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Mafia State
- How One Reporter Became an Enemy of the Brutal New Russia
- Narrated by: Luke Harding
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, True Crime
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Mafia State: How one reporter became an enemy of the brutal new Russia is a brilliant and haunting account of the insidious methods used by a resurgent Kremlin against its so-called "enemies" - human rights workers, western diplomats, journalists and opposition activists. It includes unpublished material from confidential US diplomatic cables, released last year by WikiLeaks, which describe Russia as a "virtual mafia state". Harding gives a unique, personal and compelling portrait of today's Russia, two decades after the end of communism, that sounds like a spy thriller.
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Overall
- TW
- 10-04-13
Great book!
I really enjoyed this book. I thought that Luke's refreshing honesty and comprehensive review of his years in Moscow were wonderful - and it was fascinating to read of the tough time he and his family had.
Personally, I felt that the book could have been edited a little better - with explanations in the latter part of the book often referring to things that we had already been introduced to. I also felt that some of the "field trips" (for want of a better word) in the middle of the book were extremely similar to articles that I had read in the Guardian during Luke's time in Moscow.
Nonetheless a great read by one of the very few truly principled western reporters to have served in Russia in recent years.
2 people found this helpful
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- Jude Uk
- 06-05-22
Amazing account of life in Russia
The stilting delivery took a little getting used to but nice hearing it from the author. Brave man. It leaves you feeling very thankful to be born in the West.
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- Ktel
- 31-10-18
can't listen anymore. awful reading
awful reading with interesting content but can't listen to his he reads it. trying to return it but audible doesn't make it easy
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- Anonymous User
- 13-10-18
Worth listening to!
Interesting story with strangely disjointed rendition. A professional reader would have done a better job.
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- Mr
- 18-05-18
Great book but average narration
Contents are worth a listen but Luke Harding doesn’t seem a natural narrator, which was a slight problem. You should still download it though.
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- sin sin minkin
- 15-04-16
Great book, poorly read.
I loved this book for its content. That the reading of it was stuttering and robotic merely highlights the book's interest and intrigue: I suffered it to the end.
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- lawrence
- 26-03-17
interesting book
it's an interesting book, which delivers a bleak picture of today's Russia. Harding gives a good delivery but I really really wish he didn't pronounce nuclear as nookular...