or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
16 used & new from £5.25
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution (Paperback)

by Chrystia Freeland (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
Price: £9.06 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.93 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 24? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
11 new from £5.49 5 used from £5.25
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback 7 used & new from £3.13
12 Days of Christmas Sale in Books
12 Days of Christmas Sale in Books
Get up to 65% off some of our top titles. Shop now

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Frequently Bought Together

Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution + The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia + Putin's Russia
Price For All Three: £24.93

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia

The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia

by David Hoffman
5.0 out of 5 stars (4)  £9.15
Putin's Russia

Putin's Russia

by Anna Politkovskaya
4.1 out of 5 stars (8)  £6.72
The Age of Assassins: The Rise and Rise of Vladimir Putin: How Scary Are Russia's New Rulers?

The Age of Assassins: The Rise and Rise of Vladimir Putin: How Scary Are Russia's New Rulers?

by Yuri Felshtinsky
5.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £11.89
Darkness at Dawn: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State

Darkness at Dawn: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State

by D Satter
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £11.94
Oil and the Glory

Oil and the Glory

by Steve Levine
£12.80
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown; New edition edition (3 Mar 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0349112606
  • ISBN-13: 978-0349112602
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.6 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 121,104 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #5 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Countries & Regions > Europe > Russia
    #34 in  Books > History > Europe > Russia > Russian Revolution
    #48 in  Books > History > Europe > Post-war Period, 1946-Present

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

"Everything Marx told us about communism was false. But it turns out that everything he told us about capitalism was true". So says one Russian friend of Chrystia Freeland, author of the remarkable Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution, which tells the story of "Russia's flawed capitalist revolution" from Boris Yeltsin's election as president of Russia in 1991 to his resignation on the last day of 1999.

Freeland spent three years as the Moscow bureau chief for the Financial Times between 1995 and 1998, leaving her uniquely placed to write one of the first accounts of Russia's exhilarating, but also painful and desperate transition from communism to capitalism in the final years of the 20th century. She charts the initial hope inspired by the young reformers led by Anatoly Chubais and Yegor Gaidar, who introduced the free market "shock therapy" in 1992 which kick-started the Russian capitalist economy, to the corruption and cynicism of the oligarchs like Vladimir Gusinsky and Boris Berezovsky, who got rich quick by seizing the valuable remnants of the old Soviet economy and (in some cases literally) making a killing. Freeland tells a fascinating story as she travels the country from the Siberian gas fields to the inner sanctums of the Moscow oligarchs. In the process she comes to realise that "Russia had freed itself from communism but not from the communist legacy; it had constructed its own capitalist system, only to discover it had built the wrong kind." This is an absorbing and highly readable book detailing history in the making, as one the world's most powerful nations teeters on the brink of renewal or disaster; if Marx could read Sale of the Century, he would undoubtedly applaud. --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Review

'We now have a superb piece of reportage on the central years of the oligarchic era - which may prove, at least in its pure form, to be coterminous with the Yeltsin period ... This book ... is a tremendous illumination of early Russian business methods... Freeland's account of the central deal of the era... reads, at times, like Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full' John Lloyd, New Statesman
See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
See all 3 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution
82% buy the item featured on this page:
Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution 4.7 out of 5 stars (6)
£9.06
The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia
7% buy
The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£9.15
Londongrad: From Russia with Cash; The Inside Story of the Oligarchs
5% buy
Londongrad: From Russia with Cash; The Inside Story of the Oligarchs 4.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£7.76
McMafia: Seriously Organised Crime
4% buy
McMafia: Seriously Organised Crime 4.2 out of 5 stars (22)
£5.41
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A clear account of the post-Communist asset grab!, 4 Aug 2005
Amongst the many books on this subject which I have read, I found this to be a remarkable book. The content will astonish even the most staunch market capitalist, but also the clarity of style and story-like weaving of the author's approach makes this book difficult to put down. Chrystia Freeland explains (often amusingly) the complicated subject of how and why Russia got into such a mess after Yeltsin, in August 1991, "clambered onto a tank" proclaiming freedom and prosperity to the Russian people. This difficult to understand subject has been delivered in an easy-to-take pill. A step by step illumination unravels the wheeling/dealing psychology and self-justification of the grabbers and the frustrations of the motivated Young Reformers with whom they made their uncomfortable alliance. The Prologue, a moving personal story of a Kazan orphan being adopted by a Canadian family, sets the mood. The book then rapidly moves into a roller coaster world of cold-hard business, obstinate red-managers, Machiavellian civil servants and bewildered politicians. Various oligarchs and ordinary Russians are singled out and their stories are told candidly in journalistic style. One can't help but admire the plots and sub-plots which, if they were not factual, would make for far fetched fiction. The icing on the cake comes with the closing chapter, simply called "Conclusion". It recalls the exhilarating but sad fact of how it all went sour but goes on to uncover, if not predict, the revival of the old Slavonic idea of the Russian spirit.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars the definitive guide to Russias high politics 1991-99, 30 Jan 2002
This review is from: Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution (Paperback)
This is a fascinating and readable account of how Russian capitalism came about. I worked in Russia from 1995-99 (auditing & venture capital) so I was intrigued to read about a period that I had experienced and but not fully understood.

In my opinion it is incredibly difficult to write a good book about recent events in Russia, and this is a real achievement. Complex events are explained with clarity and verve. The author's access to many of Russia's senior businessmen and politicians provides strong primary historical evidence of events that I had thought were shrouded in mystery. The Russian oligarchs that colluded with the state to take valuable companies at knockdown prices (hence "Sale of the Century") are incredibly indiscreet (or brazenly frank) in interviews with Freeland about their often corrupt practices.

Whilst there are some terrific books about the 1917 revolution (e.g. Figes), it is wrong to have the same expectations of a book about recent events because we still trying to make sense of them. Freeland has emphasised the events that she experienced directly, or that are well documented, but there is a great deal left for other writers to cover.

It is a page-turner, and always readable, but there are times when, in adding local colour, Freeland over-embellishes. The descriptions of Tverskaya's prostitutes and some out-of-Moscow trips are clichés that do not ring true. More seriously, the lack of contact with mid-ranking entrepreneurs and the Russia outside of Moscow skews the book's perspective - although this is a failing shared by Russia's political elite.

This is probably the definitive guide to Russia's high politics from 1991-99 and I recommend it strongly.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Respect to the author on an amazing insight, 19 Jun 2001
By C. W. Watling (Ipswich, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution (Paperback)
I approached this after a friend's recommendation and I can honestly say that it is the best book I have read in the past year. This reads just like a flowing novel on what is traditionally a dour and complex topic (in my opinion). Chrystia manges to capture all the detail surrounding the fall and rise including glimpses of Kremlin life that all too often seem a wayward leap from my Western reality. Completely captivating and difficult to put down. Read it.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The book that awoke my interest in Russia
This was the first book that I purchased on the post communist Russia. It remains probably the most easily readable and generally succinct account of the massive changes that took... Read more
Published 21 days ago by J. Michna

4.0 out of 5 stars For the 94-2000 expats
It is a great tale about what probably really happened behind the scenes. For those living in Moscow during this period and who took part it is a great summary. Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2002 by joostenandrei

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written insider view of Russian politics and business.
What separates this book from the bunch is that it can be read like a novel. And, indeed, the last 10 years in Russia's politics and big business has been like a Mexican sope... Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2000

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject












i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.