Some years ago William Taubman wrote a superb biography of Nikita Khrushchev, the Russian leader after Stalin. I read and loved that book. I’m delighted to say that his new biography of Gorbachev is just as interesting, and just as long (852 pages). It starts with his upbringing on a collective farm in the Caucasus, through his university days studying law, his marriage to Raisa, and his rise through Communist Party ranks. In power from 1985, he brought about great changes which eventually led to the breakup of the Soviet Union, to economic reform and to democracy. We’re all familiar with perestroika and glasnost. This is fascinating book, not just for the intrigues but for how it reveals life in Russia at the time, and Gorbachev’s (and Raisa’s) travels and encounters with world leaders.
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