Matthew Brzezinski Books

1930s Warsaw was a thoroughly cosmopolitan, even swinging city. Larger than Chicago, it was host to a rich Jewish cultural life. It seemed inconceivable that all this was about to be swept away, but then came the dark events of September 1939. As the Nazi invasion of Poland began, a ragtag army calling itself the Jewish Resistance Force fell into shape around the handsome, quick-witted Isaac Zuckerman. Impossibly daring, the JRF held out until the end of the war, by which time fewer than 100 of its members survived. ISAAC'S ARMY is the thrilling tale of the fortunes of the JRF's main participants, told in vivid prose that brilliantly creates an atmosphere febrile with danger, heroism and ingenuity – like Babel's Odessa Tales crossed with the Great Escape. In amongst the tragedy, ISAAC'S ARMY manages to be touching, entertaining, and even very funny, and ultimately a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit.

The narrative captures the thrilling competition between the United States and the Soviet Union during the space race, highlighting pivotal decisions made by both superpowers. With a dramatic and cinematic flair, the author brings to life the intense rivalry and the groundbreaking achievements in space exploration, offering readers an engaging and insightful perspective on this pivotal era in history.

The fascinating story of the launch of Sputnik, the earth's first ever satellite, and its role in shaping the modern world.

"Having awakened from its communist slumber, Russia in the roaring nineties is a place where everything and everyone is for sale and fortunes can be made and lost overnight. Into this maelstrom steps rookie Wall Street Journal reporter Matthew Brzezinski. Assigned to make sense of the financial markets, he is instantly plunged into the crazed world of Russian capitalism, where corrupt Moscow bankers and American carpetbaggers preside over the greatest boom and bust in international financial history.". "Brzezinski knows he's in over his head; what he comes to realize is that so is the entire country. The government of Boris Yeltsin is under the thumb of seven powerful men known as "the oligarchs," and a flamboyant businessman from Chechnya - even as his homeland is under siege by Russian troops - has set himself up as one of Moscow's most notorious powerbrokers. Meanwhile, the gap between haves and have-nots is widening into an abyss. Among Moscow's elite, solid-gold bathroom fixtures are de rigueur, while in Vladivostok, the last stop on the Trans-Siberian railway, long-suffering citizens must buy water by the pail from the local mafia."--BOOK JACKET.