Introduction: "Gorbachev is hard to understand" -- Childhood, boyhood, and youth: 1931-1949 -- Moscow State University: 1950-1955 -- Climbing the ladder: 1955-1969 -- 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: 1991-2000 -- Conclusion: understanding Gorbachev