"Drawing on new research, including the diaries, memoirs, and personal letters of both Lenin and his friends, Victor Sebestyen's biography--the first in English in nearly two decades--is not only a political examination of one of the most important historical figures of the twentieth century, but a portrait of Lenin the man."--

From the Publisher: Revolution 1989 is the first in-depth, authoritative account of a few months that changed the world. At the start of 1989, six European nations were Soviet vassal states. By year's end, they had all declared national independence and embarked on the road to democracy. How did it happen so quickly? Why did the USSR capitulate so readily? Victor Sebestyen, who was on the scene as a reporter, draws on his firsthand knowledge of the events of 1989, on scores of interviews with witnesses and participants, and on newly uncovered archival material to answer these questions in unprecedented depth. He tells the story through the eyes of ordinary men and women as well as through the strategic moves of world leaders. He shows how the KGB helped bring down former allies; how the United States tried to slow the process; and why the collapse of the Iron Curtain was the catalyst for the fall of the entire Soviet empire.

"From the critically acclaimed historian Victor Sebestyen, the enthralling account of historical and cultural events that define Budapest, a unique city on the fault line between East and West in the heart of Europe. Including an eight-page insert of photographs, this book is a glorious homage to an extraordinary city"--