About this item
For half a century the Soviet economy was inefficient but stable. In the late 1980s, to the surprise of nearly everyone, it suddenly collapsed. Why did this happen? And what role did Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's economic reforms play in the country's dissolution? In this groundbreaking study, Chris Miller shows that Gorbachev and his allies tried to learn from the great success story of transitions from socialism to capitalism, Deng Xiaoping's China. Why, then, were efforts to revitalize Soviet socialism so much less successful than in China?Making use of never-before-studied documents from the Soviet politburo and other archives, Miller argues that the difference between the Soviet Union and China--and the ultimate cause of the Soviet collapse--was not economics but politics.
About the Author
Born in Brooklyn, grew up in Roslyn, Long Island. High school there, then Dartmouth College. Got an MBA at the Amos Tuck School but didn't use it much. Wrote copy and produced commercials at Dancer-Fitzgerald- Sample advertising during the second half of the sixties--used to do the Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs spots, among many others. In 1970, dropped out of the straight world and began writing short stories. Served my apprenticeship in a number of cheap magazines, then graduated to National Lampoon. A couple of my Lampoon stories were the genesis of the movie, Animal House, the script of which I co-wrote. During the seventies I toured a couple of hundred colleges, reading my stories and generally behaving disreputably. Moved to Los Angeles in 1981. Lived in Laurel Canyon, pursued movie projects. Married Mary Hale in '85, fathered son, Jack, the following year. Lived in the boring San Fernando Valley while doing the parent thing. Jack's currently a junior at Oberlin, and doing well. I now live in Venice, CA, two blocks from the beach, with my cats, Miles and Squeak. The movie business is mostly behind me and books are what's happening. Currently working on a second memoir that picks up ten years after the first one ends. Set in 1970, it chronicles the days of long hair, drugs and rock 'n' roll in New York City. Stay tuned.
