A comprehensive biography of the final leader of the Soviet Union chronicles Gorbachev's rise from peasant to politician and describes how his liberal policies ended the Cold War and unintentionally provoked the breakup of the USSR.

Introduction: "Gorbachev is hard to understand" -- Childhood, boyhood, and youth: 1931-1949 -- Moscow State University: 1950-1955 -- Climbing the ladder: 1955-1968 -- Regional party boss: 1969-1978 -- Return to Moscow: 1978-1985 -- What is to be done?: 1985-1986 -- Onto the world stage: March 1985-December 1986 -- Two scorpions in a bottle: 1987 -- Who's afraid of Nina Andreyeva?: 1988 -- Before the storm: 1987-1988 -- Summits galore: 1987-1988 -- 1989: triumph and trouble at home -- 1989: triumph and trouble abroad -- Coming apart?: 1990 -- Coming together?: 1990 -- To the coup: January-August 1991 -- The coup: August 1991 -- Final days: August-December 1991 -- Out of power: 1992-2016 -- Conclusion: Understanding Gorbachev.