Reviews
With his knack for turning narrative nonfiction into stories worthy of the best thriller fiction, Ben Mezrich is one of our favorite writers., Mezrich turns his keen journalistic eye to Russia...and...the oligarchs... Mezrich focuses on two such men, a mentor and his young protg, who accumulated staggering wealth before personal differences tore apart their relationship... Mezrich's ability to tell a true (and well-documented) story in a way that makes it look and feel like the most involving of narratives is nearly unparalleled. He is one of the few writers whose name on a piece of nonfiction guarantees not only quality but also interest, no matter the subject, and this fine book is one more example of just how talented a storyteller he is., "Assassination plots, intimidation tactics, political maneuvering and money in unfeasibly large quantities... Based on a year of interviews with high-profile sources, it fleshes out almost 20 years of history with journalistic color and anecdotes." , Assassination plots, intimidation tactics, political maneuvering and money in unfeasibly large quantities... Based on a year of interviews with high-profile sources, it fleshes out almost 20 years of history with journalistic color and anecdotes., A harrowing and truly Russian tale about the river of greed and corruption that gushed out of post-Communist Russia, carried men to power and opulence, drowned them in murder and betrayal, and led to the rise of Vladimir Putin., Mezrich relates the story in the form of a true-life novel. The bestselling author has used the device before, including in The Accidental Billionaires , which provided the basis for The Social Network.. . Interviews, first-person sources, court documents, and newspaper accounts as the basis for his narrative... make the story more accessible., Assassination plots, intimidation tactics, political maneuvering and money in unfeasibly large quantities… Based on a year of interviews with high-profile sources, it fleshes out almost 20 years of history with journalistic color and anecdotes., Mezrich turns his keen journalistic eye to Russia...and...the oligarchs... Mezrich focuses on two such men, a mentor and his young protégé, who accumulated staggering wealth before personal differences tore apart their relationship... Mezrich's ability to tell a true (and well-documented) story in a way that makes it look and feel like the most involving of narratives is nearly unparalleled. He is one of the few writers whose name on a piece of nonfiction guarantees not only quality but also interest, no matter the subject, and this fine book is one more example of just how talented a storyteller he is., The real-life tale of ... Putin's ascendency to power. After the fall of communism in Russia, a small new class developed, that of the oligarchs... the ambitious and opportunistic businessmen who led the wild and lawless economic conversion from state-run industries to market capitalism.... Mezrich's well-written account of this era of Russian history illuminates the tumultuous conversion of communism to capitalism.
