This is part of a series which considers the contributory factors leading to some of the most significant events of the 20th century, and the effect of those events on the world. Using contemporary writings and quotations from speeches and illustrations, the book prepares a dramatic picture, showing how errors in world leadership, misfortune and mismanagement have brought the world to the brink of catastrophe many times in this century. This title concentrates on the extraordinary events which led to the collapse of Communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The author examines the failure of Communism and the Communist system, and the rise of "glasnost" and "perestroika" under Gorbachev. The reader is guided through all tthe fantastic events which followed the breaking down of the Berlin Wall, and shown the realities of the post-Cold War world. - from Amzon