First Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President Vladimir Putin

A great insight in to Putin. Over the decades I have read much on the man and this is accurate and offers so much

Amazing and very enlightening book about one of the most misunderstood men of the 21st century. Too few people take the time to really learn about Putin before passing judgement on him. Those who do, find that he is a man to be greatly admired, rather than feared. How I wish that all our leaders had such wisdom, common sense and integrity. Read this, listen to his many speeches and find out why and how I came to this conclusion.

So far I’m enjoying this book, I’m up to page 134.Putin seems to be a social conservative, academic and a capitalist. He respects people who are frank and of high ability in their field.He dislikes the communist party personnel and seems to view them as dead wood, and of a careerist nature. A separating the wheat from the shaft mentality that probably came originally from competitive sports seems evident. The fall of East Germany must have formed his view against sticking narrowly to traditional ways in the face of evidence against the systems ability to survive in tradition. His later choosing of a Peter the Great painting is also telling of who he respect in Russia and his later strong support of the Orthodoxy. Does he see Peter the Great as a bench mark for a successful leader?I was expecting heavy closed Nationalism from this point but instead I am happy to find a more pragmatic internationalist perspective.He seems to have some negative views of absolute surveillance and can see why the old USSR methods failed to keep together.He wants to develop St Petersburg into a modern city and even endorses the progressive fluidity of early globalism- Coca Cola -Bank branchesIn modern western society he would have been arrested twice from what I have read. Once for the car accident (although it sounds like he hit someone suffering from excited delirium.) And the second for the hooligan he punched in the face on the metro which broke his arm. Seems the society back then was stricter in some ways and less in others compared to the West. Those incidents would be career ending.It seems his KGB background was a political problem in his career. Did the Russian publics view of the department change? Did it add of lessen his popularity later on? Did they later see him as a pair of safe hands due to his KGB career?There is not much on who his enemies were at the time. Who crossed him, or who killed Misha Manevich who gives us a clue as to the personality Putin likes to work with.What was the political culture of the time? Did the political culture seems to have a House of Cards side to it?He seems distant from cops, he is annoyed as a youth when a friend suggests he is studying to become one. And sees their political campaigns as some of the more dirty. His attitudes to cops and detectives would be interesting.Well if book makes you want to ask more questions it’s a very good sign. I find him a likeable person all in all. Very far away from the western media portrayal of him as a super spy wanting revenge for the fall of the Berlin Wall.

VERY GOOD BOOK

I found this a very interesting book. It tells about Mr Putin warts and all. This man is not an Ogre but a good leader and a great man. We get a very distorted view of Russia here in the West from the media methis book helps to give a better understanding. Why the world is about them and us is beyond Read it

It is a very interesting book commissioned by Vladimir Putin. An interesting piece of writing for future generations to judge. Written well before the conflict in the Ukraine and in Syria. But who is the real Putin ?

Found it I opening but now understand Putin better. It is a pity the rest of the World is just daggers at him. He is not all bad. Book very interesting.

If all political biographies were this frank, voters would be much closer to the people they elect.Detailed background, astonishing stories and a clear psychological profile of Russia's president Vladimir Putin.

Great interview of Putin and also all close friends and family! Very interesting

Once upon a time, there was a belief in America that anyone could rise from the humblest of beginnings -- such as Abraham Lincoln, born in a cabin he built with his own hands -- to become President.In Russia, without political opinion polls, focus groups or special interest funding, Vladimir Putin rose from a rat-infested cold water apartment to become President of his nation. This book is about a man who spent his professional life assessing people and situations, and thus is not afraid to make tough decisions. In Russia, for the immediate future, tough decisions are needed.Putin's hero, Czar Peter the Great, used his regal power to make Russia a great, rich and powerful nation. Putin intends to provide similar dynamic leadership with democratic principles. An example may be Singapore, a mix of authority, discipline and prosperity.The question-and-answer format of this book is based on six four-hour interviews by three journalists. Putin admits he was, ". . . a pure and utterly successful product of Soviet patriotic education." He was smart, dedicated, hard-working and very good in his chosen career with the KGB. He wasn't a old cloak-and-dagger "sneak and peek" spy; he spent his time reading reports, assessing East German officials and skillfully pushing paper.Trained as a lawyer, he was appalled at how Communist officials assumed they were the law simply because they were Party members. Putin was never a dissident, he was the ultimate Organization Man whose goal was a richer, happier, stronger and freer Russia. He worked hard to become an insider, and as such saw the total incompetence of the Party.His wife says, "He always lived for the sake of something. There are some people who work hard for money, but he works hard for ideas." When first married, they had a 10-foot by 12-foot room in his parents' 275-square foot apartment. Try and think of any American president since Lincoln -- another idea man -- who lived in any similar conditions.Like Lincoln, whose greatest idea was "to preserve the Union," the prime challenge for Putin is to preserve Russia. His practical experience taught him that a free market economy is far superior to the chaos, conniving and cronyism of communism. He says the Soviets failed because they ". . . had a terminal disease without a cure -- a paralysis of power."Two things are clear; Putin is not afraid to act, and he will never betray Russia. He learned from his father's World War II experience, ". . . there are always a lot of mistakes made in war. That's inevitable. But when you are fighting, if you keep thinking that everybody around you is always making mistakes, you'll never win. You have to take a pragmatic attitude." He approaches life in that fashion.His political heroes also rebuilt shattered nations. Charles DeGaulle saved France from itself; while in Germany, Ludwig Erhard succeeded because ". . . his entire conception for the reconstruction of the country began with the creation of new moral values for society." The Soviet collapse created a similar challenge for Putin. This book explains what his "effective authority" is all about. It's the best book available this year about a politician with new ideas.This is a refreshingly candid portrait of the soul of the new President of Russia, a fascinating contrast to "personality politics" that mask any inner feelings of American politicians. Putin trusts the Russian people enough to be honest; our politicians hire spin doctors to create "centrist" or "moving to the right" or "compassionate conservative" images. The contrast is ominous.Then, stop and think. Does America really need tough, effective authority? Or are we better off with superficial candidates and trivial issues? If Putin succeeds, he will outdo Peter the Great. In America, do we need a great crusade? or merely to be left alone? Another Lincoln? or a Shrub?

Insights into the story of the success of Putin and his beloved motherland against impossible odds that serves as a harbinger of hope for humanity in these troubled times of battling against world injustice, brutality and the genocidal activities of the Collective West.

fantastiskt bra bok

英語本で文字量が多いので通読は大変ですが、読みごたえが有ります。ウクライナ問題を理解する為にも大勢の日本人に読んで欲しいです。ロシアだけを一方的に悪者扱いする米国民主党に操られる岸田政権も問題です。インドを見習って欲しい。