Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Friends of the Hilton HEad Library find. An interesting look into the life of Gorbachev, his rise to power and the turbulent period of the cold war ending and a different Russia emerging. He made a good "mister outside" while being ineffective as a "mister inside". Looking at Russia today through the filter of what took place back then, it is more understandable that "rule of law" is virtually impossible in that country.

[Irwanto Rasad · Rating 4 out of 5]

One word, great!