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"This is a gem of a book. . . . the complex issues of the economic transformation to the market in Eastern Europe are ingeniously explored. . . . The flow of the dialogue is concise, fast, and intellectually robust. . . . a brilliant and fascinating read."—Times Higher Education Supplement

". . . offers a lively and thoughtful reconsideration of the Big Bang approach to economic repair. . . . provides an imaginatively conceived introduction to the critical intellectual debates around how to fix the Russian economy."—Toronto Globe and Mail

"It is refreshing to read a piece of scholarship based on such careful research on both sides of a vital issue. . . . This is important scholarship only thinly disguised as fiction. It deserves a wide audience."—William S. Brown, Journal of Economic Issues

"A fascinating conversation between an Eastern European statesman... and an American economist.... The economist lays out the arguments for unfettered capitalism of a textbook variety; the statesman reminds him that reality in western economies differs significantly from such an idealized world. In a remarkably short time spent with this book, even a neophyte can learn much about the issues facing those who must grapple with the monumental task of converting economies from pale shadows of the socialist ideal to (hopefully) less pale shadows of the capitalist version."—William F. Sharpe, Nobel Laureate in Economics

"Organized imaginatively and written with wit and style ... lucid and accessible."—Padma Desai, Harriman Institute for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union