Khrushchev in power : unfinished reforms, 1961-1964 / Sergei Khrushchev ; translated by George Shriver.

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Library Journal Review

Khrushchev (senior fellow in international studies, Brown Univ.), son of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971), is the editor of three volumes of his father's memoirs, as well as the author of other works on him. Here, he makes a fine case for his father's legacy as a frustrated reformer of domestic policy in the Cold War period, stymied by the impossibility of allocating sufficient resources to both domestic and international goals. On frenetic visits throughout the Soviet Union, the elder Khrushchev was distressed by the "entropy" of Soviet agriculture, and on a visit to Scandinavia was astonished at the comparative "miracles" of Danish farming. Throughout, the author details many of his father's interactions; one valuable account concerns the man's dealings with writers and artists such as Andrei Voznesensky, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Khrushchev does not share the widespread view of his father as an impulsive leader. Thus, one of the most critical episodes of the Cold War-the Soviet decision to deploy missiles in Cuba-emerges as Moscow's decision "not to put its tail between its legs," rather than as a dangerous gamble on the leader's part. Not all readers will agree with the author's assessment, yet overall, this fast-paced, engaging narrative will appeal to students of the period as well as to general readers. VERDICT A detailed and important account of Cold War Soviet politics that's worth the price for larger libraries.-Zachary Irwin, Behrend Coll., Penn State Erie (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.