{"product_id":"2940170374953","title":"Moscow, December 25, 1991: The Last Day of the Soviet Union","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe implosion of the Soviet Union was the  culmination of a gripping game played out between two men who intensely  disliked each other and had different concepts for the future. Mikhail  Gorbachev, a sophisticated and urbane reformer, sought to modernize and  preserve the USSR; Boris Yeltsin, a coarse and a hard drinking \"bulldozer,\"  wished to destroy the union and create a capitalist Russia. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe defeat of the  August 1991 coup attempt, carried out by hardline communists, shook  Gorbachev's authority and was a triumph for Yeltsin. But it took four months  of intrigue and double-dealing before the Soviet Union collapsed and the day  arrived when Yeltsin could hustle Gorbachev out of the Kremlin, and move in  as ruler of Russia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Conor O'Clery has written a unique and truly  suspenseful thriller of the day the Soviet Union died. The internal power  plays, the shifting alliances, the betrayals, the mysterious three colonels  carrying the briefcase with the nuclear codes, and the jockeying to exploit  the future are worthy of John Le Carré or Alan Furst. The Cold War's last act  was a magnificent dark drama played out in the shadows of the Kremlin. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e©2011 Conor O'Clery (P)2011 Gildan Media Corp\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Instructional Systems [Aubrey J. Kline (aka Jim Kline dba Instructional Systems)]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47099943420144,"sku":"2940170374953","price":34.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170374953_p0.jpg?v=1765232807","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170374953","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}