xiv,401p., 8 pls., cloth, dj. 1st edition, very good. From the dj: Among the great visionary statesmen of our century Mikhail Gorbachev stands as one of the giants and yet remains the most enigmatic. A daring risk taker who is still under the romantic thrall of communism, a bestower of democracy who takes the powers of a dictator into his own hands, a diplomat who is idealized throughout the West yet belittled at home. Gorbachev has transformed the world, while hesitating at the brink of his own radical psychological transformation - one that would enable him to see to its completion the revolution he so thrillingly began. Gail Sheehy's brilliant biography is the human story of this inner struggle, a struggle that is the culmination of the series of lives Gorbachev has led throughout his career. Drawing on a year of research in the Soviet Union, during which she had unparalleled access to Gorbachev's home village, friends, and colleagues, the author of Passages presents the first full-scale portrait of this unique figure. MIKHAIL GORBACHEV SOVIET UNION BIOGRAPHY RUSSIAN POLITICS GOVERNMENT SR1730G

SOVIET UNION RUSSIA MIKHAIL GORBACHEV