'It is detailed and thorough; it adjusts its treatment to emphasise highlights such as the Hungarian uprising, the Prague Spring and the Solidarity triumph and to make useful comparisons between them.' - Professor W.V. Wallace, Europe-Asia Studies 'What was communism in Eastern Europe all about? Fowkes' book is a good place to look for some answers. In ten concise chapters he guides us across the geographic and political landscape of post-World War II Eastern Europe ... There is enough detail to prove helpful to both generalists and specialists.' - Professor B.P. Menard, Millennium Journal of International Studies

• List of Plates - Preface - List of Abbreviations - Introduction to the Second Edition - Introduction - The Seizure of Power: The Northern Tier - The Seizure of Power: Hungary and the Agrarian South - High Stalinism - Eastern Europe after Stalin - The Quiet Years, 1957-68 - Czechoslovakia in 1968: Climax and Defeat of Reform Communism - The Brezhnev Years: Dithering at the Top and Revolt from Below - The Premature Revolution: Poland 1980-81 - Decline and Fall - Appendix: Statistical Tables - Notes - Index

'It is detailed and thorough; it adjusts its treatment to emphasise highlights such as the Hungarian uprising, the Prague Spring and the Solidarity triumph and to make useful comparisons between them.' - Professor W.V. Wallace, Europe-Asia Studies 'What was communism in Eastern Europe all about? Fowkes' book is a good place to look for some answers. In ten concise chapters he guides us across the geographic and political landscape of post-World War II Eastern Europe ... There is enough detail to prove helpful to both generalists and specialists.' - Professor B.P. Menard, Millennium Journal of International Studies

• List of Plates - Preface - List of Abbreviations - Introduction to the Second Edition - Introduction - The Seizure of Power: The Northern Tier - The Seizure of Power: Hungary and the Agrarian South - High Stalinism - Eastern Europe after Stalin - The Quiet Years, 1957-68 - Czechoslovakia in 1968: Climax and Defeat of Reform Communism - The Brezhnev Years: Dithering at the Top and Revolt from Below - The Premature Revolution: Poland 1980-81 - Decline and Fall - Appendix: Statistical Tables - Notes - Index