The book is about economic developments and policies in the first decade or so after the independence of the fifteen countries that emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. In those years, the countries were beginning the transition from the Soviet central planning system towards market economies. The book focuses on the role of the IMF in this transition. It explains what the IMF was trying to do and why. It discusses the many controversial issues that involved the IMF, including the collapse in living standards, the speed of economic reforms, the introduction of new currencies, the economic crisis in Russia in 1998 and the widespread corruption. The author had an inside seat as head of the department in the IMF responsible for its work in these countries. He knew the leaders and economic policymakers in all the countries. The style is calm and reasoned, not polemical. Personal anecdotes provide context and color.