The Enigma of Soviet Petroleum (1980) provides an analysis of the relevance of the Soviet planning system to oil production levels: why it is that planning has been the source of so many petroleum industry problems, and the nature of the measures that are being taken to overcome them. It looks at the demand for petroleum in the USSR, and the discovery of new Soviet oil fields to furnish this demand.

In 1991, a small group of Russians emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union and enjoyed one of the greatest transfers of wealth ever seen, claiming ownership of some of the most valuable petroleum, natural gas and metal deposits in the world. By 1997, five of those individuals were on Forbes Magazine's list of the world's richest billionaires. These self-styled oligarchs were accused of using guile, intimidation and occasionally violence to reap these rewards.

Marshall I. Goldman argues against the line that the course adopted by President Yeltsin was the only one open to Russia, since an examination of the reform process in Poland shows that a more gradual and imaginative approach worked there with less corruption and a wider share of benefits.
The Piratization of Russia is an accessible, lucid and timely book that is required reading for those with an interest in the debâcle of Russian reform. Its appeal will range from the interested lay-reader to students, academics, economists and politicians who want to understand the problems facing Russia and how they could have been avoided.

In 1991, a small group of Russians emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union and enjoyed one of the greatest transfers of wealth ever seen, claiming ownership of some of the most valuable petroleum, natural gas and metal deposits in the world. By 1997, five of those individuals were on Forbes Magazine's list of the world's richest billionaires. These self-styled oligarchs were accused of using guile, intimidation and occasionally violence to reap these rewards.

Marshall I. Goldman argues against the line that the course adopted by President Yeltsin was the only one open to Russia, since an examination of the reform process in Poland shows that a more gradual and imaginative approach worked there with less corruption and a wider share of benefits.
The Piratization of Russia is an accessible, lucid and timely book that is required reading for those with an interest in the debâcle of Russian reform. Its appeal will range from the interested lay-reader to students, academics, economists and politicians who want to understand the problems facing Russia and how they could have been avoided.

An analysis of the forces that have been brought about the abuses of water, air, land and raw material in Russia, examining both the drawbacks and advantages of state control and conservation. Because industrialism had its beginnings in capitalist countries, the existence of environmental disruption in socialist and communist societies has been largely ignored. The truth is that pollution of natural resources plagues the planned economy and free enterprise system alike. Rapid industrial growth rather than form of government is the prime agent causing environmental havoc, and where socialist reality diverges from socialist theory, the ecological balance of nature suffers as in any major industrial country. Marshall I. Goldman, whose articles on the subject have appeared in Science, The New York Times, and The New Yorker, brings this point home as she describes abuses of water, air, land, and raw materials in Russia, analyzing the forces that have been brought about the current situation and describing both the drawbacks and advantages of state control and conservation. He devotes chapters to the pollution of Lake Baikal in Siberia, remarking that "Baikal is a unique lake in the world and all mankind will suffer from its desecration," and to the Aral and Caspian seas which is literally in danger of drying up as a result and the construction of hydroelectric stations. Proposals to restore the seas by building dams and reversing the flow of major rivers from north to south (Reshaping the Earth) may have equally profound and undesirable results. The book concludes by pointing out that the Soviet state is both manufacturer and polluter and its priorities lie with the increased production rather than conservation; with progress rather than restraint. Yet, hopefully, Goldman points to a number of beneficial state controls which if enlarged in the direction of restoring and protecting natural resources could have made Russia the most powerful and efficient of conservationists. Appendixes contain selected laws on the environment, the Conservation Law of the Russian Republic 1960, and the Water Law 1970.

Combining trenchant commentary with first-person reporting, Goldman provides the clearest picture yet of how Boris Yeltsin took on the task of reforming the Russian economy and what happened along the way. Lost Opportunity is a lucid analysis of Russia's titanic struggle to change from a centrally planned economy to a market economy.

"Once again, Marshall Goldman has put his finger directly on the problems that hamper reform in the Soviet Union. Anyone who wants to understand Gorbachev's failings, the bureaucratic infighting and built-in reluctance to change will gain insights from this taut, readable book." —Hedrik Smith

With his vigorous air of leadership, Mikhail Gorbachev captured the attention of the world. He seemed to be the one leader who could bring the Soviet Union out of repression and stagnation—and yet under him the country disintegrated. In a trenchant analysis, Marshall Goldman pinpoints the components of the collapse, from Gorbachev's wrong turns in economic strategy to the fateful timing of ethnic and nationalist uprisings.

In a new chapter for this edition, Mr. Goldman discusses Boris Yeltsin's coming to power and what lies ahead of Russia and the other republics today.

Gorbachev's Challenge is deeply knowledgeable about the Soviet and Chinese institutional landscapes, and the American system as well...There is no better-informed or more imaginative introduction to the economic problems facing the Russians as the century ends.

In virtually all sectors of the economy, evidence of stagnation, waste, and mismanagement proliferates. The convergence of these problems is no historical accident. As Marshall Goldman. a leading analyst of the Soviet economy, demonstrates, the Russians continue to adhere to a planning model set forth by Stalin in the 1920s. The chances of a turnaround, therefore, hinge on reform of the system reform that the Soviet leaders fear might trigger unpredictable and uncontrollable forces that have been pent up for sixty-five years."