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justinlife 's review for:
The Invention of Russia: The Journey from Gorbachev's Freedom to Putin's War
by Arkady Ostrovsky
Whoooooooooaaaa! *in Keanu Reeves voice.
Read this book. No really, check it out from your library, purchase at your bookstore and read it. It's worth it.
This book opened my eyes to how little I knew about Russia, Russia's recent history, and really the rise of Vladimir Putin. Sure, we Americans are given morsels. It's enough to keep us sated, but we don't dig deep into things, we don't go to that next level. This book takes you there.
Written by a Russian correspondent from The Economist, I first heard about this on one of their podcasts. The author was being interviewed and their discussion piqued my interest. About a month ago, I decided to read more books from my "to read" list and this one was the first. I don't really read a lot of nonfiction. Occasionally, I'll pick one up, but it's not my bag. I'm making a concerted effort to change that. This should give you some perspective on where my head is at with this review.
If you enjoy the Economist, you'll enjoy Ovstrovsky's style. He's a Russian who has personal experience with his topic and it's clear he's comfortable writing about it.
The study of the use of media and how it has shaped Russia into what it has turned out to be quite fascinating and engrossing. Mr. Ovstrovsky sets the stage by discussing the history, the ideas, and attitudes that shaped propaganda from Stalin to Putin. The first 100 or so pages were a little dry for me, but as the book moved to topics that I was somewhat aware of, i became more engrossed. This book showed me SO MUCH that it took me by surprise.
Later in the book, as post communist Russia became shaped more and more by the media, I had to take a couple of seconds and think about what he wrote and how relevant it is today. It's a little hard to digest, but damn, it's eye opening. This book feels current even though it was published in 2015. It feels relevant and I would want everyone in America to read it. Understanding how we can be influenced by the media and seeing how successful it is both frightening. This book gave me a lot to chew on and a lot to take in. I highly recommend it!
Read this book. No really, check it out from your library, purchase at your bookstore and read it. It's worth it.
This book opened my eyes to how little I knew about Russia, Russia's recent history, and really the rise of Vladimir Putin. Sure, we Americans are given morsels. It's enough to keep us sated, but we don't dig deep into things, we don't go to that next level. This book takes you there.
Written by a Russian correspondent from The Economist, I first heard about this on one of their podcasts. The author was being interviewed and their discussion piqued my interest. About a month ago, I decided to read more books from my "to read" list and this one was the first. I don't really read a lot of nonfiction. Occasionally, I'll pick one up, but it's not my bag. I'm making a concerted effort to change that. This should give you some perspective on where my head is at with this review.
If you enjoy the Economist, you'll enjoy Ovstrovsky's style. He's a Russian who has personal experience with his topic and it's clear he's comfortable writing about it.
The study of the use of media and how it has shaped Russia into what it has turned out to be quite fascinating and engrossing. Mr. Ovstrovsky sets the stage by discussing the history, the ideas, and attitudes that shaped propaganda from Stalin to Putin. The first 100 or so pages were a little dry for me, but as the book moved to topics that I was somewhat aware of, i became more engrossed. This book showed me SO MUCH that it took me by surprise.
Later in the book, as post communist Russia became shaped more and more by the media, I had to take a couple of seconds and think about what he wrote and how relevant it is today. It's a little hard to digest, but damn, it's eye opening. This book feels current even though it was published in 2015. It feels relevant and I would want everyone in America to read it. Understanding how we can be influenced by the media and seeing how successful it is both frightening. This book gave me a lot to chew on and a lot to take in. I highly recommend it!