Gorbachev's Struggle for Economic Reform: The Soviet Reform Process, 1985-1988

Book by Aslund, Anders

Aslund, first secretary for economic affairs at the Swedish embassy in Moscow from 1984 to 1987, examines the Soviet economy and Gorbachev's intense efforts to reform it. This book bears witness to the author's expertise and impressive scholarly talents, but Aslund's meticulous, technical, and often dry account will appeal most to fellow economists and academics interested in the subject. Marshall Goldman's Gorbachev's Challenge: Economic Reform in the Age of High Technology ( LJ 6/15/87) remains much more readable, if one year less up to date. Both authors stress the enormous difficulties that confront Gorbachev, the lack of progress so far, and the unlikelihood of any real improvement in the foreseeable future.
- R.H. Johnston, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ontario
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.