Drawing on interviews with students and young intellectuals in the Czech Republic, Eastern Germany, and Estonia, Vogt (Finnish Institute of International Affairs) offers a descriptive narrative of the 1989 revolutions and the subsequent process of change that he finds more tangible than the usual analyses of post communism. He also develops conceptual tools with which to analyze and better comprehend the social and political development in Eastern Europe over the first post-communist decade and perhaps even into the future. He does not challenge the dominant view that the revolutions reflect the people's need to rid themselves of rotten, corrupt, and inefficient systems, but suggests that it has been overplayed a bit. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)