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A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev (New Cold War History)
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$ 25.39
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| Item Number |
2208913 |
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Item Description...
Product Description
Western interpretations of the Cold War---both realist and neoconservative---have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness, argues Vladislav Zubok. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the twentieth century.Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, and taped conversations, among other sources, Zubok explores the origins of the superpowers' confrontation under Stalin, Khrushchev's contradictory and counterproductive attempts to ease tensions, the surprising story of Brezhnev's passion for detente, and Gorbachev's destruction of the Soviet superpower as the by-product of his hasty steps to end the Cold War and to reform the Soviet Union. The first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side, A Failed Empire provides a history different from those written by the Western victors. In this widely praised book, Vladislav Zubok argues that Western interpretations of the Cold War have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the twentieth century. Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, and taped conversations, among other sources, Zubok offers the first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side. A Failed Empire provides a history quite different from those written by the Western victors. In a new preface for this edition, the author adds to our understanding of today's events in Russia, including who the new players are and how their policies will affect the state of the world in the twenty-first century.
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Item Specifications...
Pages 467
Dimensions: Length: 1.25" Width: 6" Height: 9.25"
Weight: 1.6 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date Feb 1, 2009
ISBN 0807859583
EAN 9780807859582
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Availability 29 units.
Availability accurate as of May 30, 2012 06:32.
Usually ships within one to two business days from Momence, IL.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | Surprising history with chilling detail Mar 16, 2009 |
| I was originally expecting a run of the mill history of the Soviet Union, but I, like most prospective readers, was pleasantly surprised. The detail in which Zubok elaborates on his research gives the reader a true insight into Stalin's moves on the diplomatic chessboard, Krushchev's brinkmanship, Brezhnev's indiscipline, Gorbachev's attempt to liberalize the USSR, which inadvertently and ultimately brought it down, as a system based on oppression cannot stand once the masses have their say. However, the inclusion of original research enriches the experience, which allows the reader to truly understand the symbiosis between the KGB and the Politburo, and understand how such a system lasted for so long. A must read for those not looking for a thousand page volume on Stalin, but for a brief but highly detailed history of the former "Evil Empire." Supreme as a Soviet. | | | | Much needed new research Dec 19, 2008 |
| We only had a short windown into the files of the Kremlin. With the new authoritarian regime on the rise under Putin, that's not likely to continue. Thankfully, Zubok has produced an excellent work using much of this newly available material. It turns out that the USSR really was an "evil empire" despite the fainting spells caused among the American intelligentsia when Reagan had the nerve to use the words. | | | | Excellent overview Oct 11, 2008 |
| This is an excellent book - a coherent, persuasive and well-written overview of the Soviet side of the Cold War. Zubok resurrects the "revolutionary-imperial paradigm" of his (and Pleshakov's) earlier book and extends it to the 1980s. The Soviet leaders, he argues, were motivated both by dreams of imperial aggrandizement and messianic revolutionary zeal. The thesis is well-made. I think on the whole Zubok's book chips away at the "revolutionary" part of the paradigm: the Soviet policy makers come across as rather cynical political operators, who carefully or sometimes unconsciously used ideological platitudes in pursuit of realpolitik aims. But that's just my reading of Zubok's own evidence. The book stands on familiar ground with regard to Stalin and Khrushchev; it does offer a remarkably vivid account of the Brezhnev and Gorbachev years. Brezhnev, dismissed in anecdotes as a senile fool manipulated by grey cardinals in his entourage, comes across as a real statesman, a peacemaker. Zubok's portrait of Gorbachev penetrates beyond the facade of naive idealism, revealing some of the layered complexity of the Gorbachev phenomenon. This is a must-read for anyone interested in post-war Soviet history. | | | | Fine Book With Solid Scholarship Apr 22, 2008 |
| This is an excellent overview of Soviet foreign policy during the Cold War. Judicious and fair, and drawing on much new information from the archives, one gets a sense that this will be the definitive work for some time. The only criticism I have is that I wish the author had dealt with the Sino-Soviet split in more depth. It is here, but only episodically brought in to the narrative. But all and all a great book and a fine read. | | | | An excellent book about Soviet leadership during the Cold War Oct 5, 2007 |
| Like Melvyn Leffler, Zubok believes that Soviet decision making was constrained by ideology and personality. Zubok writes that ideology formed the basis for Stalins decisions regarding Germany. Stalin thought that his proposals for a neutral Germany and socialism in Eastern Germany would be enough for the Germans to flock to the Soviet cause. When this did not proved out to be true, Stalin militarized Eastern Europe for fear of a Western Germany with Western backing. Khruschev did not want to end the Cold War because he thought that Communism would eventually triumph and that he force the West to back down through the fear of nuclear war. Brezhnev implented detente because he feared war, but when he became ill, hard liners took over decision making and invaded Afghanistan. Gorbachev abandoned hardline Communist ideology and thought that a type of European Social Democracy would take over Eastern and this led to the Soviets leaving Eastern Europe in 1989. Hopefully Zubok along with Leffler and Tony Judt will get rid of the myth that Reagans's arm build up and hardline ideology was responsible for ending the Cold War. | | | Write your own review about A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev (New Cold War History)
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