Description
Book SynopsisJohn Feffer is a freelance journalist and director of the Foreign Policy In Focus programme at the Institute for Policy Studies. His journalism has spanned Eastern and Central Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. His previous books include the novel
Splinterlands (2016) as well as
Shock Waves: Eastern Europe After the Revolutions (1992) and
Crusade 2.0: The West's Resurgent War on Islam (2012).
Trade ReviewA searching, analytical work that tries to make sense of where the former East bloc countries are today and why they arrived there. The lucid, gripping narrative is a joy to read and packed with ideas.'
* International Politics and Society *
John Feffer brings to this story a traveller’s eye, a rich store of experiences, and a wise perspective. His thoughtful book is a reminder that few nations, anywhere, easily throw off the heritage of tyranny. * Adam Hochschild, author of Spain in our Hearts and King Leopold’s Ghost *
A breath-taking whirlwind tour through the transformations of eastern Europe over the past 30 years. With its account of the travails of contemporary capitalism, it is also astonishingly relevant for understanding pressing political problems in the United States as well. * David Ost, author of The Defeat of Solidarity: Anger and Politics in Post-Communist Europe *
A brisk, vivid and wide-ranging survey of a region in the grip of neoliberalism. As Feffer makes clear, this is hardly just a book about Eastern Europe, as the challenges there now seem to be spreading throughout the world. Feffer’s sense of the future evinces both pessimism of the mind and optimism of the will. * Lawrence Weschler, author of Vermeer in Bosnia and Calamities of Exile *
John Feffer is our 21st-century Jack London. * Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums *
Both a merciless political history and a compassionate political psychology of central and eastern Europe’s post-Cold War transformation. * Miklos Haraszti, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Belarus *
An essential account of our post-liberal times. * Padraic Kenney, author of A Carnival of Revolution: Central Europe, 1989 *
Feffer’s vivid, finely crafted chronicle, stocked with real-life characters, explains what went awry in Eastern Europe after communism * Paul Hockenos, author of Berlin Calling: A Story of Anarchy, Music, the Wall, and the Birth of the New Berlin *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Exile Off Main Street Part I: Stepping Backward 1. Pyramids of Sacrifice 2. The Journey to Utopia 3. The Revenge of the Provinces 4. The Faces of Illiberalism 5. Unexploded Ordnance Interlude: Stepping Backward, Leaping Forward Part II: Leaping Forward 6. Reinvention of Self 7. The Talented Tenth 8. The New Dissidents 9. The Next Generation 10. Creating New Worlds Conclusion: The Future of Illiberalism
