I picked up this book to read out of a vague interest in the Baltic States and ended up reading it cover to cover in a couple of evenings. The author does a great job of covering Estonian history and culture in the early part of the book, then the impact of Soviet rule (which he calls colonial...a very accurate depiction of the soviet empire), then covers the steps by which Estonia regained independance. Along the way, he interjects personal experiences into the narrative, something which makes the book even more interesting. Well worth the read if you want to know more about a little-known country.
The only flaw from my perspective was that as the book was written and published back in 1993, it misses the last 14 years and one has to go elsewhere for this. More a case of when the book was written than anything else of course......
Also, as an aside, if you're interested in books on Estonia, or set in Estonia, try Sofi Oksanen's Purge. Brilliant novel, won the 2008 Finlandia Prize, #1 on the best seller list in Finland when it was first published. A real eye-opener on life in Soviet-occupied Estonia.
