Perestroika

Mikhail Gorbachev's 1987 book, "Perestroika: New Thinking for Our Country and the World," is his own account of the "revolution" he is promoting in the USSR. In it, he outlines his ambitious plans to reform the Soviet economy and culture, and calls for a new international order free of violence and nuclear arms. Are his proposals to reform the Soviet system serious and workable? Are they designed to produce a more efficient and humane society, or simply to consolidate the power of the Communist Party? Will his proposals in the international arena contribute to peace, or are they calculated to divide the Western Alliance? What are the implications for Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, Nicaragua and other countries within the Soviet orbit? Is Gorbachev the long-awaited new Soviet man, or is he the most dangerous leader since Lenin? These and other questions are addressed by the eminent scholars, statesmen, and journalists invited to contribute to this anthology, including: Kenneth Adelman, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Vladimir Bukovsky, Alexander Dubcek, Marshall I. Goldman, George F. Kennan, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Henry Kissinger, Charles Krauthammer, Richard Nixon, Peter G. Peterson, Natan Sharansky, Phillip Taubman, Margaret Thatcher, and Robert C. Tucker.