Wow! I just finished this book, and I must say that it TRULY was an excellent, and most informative read!

I remember when I picked it up I had those funny little "brain thoughts" (the ones like your conscience that says things to you, silently within your head), "Are you SURE you really want to read stuff like this?" and "Why would anyone want to know anything about the Communist Party?".

Well, let me tell you, this book, in actuality, should perhaps be placed on EVERY high school reading list. I was fascinated by this book. And, the information that I learned from it is almost stunning to know.

How the demise of the Czarist system, already in a state of anarchy, lead to the easily successful October Revolution, and then to the Bolshevicks fighting the "Whites" for control of the country. Lenin and Trotsky setting up the State for Marxism, and Communism.

From the original NEP, which sort of worked, through the ever-increasing and stupid purges of Stalin, hurting the Communist State so deeply it could really not recover from them, through the devastation of WWII in the already economically bankrupt country, through Kruschev's Reign, on through Breshnev's, Gorbachev's, and Yeltsin's and into the "modern" and "free" Russia under Putin, this book just grips and holds you all the way through.

It is broken down into "ages" if you will, of the Soviet development, and is easily understandable and shows one with near photographic clearness the mistakes made by those in charge, and also the reasons why, Communism, or closed-government systems do not, and cannot, work. As the book progresses, it is ever-clearer just how far off the mark the government is getting, until finally, the implosion from within is unavoidable.

A truly fascinating piece of clearly written history that EVERYONE should read....trust me! By all means, pick up a copy of this truly wonderful and educational "progression" of the Soviet and get to see why this kind of government cannot work, with clearly seen outcomes and happenings from our own lifetime that mark the slow demise of the "System".

This book is yet another great example of the value of those old words from my grade school days "Please Read...and Grow Your Mind." I cannot recommend this book highly enough. ~operabruin

Wow! I just finished this book, and I must say that it TRULY was an excellent, and most informative read!

I remember when I picked it up I had those funny little "brain thoughts" (the ones like your conscience that says things to you, silently within your head), "Are you SURE you really want to read stuff like this?" and "Why would anyone want to know anything about the Communist Party?".

Well, let me tell you, this book, in actuality, should perhaps be placed on EVERY high school reading list. I was fascinated by this book. And, the information that I learned from it is almost stunning to know.

How the demise of the Czarist system, already in a state of anarchy, lead to the easily successful October Revolution, and then to the Bolshevicks fighting the "Whites" for control of the country. Lenin and Trotsky setting up the State for Marxism, and Communism.

From the original NEP, which sort of worked, through the ever-increasing and stupid purges of Stalin, hurting the Communist State so deeply it could really not recover from them, through the devastation of WWII in the already economically bankrupt country, through Kruschev's Reign, on through Breshnev's, Gorbachev's, and Yeltsin's and into the "modern" and "free" Russia under Putin, this book just grips and holds you all the way through.

It is broken down into "ages" if you will, of the Soviet development, and is easily understandable and shows one with near photographic clearness the mistakes made by those in charge, and also the reasons why, Communism, or closed-government systems do not, and cannot, work. As the book progresses, it is ever-clearer just how far off the mark the government is getting, until finally, the implosion from within is unavoidable.

A truly fascinating piece of clearly written history that EVERYONE should read....trust me! By all means, pick up a copy of this truly wonderful and educational "progression" of the Soviet and get to see why this kind of government cannot work, with clearly seen outcomes and happenings from our own lifetime that mark the slow demise of the "System".

This book is yet another great example of the value of those old words from my grade school days "Please Read...and Grow Your Mind." I cannot recommend this book highly enough. ~operabruin