Soviet Society Today

Library Journal

The author (Russian studies, City Coll., CUNY) has traveled in the Soviet Union and knows its history and contemporary problems well. His book examines many aspects of Soviet life--social structures, the system, and so on. His comments are to the point, though his wish to cram a great deal into a relatively small volume has led inevitably to brevity, even to superficiality, in some sections. His conclusion that if Gorbachev fails to remove the great obstacles in his path of rebuilding, the result will be nedostroika (unfinished construction) not perestroika seems, if anything, quite understated. Of books recently published on this subject, this one is not up to Walter Laqueur's The Long Road to Freedom: Russia and Glasnost ( LJ 4/1/89). But Gorbachev's Russia remains a hot topic for library collections.-- R.H. Johnston, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ontario

Booknews

An in-depth tour of Soviet life and all its ethnic variations. Very helpful in understanding the changes that Gorbachev is trying to implement and the obstacles that must be overcome. Paper edition ($12.50) unseen. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)