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A Failed Empire
- The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 20 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: History, Americas
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Summary
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 20th century.
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Overall
- Adrian
- 08-01-13
Soviet Cold War History in an understandable form.
Being somewhat interested in the Cold War and soviet history I thought that I would "chance my arm" and see what this book would bring. I was not disappointed. A very well researched book which provides a behind the iron curtain insight into the era of brinkmanship behind the public face of both US and Soviet politics during the period described in the title.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its narrator, who does the writing justice, listening for hours on end it made me switch the tv off over Christmas.
A well written and compelling history of a period which to most European people of my age (42) will provide insight into the tension that led us all to live in fear of nuclear attack. It also provides a realisation of how financial pressure and political reform ended the Soviet Unions pretence to empire and ultimately the end of Soviet Communism.
Listened to twice and now on my third listen, this is simply because I enjoy it and there is a vast amount of information contained within, I will definitely be back to listen maybe three or four times a year.
Armchair history buffs this book is for you!
18 people found this helpful
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- Jim M.
- 06-01-18
The demystification of the soviet experiment
I have long wondered about the Soviet Union and how it might have been to live there in the post war period. This book has not covered how it was for the ordinary average citizen. Although that wasn’t the point, rather than the political developments on the world scale, the book would have been enhanced by a few chapters relating to socio/economic life of ordinary citizens. However,overall it was a brilliant historical account by the author. I particularly liked his summary of the Gorbachev years.
6 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-09-15
The fall of an empire of 300 million ...
...Focusing almost completely on the actions of the four post war General Secretaries.
Well read and reasonably interesting, but focuses far too much on diplomatic failings of Stalin et al. Next to no information on the failings of the Soviet system itself, and the experiences of individual Soviet citizens.
4 people found this helpful
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- Loukas Christodoulou
- 28-12-17
Good book let down by robot reader.
This is a fascinating book, on an exciting topic, but I struggled to keep listening because of the flat, robotic and seemingly bored voice of the reader.
3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 08-05-21
Enjoyed it!
A very informative account of Cold War soviet affairs I enjoyed it more then I thought I would
1 person found this helpful
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- Jon lanģley
- 01-02-20
excellent detailed account
this is a period of time that interests me greatly and though I have read many books about individual characters and events, as well as overviews of the subject, this book has been by far the best yet. very good research and in depth detailed information on the leadership and policy decisions of all the Soviet governments from Stalin to Gorbachev and beyond. no problem at all with the narrator, he seemed to cope with Russian names okay.
1 person found this helpful
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- Adrian J. Smith
- 01-02-21
Best overall panorama and analysis of the Cold War
Zubok's Failed Empire finds itself in a fine company of similar works, with no less than two similar works immediately springing to mind, Comrades and The End of the Cold War by the esteemed Robert Service accounting for a similar timeline and events. However, Zubok's work provides insight and analysis not to be found in other works, making it a standout title.
The book follows a chronological account of the post WWII USSR and its satellite states and allies in Eastern Europe, the Far East and various outposts in the developing world, along with the dynamics within society.
While it may appear like a chronological account, great attention is given to the decision making process, motivations and factors within each decision or misadventure by the Soviet elite.
The work is most definitely not a journalistic piece, with analysis of personalities and motivations throughout the book.
A key strength is the penultimate chapter detailing Gorbachev's tenure and the ultimately unsuccessful attempts to reform the USSR leading to its eventual collapse.
Zubok breaks with the standard narrative of presenting Gorbachev as a hapless victim of History, and provides analysis that postulates Gorbachev's approach to be ultimately naïve, as hoc and ultimately contradictory.
Perhaps not a book for diehard defenders of Soviet communism as one is left with little hope that the system could have been saved by the most adept reformer, however one is given a sense of gratitude in the epilogue that force was not used in an attempt to hold the Union together.
