Lee Edwards, president of The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, has edited an insightful volume of essays suggesting that a wide range of forces – economic, political, religious, and strategic – along with the role of the principled statesman and the courageous dissident brought about the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Collapse of Communism from Hoover Institution Press includes essays from nine distinguished authors who analyze this system of government and why it failed.

from Hoover Institution Press includes essays from nine distinguished authors who analyze this system of government and why it failed.

Hoover Institution Senior Research Fellow and Russia expert Robert Conquest is among the book’s contributors. His essay analyzes the effect that Josef Stalin’s totalitarian reign in the Soviet Union had on communism in other European countries, including Germany, France, and Spain.

Edwards’ essay explores events that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, including mass demonstrations in Hungary and talks between Polish communist leaders and the Solidarity union that led to open elections for the first time there since World War II.

Edwards’ essay explores events that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, including mass demonstrations in Hungary and talks between Polish communist leaders and the Solidarity union that led to open elections for the first time there since World War II.

Other contributors to The Collapse of Communism are former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and Richard Pipes, former director of East European and Soviet Affairs on the National Security Council.

The Hoover Institution Press is producing two other volumes on the end of the Cold War. The Fall of the Berlin Wall (Hoover Press, 1999), edited by Hoover Research Fellow Peter Schweizer, offers a fresh perspective into the events leading up to the end of communism and complements The Collapse of Communism.

CNN’s Cold War: Issues and Controversy (Hoover Press, 1999), edited by Hoover Research Fellow Arnold Beichman, is a collection of critical articles, commentary, reviews, and discussion about the network’s documentary series. The book features original essays by Conquest, Pipes, and noted historian John Lewis Gaddis.

(Hoover Press, 1999), edited by Hoover Research Fellow Arnold Beichman, is a collection of critical articles, commentary, reviews, and discussion about the network’s documentary series. The book features original essays by Conquest, Pipes, and noted historian John Lewis Gaddis.

Edited by Lee Edwards
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