Lighting the Night: Revolution in Eastern Europe - Softcover

Echikson, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 033031825X ISBN 13: 9780330318259

Publisher: Pan Macmillan, 1991

Synopsis

This is an account of the events in Eastern Europe which led to revolution or to revolutionary action. Events such as the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the tanks in Bucharest's Palace Square and the candles being lit in front of Budapest's Parliament are all described by the author. "Lighting the Night" is written by a journalist who has been reporting on the events of Eastern Europe since 1985, from the leaders who foresaw what could be achieved and from the ordinary people who experienced the events. The author writes from an anti-communist view-point.

About this title

From Library Journal

Echikson was The Christian Science Monitor 's correspondent in Eastern Europe during the mid- to late-1980s; this book is drawn from that reporting. It is an effort to do what so many journalists do--that is, to use personal encounters as a fabric on which to stitch broader social observations. He first provides thumbnail histories (such as "The Landscape"), then deals with social strata and groups who were political actors in 1989-90. In both cases, deft portraits of the named and unnamed energize Echikson's prose. He does much less well when he tries to be a social scientist; recounting personal tales does not suffice for analysis of processes affecting nation-states. While better than Elie Abel's The Shattered Bloc ( LJ 5/1/90) on many accounts, this volume is still no match for a serious study such as James Brown's Surge to Freedom (Duke Univ. Pr. 1988), whose update is expected for the spring of 1991.
-Daniel Nelson, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- In this well-written, insightful work, Echikson analyzes the revolutions in Eastern Europe, taking into account the similarities and differences in each society that influenced its respective country's road to democratization. The book is divided into a narrative of the events in each country, followed by chapters on the roles of various segments of its society--the students, the intellectuals, the military, the Communist bureaucrats, the Jews--in influencing the outcome. It concludes with a review of the causes and effects of the revolution, highlighting the roles of Soviet glasnost , the democratic movements, and the economic problems in fomenting the unrest as well as charting some of the movement's less desirable consequences. Weaving various strands into a seamless whole, Echikson provides easy and informative reading.
- Richard Lisker, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 033031825X
• ISBN 13: 9780330318259
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304