Communism And Its Collapse

Ranging from the Russian revolution of 1917 to the collapse of Eastern Europe in the 1980s this study examines Communist rule. By focusing primarily on the USSR and Eastern Europe Stephen White covers the major topics and issues affecting these countries, including:
•communism as a doctrine
•the evolution of Communist rule
•the challenges to Soviet authority in Hungary and Yugoslavia
•the emerging economic fragility of the 1960s
•the complex process of collapse in the 1980s.

Any student or scholar of European history will find this an essential addition to their reading list.

Booknews

The revolutions that swept in communism in 1917 and swept it back out again in 1989 were turning points of the 20th century. White's (politics, U. of Glasgow) brief survey of the course of communism focuses on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, examining the development of communist rule in both historical and analytical terms. The study discusses topics such as communism as a doctrine; the challenges to Soviet authority that came from Yugoslavia and Hungary; how communism worked in Poland and Czechoslovakia; the complex processes that brought an end to communist rule in the 1980s; and rival interpretations of the mechanisms of change. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Writers often use elements of their own personalities to craft their most-enduring characters, and Stephen White has certain done so in creating fellow-clinical psychologist Dr. Alan Gregory. However, White s electrifying series of crime thrillers aren t likely to be mistaken for autobiographies anytime soon.