The Soviet Turmoil (Fall of Communism) by Jeffrey Symynkywicz
A solid history of the Soviet Union
This small book (about 145 pages plus a large set of endnotes) provides a solid but short history of the Soviet Union.
The last half of The Soviet Turmoil concerns the last 2-3 years of the Soviet Union. It was written in 1997, which is still too close to the actual events of the USSR's collapse to get a proper perspective. Symynkywicz goes into too many details about Gorbachev and the men involved in the attempted coup(s) against him - it simply does not match the tone and pacing of the first half of the book. It would have been more appropriate to look at some of the other causes of the USSR's collapse, including economic pressures and world political pressures. However, it may be that many of these types of facts were still unavailable in 1997.
Good, simple history of the USSR and its downfall.
Final Grade: 4 stars out of 5.
This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Soviet Turmoil (Fall of Communism) by Jeffrey Symynkywicz.
Reviewed on August 10, 2006.
The last half of The Soviet Turmoil concerns the last 2-3 years of the Soviet Union. It was written in 1997, which is still too close to the actual events of the USSR's collapse to get a proper perspective. Symynkywicz goes into too many details about Gorbachev and the men involved in the attempted coup(s) against him - it simply does not match the tone and pacing of the first half of the book. It would have been more appropriate to look at some of the other causes of the USSR's collapse, including economic pressures and world political pressures. However, it may be that many of these types of facts were still unavailable in 1997.
Good, simple history of the USSR and its downfall.
Final Grade: 4 stars out of 5.
This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Soviet Turmoil (Fall of Communism) by Jeffrey Symynkywicz.
Reviewed on August 10, 2006.
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