A more balanced and analytical approach when compared with other works out there, with considerable scholarship not found elsewhere. Perhaps the best overall comprehensive book I have read on the Cold War, strongly recommended for anyone with an interest in modern Russia or International Relations.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-08-19
great
loved it full of information that you mite not have known before you read it
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- Augustus T. White
- 13-08-10
Focus on the Top Leadership
This is a history of the Cold War, largely from the perspective of the Kremlin. The author unapologetically emphasizes the effect of personality on the course of the Cold War. In fact, he argues that the personalities in the Kremlin were decisive. Unlike many historians, he thinks highly of Brezhnev and even Andropov. His evaluations of Kruschev and Gorbachev are mixed.
Zubok's scholarship and grasp of detail are impressive, and he makes good use of the new historical materials which have become available since the late 1990's. Personally, I suspect his analysis is completely off base. However, one of the virtues of the book is that Zubok gives the reader enough solid information to make a personal judgment possible.
The narration is a bit mechanical, but clear and well-paced. This may be because Zubok's writing could be described in almost the same words. This is solid, well-crafted political biography -- not really history in the broader sense. However, if, like me, you lived through many of those events and always wondered, "why did they do that? What were they thinking?" then this book will go a long way towards answering those questions.
If this seems contradictory, consider an example: Zubok explains almost nothing about the internal economic problems of the USSR. However, he thoroughly explores the Soviet leadership's deep ignorance of these issues and how that ignorance affected their decisions. He doesn't really explain the deep stagnation of the Soviet apparat, but is brilliant in explaining how this dead weight isolated the top leadership and constrained their thinking.
20 people found this helpful
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- Mike From Mesa
- 11-05-13
The view from the other side
This book covers the period from the end of World War II through the end of the Soviet Union as seen through the eyes of the Soviet leadership and, as such, it adds a great deal to a balanced view of what happened and why. While it may not be surprising that the Soviets viewed the causes of the crises that arose between the Soviet Union and the West differently it is sometimes surprising to find out exactly how they viewed these causes and what they saw as the possible solutions. This book is written by Vladimir Zubok who appears to have been a member of the Soviet government during part of the time covered by the book and his views and statements are backed up by Soviet archives. The book seemed to me to be facts, as seen from the other side, not just opinion.
In looking at the period from 1945 through 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved, the book looks at the actions of each of the Soviet leaders – Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev and the others – and I found it interesting to find out what was on their minds, how and why they proceeded as they did and what others in the leadership thought of their actions.
I found the book to be slow going at first and I was unsure if I could actually finish it. However either I got used to the somewhat wooden narration or the book became more interesting after the first 3 or 4 hours. All of the book is interesting enough and I found that it changed my view of the causes of some of the events covered. In particular it became clear that the Soviet Union was falling apart in it's last decade and that had someone other than Mikhail Gorbachev been head of the Soviet State things might have ended quite differently.
While this book stands on it's own I found it helpful to have also read “Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire” as the two give a very good view of the last 10 years or so of the Soviet Union's existence. The feeling that the whole system was coming apart is clear in both books. The end of the Soviet Union was an enormous political event and this book does it's part in explaining what led up to and transpired during that event as seen from the Soviet side. As such I think it is helpful in understanding the late 20th century.
As I mentioned I think that the narration of this book is a bit wooden and uninspiring. It is not bad, it is just not very good. Still, I believe this book is a help in understanding what happened and, as such, I feel I can recommend it in spite of the narration.
6 people found this helpful
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- C.
- 29-05-12
A different perspective on the Cold War
Would you try another book from Vladimir Zubok and/or Nick Sullivan?
Yes to both
Any additional comments?
A Failed Empire was interesting in that most Americans are familiar with the Western perspective on the important events of the Cold War - the Berlin Wall, Cuban missile crisis, etc. This book uses Russian sources to reveal the reasons behind some seemingly contradictory policies pursued by the USSR, and highlighted the unwillingness of some apparently belligerent Soviet leaders to risk actual war. The book is long and detailed, but worth the trouble.
