Revolution 1989

The Fall of the Soviet Empire

Revolution 1989 by British journalist Victor Sebestyen is a comprehensive and revealing account of those dizzying days that toppled Soviet tyranny and changed the World. For more than 40 years, communism held eight European nations in its iron fist. Yet by the end of 1989, all of these nations had thrown off communism, declared independence, and embarked on the road to democracy.©2009 Victor Sebestyen (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Cold War "101"

Would you consider the audio edition of Revolution 1989 to be better than the print version?

Never read the print.

What did you like best about this story?

The author researched well and I enjoyed the flow of information.

Have you listened to any of Paul Hecht’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't remember but he does a great job.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Nicolae Ceaușescu showed absolutely no remorse when confronted with his crimes.

Informative but exciting

Reads almost like fiction, it is well put together. A great way to learn more about how the Cold War ended.

Engaging Informative Entertaining

Six stories of revolution - from Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, and bloodiest of all, Romania - filled with details and eye and earwitness accounts. Fine read and very good and steady narration.

The puzzle fits together

What did you love best about Revolution 1989?
For those who want to know why the Berlin wall fell

Top notch popular history

If you're interested in this topic in a general way, you can't go wrong with this book. It was very readable, with great characterizations of the principals involved, plus lots of subtle humour. If it ever dragged slightly, it was never for long. By necessity, it had to jump from one country to another to cover them all and their interactions, but the descriptions of each were so vivid, I didn't find it hard to keep track. The fall of the Berlin Wall wasn't as emotional to me in its portrayal as it had been in another book, but that's fine too. The other book, one of fiction, works well as a companion piece to this one. The fiction one that I read first was Ken Follett's final book in the Century Trilogy, called the "Edge of Eternity". They each have their place, but really I'd say this one, 1989, is a stronger book, with no bias to speak of and entertaining enough to hold one's interest. Ken Follett's book covers a broader topic than eastern Europe, of course, with a major focus on the civil rights struggle. They are both great for casual history buffs who aren't really willing to slog through anything too dry in their free time!