A Thriller that Answers the Question: "What Happened to Russia?"

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Aug. 6, 2013 - PRLog -- The summer before the collapse of the Soviet Union, in June 1990, Mikhail S. Gorbachev visited America, including a stop in the American heartland, Minnesota.  Already hailed as "The Man of the Century" for bringing glasnost--openness--to the Soviet Union, Gorbachev faces an assassination attempt by a crazed teenager in this suspense thriller.  An epilogue tells the story of what subsequently became of Gorbachev's dreams of democracy for his homeland.

Non-ideological in tone, this thriller provides deep insight into Gorbachev's rise to power in the Russian hinterlands, and his courageous attempt to bring democracy to all of the Soviet Union.  The novel sheds light on how Russia got to be the way it is today, on its return to a highly authoritarian government.

The subsequent failure of Gorbachev's dream of democracy for the Soviet Union--which collapsed entirely--and for Russia is a cautionary tale for all who confront historical crisis.  The novel is filled with deep characterization of the American teenager and the people in his life in South Dakota as well as biographical detail on Gorbachev going back to his childhood in the dark days of Stalin.

This touching and tragic story captures the historical moment of hope, just months after the Berlin Wall fell, that democracy would succeed in the USSR.

For those interested in the human side of the story of how an emplire collapses, this page-turner is must-read, written in a style that combines John le Carre with "The Hunger Games."  The book is available with promotional pricing on Amazon for a limited time.