3 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 13-10-16
Foreign Affairs America and Russia
The points of view of this book is quite original and very entertaining. I could not put this book down for sheer energy of the narrative and insightful analysis. I wish the author had been tougher on the early history of Stalin.. I believe Stalin was a monster of historical proportions and we still feel the affects of this cruel tyrant. I especially liked the perceptions of American political leadership. I am somewhat surprised by the erratic and confusing policies of going from Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush. I am amazed by the gyrations as each President succeeded his rival; it was dizzying and it defied logic. I can not see how Gorbachev could have saved the Soviet Union; the author indicates that Gorbachev should have arrested Yeltsin and prepare shed blood. Regardless, the Soviet Union economy was a basket case and beyond redemption. I was surprised that Leonid Brezhnev was the primary leader who sought détente primarily with the United States. Too bad Brezhnev's health and his association with Nixon undermined his accomplishments. Brezhnev utterly failed to address the declining Russian economy in an era of rising military costs contrasted the failing economies of central Europe. I did appreciate that the author made it clear that Ronald Reagan did not bring down the Soviet Union. This nonsense was perpetuated by the Republican Party. Another President, Jimmy Carter, was also incompetent in foreign affairs. This is a great and valuable book; I learned much very it and highly recommend as valuable information of American/Russian relationships. Thie analysis of Gorbachev"s personality led me to better understand the collapse of the Soviet Union and the eventual rise of Vladimir Putin.
2 people found this helpful
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- Walter
- 24-10-11
Potential Docudrama
his contemporary Russian perspective on Cold War history includes at least a few scenes that are BEGGING for a dramatic depiction on television.
ESPECIALLY: In 1972, upon Henry Kissinger's arrival on a visit to the USSR, a drunken, sedative-drugged Brezhnev insisted on taking Kissinger on a bat-out-of-hell high-speed car ride. Brezhnev also took "a terrified Nixon" on a high-speed car ride while on a state visit to America.
I recommend reading this book after watching or re-watching the movie, "Planes, Trains & Automobiles".
2 people found this helpful
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- Brianv
- 22-01-20
Ghost written by Vladimir Putin
Ghost written by Vladimir Putin. Revisionist history at its worst. Clearly written for Russians with an inferiority complex.
1 person found this helpful
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- david
- 02-12-10
wooden narration
The book is fine. I found the narration very wooden, and too much change between voice tone between the various days it was recorded, and the narration is too slow.
3 people found this helpful
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- Rodney
- 14-10-12
Opinion, not history
I've read where people have said this is a pro-Russian version of the events or the history of the events from the Russian point of view. I don't believe this is a case, this is more of an opinion book than a history book. I know a ton about WWII and a good deal about the Cold War and the author routinely leaves out crutical information to shape the story to match his opinion. The book does not seem to be very well researched, it seems to be a lot of conculssions based purely on the authors point of view. It's hard to recommend this book and certainly if you did read this book do yourself a huge favor and make sure you actually read some other real history.-
5 people found this helpful
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- PACMKE
- 13-07-20
You can't just say ideology.
Poorly structured, repetitive, and as a discussion of the fall of an early experiment in socialism, completely lacking in a material analysis.
The feel of this book is of a number of similar essays crammed together, not edited in to a more coherent whole, and retaining overlapping, repetitive explanations. This may even be a dissertation turned into book with minimal changes, I don't know.
Brief, superficial comments on capitalism's 'modernizing ability' versus the Soviet system with no analysis of the cost of each, and the engine of each. No analysis of the decline in the United States with the advent of NeoLiberalism in the 70s from Carter to present, and the parallels between capitalist austerity and soviet overreach, and who bore the costs of these measures in both cases. No insight into the orgy of privatization and expropriation following the collapse of the Soviet Union. And of course, published just before the financial meltdown of 2007-2008, Having lives in the 13 years since this book was first published, I find it painfully blinkered to the present state of global capitalism absent even a modest socialist system.
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- Omar El Ali
- 09-07-18
Well written and informative
Enjoyed the book and the scope was well focused on soviet high policy and leadership