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The Real North Korea: Life And Politics In The Failed Stalinist Utopia (2013)

by Andrei Lankov(Favorite Author)
4.06 of 5 Votes: 4
ISBN
0199964297 (ISBN13: 9780199964291)
languge
English
publisher
Oxford University Press, USA
review 1: Странно, но из-за фрагментарного преподавания истории в школе мне не приходила в голову вполне логичная мысль - за Северную Корею ответственен СССР, а затем уже - Ким Ир Сен (заботливо подобранный представителями СССР как советский кореец), не согласившийся с десталинизацией и превративший страну в хор собственного воспевания посреди тюряги. Самыми интересными являются части про возвышение Ким Ир Сена и про бытовую жизнь, к�... more�торую смог заметить Ланьков.
review 2: This is a really fascinating book into one of the world's geopolitical curiosities: the hereditary Communist monarchy of North Korea. The author, Andrei Lankov, was born in the USSR, studied in Pyongyang in the 1980s, and is presently a professor at a university in Seoul, which means that he writes about this closed-off country with particular insight. There were times when it got a little repetitive (for example, I lost track of the number of times Lankov pointed out that DVDs and USB drives were allowing information about the outside world to enter North Korea in previously unheard-of quantities), but I found Lankov's conclusions to be pragmatic and largely persuasive. He argues that North Korea's leaders are not moustache-twirling madmen, but that their actions are driven by very rational considerations—indeed, the responses of international governments (largely South Korea, China and the U.S.) have spurred on their sabre-rattling and made them far less likely to give up their nuclear weapons. Definitely interesting and accessible to a popular audience. less
Reviews (see all)
Nessa
Excellent, very readable look at North Korean politics. Highly recommend.
Kaddly
Informative, but left me with more questions about life in North Korea.
Jmatthews
Well written account with compelling arguments.
maryjohnson
951.9304 L289 2013
Yastiss
Facinating
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