{"product_id":"9781101560600","title":"The Man without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin","description":"\u003ci\u003eThe Man Without a Face\u003c\/i\u003e is the chilling account of how a low- level, small-minded KGB operative ascended to the Russian presidency  and, in an astonishingly short time, destroyed years of progress and  made his country once more a threat to her own people and to the world.\u003cp\u003eHandpicked as a successor by the \"family\" surrounding an ailing and  increasingly unpopular Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin seemed like a perfect choice for the  oligarchy to shape according to its own designs. Suddenly the boy who  had stood in the shadows, dreaming of ruling the world, was a public  figure, and his popularity soared. Russia and an infatuated West were  determined to see the progressive leader of their dreams, even as he  seized control of media, sent political rivals and critics into exile  or to the grave, and smashed the country's fragile electoral system,  concentrating power in the hands of his cronies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a journalist living in Moscow, Masha Gessen experienced this  history firsthand, and for \u003ci\u003eThe Man Without a Face\u003c\/i\u003e she has drawn  on information and sources no other writer has tapped. Her account of  how a \"faceless\" man maneuvered his way into absolute-and absolutely  corrupt-power has the makings of a classic of narrative nonfiction.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47128099127536,"sku":"9781101560600","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781101560600_p0.jpg?v=1763687954","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781101560600","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}