Books about Brezhnev from Amazon.com

Through dramatic incidents tells for the first time the full story of the development of Cold War naval intelligence from the end of WWII to the breakup the Soviet Union in 1991, from both sides, East and West. Unlike other accounts, which focus on submarine confrontations and accidents, the authors cover all types of naval intelligence, human collection (racing with the Soviets to capture Nazi subs, successful and losing spies and defectors), signal intelligence (surface, air, satellite and navy commando teams in balaclavas launched by speed boats from subs), acoustic (passive underwater arrays and tapping phone lines), and the aerial and space reconnaissance. The authors give details of operations in all these areas, some of which were witnessed first hand..
Price: $19.80 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Since the sudden collapse of the communist system in Eastern Europe in 1989, scholars have tried to explain why the Soviet Union stood by and watched as its empire crumbled. The recent release of extensive archival documentation in Moscow and the appearance of an increasing number of Soviet political memoirs now offer a greater perspective on this historic process and permit a much deeper look into its causes.

The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy is a comprehensive study detailing the collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe between 1968 and 1989, focusing especially on the pivotal Solidarity uprisings in Poland. Based heavily on firsthand testimony and fresh archival findings, it constitutes a fundamental reassessment of Soviet foreign policy during this period. Perhaps most important, it offers a surprising account of how Soviet foreign policy initiatives in the late Brezhnev era defined the parameters of Mikhail Gorbachev's later position of laissez-faire toward Eastern Europe--a position that ultimately led to the downfall of socialist governments all over Europe..
Price: $25.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

From the original 1967 Soviet edition:

This is a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution with speeches and articles by L. I. Brezhnev. He spoke to his people and congresses in other countries about the glorification of Lenin's teachings. The struggles of the working class, their forbearance and their achievements were commendable in the cause of socialism and oppression. Their work has attracted so much world attention that socialism and communism cannot be disregarded. History is being made and unfailing, consistent efforts are necessary to strengthen and unify the movement, to promote Marxist-Leninist principles until all revolutionary forces world-wide are committed to transforming the world..
Price: $30.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

As their woefully backward economy continues to crumble, much of the Soviet population remains indifferent, if not downright hostile, to the idea of reform. This phenomenon, so different from the Solidarity movement in Poland or the velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia, has been explained in terms of a "social contract" - a tacit agreement between the post-Stalin regime and the working class whereby the state provided economic and social security in return for the workers' political compliance . This book provides a critical assessment of the likelihood and implications of such a contract. Linda Cook pursues the idea from Brezhnev's day to the 1990s and considers the constraining effect it may have had on Gorbachev's attempts to liberalise the Soviet economy. In case studies on job security, retail price stability, and social service subsidies, Cook identifies points at which leaders had to make critical decisions - to commit more resources or to abandon other policies at significant cost - in order to maintain the contract. The pattern that emerges attests to the validity of the social contract thesis for the Brezhnev period. At the same time, Cook's analysis points to several important factors, such as the uneven distribution of benefits, that help explain why labour unrest and activism have varied dramatically from sector to sector in recent years. Ultimately, these case studies reveal, particularly for the Gorbachev period, deep conflicts between the old contract and the requisites of economic reform. Cook extends her analysis into the Yeltsin period to show how the democratising state dealt weakly with labour's demands, seeking to stabilise labour relations with an inappropriate corporate structure. In the end, mobilised labour contributed greatly to the pressures that undermined Gorbachev's regime, and remained an obstacle to economic reform through the early months of Yeltsin's Russia..
Price: $60.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Rossiya: Voices from the Brezhnev Era is a poignant sketch of the Soviet Union prior to its disastrous invasion of Afghanistan It is also a bittersweet tale of an American coming to terms with his Russian roots.

One summer in the late 1970s, author Alex Shishin travels through the USSR on the Rossiya, the Trans-Siberian train that runs between Vladivostok and Moscow and that twice carries him across the vastness of Siberia. Fluent in Russian, the young Russian American converses with countless citizens from every strata of Soviet society. An extended side trip to Poland brings him in contact with a simmering revolution. Everywhere he goes, Shishin meets ordinary people imbued with a generosity that transcends all political systems and times.

“Alex’s readiness to accept people without judging them enables his fellow travelers to open up to him and talk about things that affect their lives: politics, economics, their harsh memories of war, and their deep desires for peace. His vivid portraits of the people he meets make you feel as if you are sitting together with him, hearing the voices, enjoying the food and drinks, and feeling the motion of the train traveling over the tracks…. This is a moving account of the writer’s pilgrimage to know himself through human encounters.”
—Peter Sano, author of 1,000 Days in Siberia: The Odyssey of a Japanese-American POW

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Price: $9.79 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Instigator of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and author of the Brezhnev Doctrine which governed Soviet relations with the rest of Eastern Europe, Brezhnev was the last of the Cold War warriors. This new Seminar Study provides an introduction to a key period in the history of the USSR. The approach is thematic rather than chronological, with sections examining politics and policy under Brezhnev, including chapters on leadership politics, domestic policy, and foreign policy. Additional sections examine economy and society, with chapters on economic performance, demographic and social change, and culture. For those interested in Russian history..
Price: $19.24 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A biography of the man who served twice as president of the Soviet Union and was head of the Communist Party there from 1964 until his death..
Price: $136.81 [Notify me when price goes down.]