The Man Who Changed the World: The Lives of Mikhail S. Gorbachev (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- A riveting book. Sheehy's narrative style is conversational and breezy, but the ease with which this book may be read should not mislead anyone as to its serious and rigorous scholarship. She hunts down the enigmatic character of Gorbachev as a sleuth would uncover an intriguing, challenging mystery. She fits bits of evidence together until, piece by piece, a mosaic begins to emerge of a dominant, confident, energetic, fascinating man who is doomed to failure. One of the book's values lies in the contemporary look at how the USSR really works, and how the people suffer, cope, and survive. Sheehy's work is better than any classroom course on the USSR because it is nontheoretical, reality-based, and grounded in the Soviet people themselves. Students will love it.
- Vicki Fox, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Of the many works on Gorbachev and his policies, Sheehy's perhaps best conveys her subject's ambition and self-assurance in a life of profound discontinuity. While Sheehy ( Passages; Character: America's Search for Leadership, LJ 8/88) lacks a clear sense of the institutions shaping Gorbachev, she has assembled a wealth of material from perceptive interviews with lifelong acquaintances and colleagues. Indeed, their candor confirms Sheehy's conclusion that Gorbachev's "most important legacy" lies in the "lifting of fear and the creation of a new political generation." Her appraisal of Raisa's importance in her husband's life seems beyond doubt. Nevertheless, the work suffers from certain flaws. Plausible detail becomes certainty; facile phrases often take the place of analysis; and Gorbachev's life before the 1985 elevation to General Secretary is disproportionately emphasized. Many readers will find Sheehy has done little to make Gorbachev less enigmatic. Nevertheless, the interview material is fascinating and valuable. Recommended for larger universities and public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/90.
- Zachary T. Irwin, Beh rend Coll., Penn State-Erie
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 16 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (December 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060165472
• ISBN-13: 978-0060165475
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,752,665 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twelve years later . . . ., August 22, 2003

By	jose c. ingojo (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man Who Changed the World: The Lives of Mikhail S. Gorbachev (Paperback)

The more I read about Gorbachev, the more of an enigma he becomes. I am starting think that there are parallels between how he will be viewed and how Ikhnaton (Egyptian pharoah and high priest of the One Sun god) is viewed today. During the reigns of both, their empires dis-integrated as they sought peace and swore off the use of force. Surely, things would have turned out differently if Yeltsin had been in Gorbachev's place: the Soviet Union would have survived minus the Baltic states.

That is why I find this book so interesting, because it helps to illuminate how Gorbachev's character was decisive in the total collapse of the Soviet Union. If Yeltsin had been president of the Soviet Union, he would have fought to the death for its survival.

While the destruction of the Soviet Union will probably be seen as a plus for the rest of the world, it could have been very different if Gorbachev had fought for its survival after the August 1991 coup.

I highly recommend this book.

4.0 out of 5 stars More than a reference book/Purchased 1/30/1991/hardback, February 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Man Who Changed the World: The Lives of Mikhail S. Gorbachev (Paperback)

Pgs 190-192 trace history's military leaders and their attitudes(the Greek & Roman societies "Alexander the Great",England's Wellington,the East's Genghis Khan,how the Alexandrian-Wellington style endured in the Western world well into the 20th century...also Britain's Churchill,America's President Eisenhower(Allied Victories in Europe),Russia's Stalin's "Great Patriotic War",America's President John Kennedy's (his own naval heroism) & how he tried to demonastrate his mettle in the "Bay of Pigs Invasion",President Ronald Regan invasion of a tiny Carribbean Island,Britain's Margaret Thatcher used the Falkland war to prove women leaders could be tough as male leaders,President George Bush(41st President) & the fact that his approval ratings soared for his conduct of foreign policy for 6 wks after he had dispatched the largest post-Vietnam War military deployment since World War II to Saudi Arabia to face off Saddam Hussein...Besides the many black and white photos in this historical biography by Gail Sheehy of Gorbachev (who the pages prior to the Epilogue (pg 191)have facing off with President George Bush (41st President) where President Bush reminds him as he accuses the United States of not being sensitive to the death of millions of Soviet citizens during WW2,that of the two of them only he,Bush had actually fought in the war...The book mentions he was seen as a 'top cop' at home from 1985-1990 due to his anti-alcohol and anti-corruption campaigns...with a very courageous picture of Mikhail S. Gorbachev (3" x 5") on the inserts before Pg 211 having a squirrel eating out of the palm of his hand.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read, April 3, 2003

By A Customer

A very good review of this book was written by Tatyana Tolstaya - you can find it in her collections of essays entitles "Pushkin's Children". After reading it, I can't wait to read Sheehy's book - just to enjoy all the fallacies of it (e.g. Sheehy's referring to Tatar-Mongols as two separate groups).