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Why Gorbachev Happened

Robert G. Kaiser
Reviewed by Robert Legvold
Winter 1992/93
Why Gorbachev Happened
Robert G. Kaiser
Simon and Schuster
1992
522 pp.
$14.00
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Now that it has been rewritten to include the end of the experiment, Kaiser's explanation for "why Gorbachev happened" is the best book to which a general reader can turn to understand this extraordinary turnabout. The book is rich in the texture of events and the telling incident, making it most readable. With that it also offers a sensible, balanced analysis of the broader trends at work, particularly those shaping the political struggle over perestroika.

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