The implosion of the Soviet Union was the culmination of a gripping game played out between two men who intensely disliked each other and had different concepts for the future. Mikhail Gorbachev, a sophisticated and urbane reformer, sought to modernize and preserve the USSR; Boris Yeltsin, a coarse and a hard drinking “bulldozer,” wished to destroy the union and create a capitalist Russia. The defeat of the August 1991 coup attempt, carried out by hardline communists, shook Gorbachev’s authority and was a triumph for Yeltsin. But it took four months of intrigue and double-dealing before the Soviet Union collapsed and the day arrived when Yeltsin could hustle Gorbachev out of the Kremlin, and move in as ruler of Russia. Conor O’Clery has written a unique and truly suspenseful thriller of the day the Soviet Union died. The internal power plays, the shifting alliances, the betrayals, the mysterious three colonels carrying the briefcase with the nuclear codes, and the jockeying to exploit the future are worthy of John Le Carré or Alan Furst. The Cold War’s last act was a magnificent dark drama played out in the shadows of the Kremlin.
Download and start listening now!
"I'm just going to say that I don't think anyone came off well in this. Both Gorbachev and Yeltsin seem petty and short-sighted in a lot of ways. The minutiae in this book is fascinating, though. " — Matthew (5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm just going to say that I don't think anyone came off well in this. Both Gorbachev and Yeltsin seem petty and short-sighted in a lot of ways. The minutiae in this book is fascinating, though. "
" An interesting book that gives a detailed account of the end of the Soviet Union. A fairly easy read, but the time switches between chapters can get confusing at times. "
" I'm just going to say that I don't think anyone came off well in this. Both Gorbachev and Yeltsin seem petty and short-sighted in a lot of ways. The minutiae in this book is fascinating, though. "
" I really enjoyed this book, despite having only a passing knowledge of this period of Russian history prior to reading it. The book is a lot easier a read than I thought when buying it. "
" An account of the end of the Soviet Union inside the Kremlin. Focus is on the conflicts between Gorbachev and Yeltsin. "
Conor O’Clery lived and worked in Russia during the final years of the Soviet Union as Moscow correspondent for theIrish Times. He won journalist of the year in Ireland for his reporting from the Soviet Union and again in 2002 for his first-hand accounts of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. He is GlobalPost’s Ireland correspondent and is the author of several books, including The Billionaire Who Wasn’t, Moscow, December 25, 1991: The Last Day of the Soviet Union, and Ireland in Quotes: A History of the 20th Century.
Don Hagen has been behind the microphone since fifth grade. He is a nine-time winner of the Peer Award for narration/voice-over and twice winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award. He has also been heard in radio and television commercials and documentaries. In addition to his freelance voice work, he is a member of the audiobook narration team at the Library of Congress.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.