From Publishers Weekly This is biography Soviet-style， meaning that there is very little personal， factual data regarding the official being written about (it is known， for example， that Gorbachev's father is dead， but not whether the General Secretary has siblings). Despite his seemingly solid sources in the U.S.S.R.， which include his brother， historian Roy Medvedev， the author， an exiled Russian biochemist now living in London， has virtually nothing to tell us about Gorbachev that hasn't been reported in the press. His book is fleshed out with information regarding Communist Party structure and procedures for governance， history， geography， the economy， speculation and opinion， all interesting and enlightening for the casual reader but of minimal value to the informed. In discussing Gorbachev's policies， Medvedev concludes that the General Secretary is not a liberalizing reformist， that the "style" may be newGorbachev has obviously discovered PRbut content is not: changes already made in policy are only cosmetic. That Gorbachev is news and has caught the world's imagination may have been Medvedev's impetus for writing about him， but the book， on balance， proves to be premature. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information， Inc. From Library Journal The stunningly rapid turnover in Soviet leaders since the 1982 death of Leonid Brezhnev has spawned a minor industry in political biographies. This is among the best. Medvedev， a Russian emigre and author of Andropov ( LJ 9/1/83)， chronicles Gorbachev's early life and rise through the Communist hierarchy to produce a detailed， well-written portrait of the new generation of Kremlin boss. Although well educated and articulate， Gorbachev has so far brought only a change in style rather than any liberalization of policy， according to this analysis. Trained as an agronomist， Medvedev offers specialists useful insights into the problems of Soviet agriculture and general readers a fascinating tour of the political system. Highly recommended， and preferable to Thomas Butson's Gorbachev ( LJ 7/85). James R. Kuhlman， Univ. of Georgia Lib.， AthensCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information， Inc.