European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                New analysis of Gorbachev loaded with Folksy tales the Man who changed the world the lives of Mikhail s. Gorbachev by Gail Sheehy Harper Collins 401 pp., $22.95 Steve Courtney Hartford Conn courant. Ach now Book on soviet Leader Mikhail s. Gorbachev removes More of the mystery that surrounds this sex. A tra Ordinary Many a life a a mystery that before he took Power in the Sovi by Union in 1985 was almost Complete. Now Gail Sheehy has removed a lot More finding new sources of information a right Down to the a girl next door in Gorbachev a Village. A a the Man who changed the world could be called a literary version of the docudrama and not a a straight journalism. History is interspersed with anecdotes that May or May not be True but which provide the window on truth that folklore often provides. Sheehy says for example that Gorbachev got his first party Job at Moscow state University by getting his main rival drunk and denouncing him for it afterwards. It is a Good image of the dog cat dog world of minor soviet politics. But Dusko Doder and Louise Branson in their recent More sober a a Gorbachev heretic in the Kremlin Quot discount the Story i it was told by a single source and uncorroborated by anyone else who knew Gorbachev during his University Days. Sheehy tells the Story As though it is fact a listing that same source in her  which Book will be better read she Hyp a of course not Only because of her Media celebrity and a passages a but also because she weaves her talc Well a its a wealth of Good writing fascinating anecdotes and telling details. Raisa and Mikhail Gorbachev in their wedding photo a gossipy look at the soviet Leader. She has spent impressive amounts of time in Gorbachev a Home District Stavropol and tells How his role As party Boss in the soviet Union s deep South gave him unusual and helpful Access to Kremlin bigwigs on vacation. There Are stories stories stories the Young Gorbachev arguing about baseball with the girl next door Alexandra Yakovenko Raisa Gorbachev refusing to teach atheism in her philosophy. Seminar Mikhail Gorbachev calling poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko from the scene of the armenian. Earthquake  for missing a Reading there Are Many a passag Csc style observations. Sheehy describes an apparent demotion for Gorbachev when he was.31, a an age when most people feel restless and impatient pinched by the restrictions that Stem from the choices of their 20s.�?� a a with events changing rapidly she has brought the Story up to september when Gorbachev asked for emergency Powers to halt the deterioration of the soviet unions Economy and the Independence movements in its republics. Events in  republics such As the killing of 14 lithuanians by soviet paratroopers Jan. 13, have quickly altered world perceptions of the Leader but match she Hyp a description of his a Many a turns in policy and sacrifices of principle in the service. O competing Power  she sees him As car like brooding a on the blows from those children to whom he has Given the very tongues that mercilessly lash him Day after  a wonderful image a Strong percept Tion and Sheehy a Book is full of them. A the Book is available at stars and stripes bookstores Philip Roth Philip Roth captures another great character a his father Patrimony by Philip Roth Simon and schuster 238 pp., $19.95 Victoria Wakefield United press International t or everyone who has lost a Parent and for those who have yet to face the inevitable a a Patrimony is required Reading. Larger and Richer than any Marble Monument Philip Roth a narrative of the last years of his father Herman is comic tragic and above All a tribute to a successful 88-year life Philip Ruth learns his father is nearing the end of the Road because of a brain tumor. Father and son together examine the options and decide that surgery Isnit one of them. 5 the next two years become a  exercise with comedy and tragedy weaving the final curtain. Even Philip Roth a own emergency bypass surgery cannot interrupt this Loving testimonial to a father whose education ended with the eighth Grade in Newark n.j., but who taught his own children so Well. Herman typifies Man at his Best. A a Black kid about 14 approached him with a gun on a Newark Side Street leading to their Little jewish Temple a Roth writes. A it was the Middle of the afternoon. My father had been at the Temple office helping them with mailing or something and he was coming Home. The Black kids prey on the elderly jews in his neighbourhood even in Broad Daylight. They bicycle in from Quot new Ark he tells me take their Money,.laugh, and go Home. Quot a get inthe Bushes a he tells my father.  not getting in any Bushes a my father says. A you can have whatever y of want and you done to need that piece to get it. You can put the piece away the kid Lowers the gun and my father gives him his Wallet. A take All the Money a my father says a but if the wallets of no value to you i  mind it  Herman Roth passes on a great inheritance in the form of his reminiscences of Newark and portraits of the people in his life. The mind remains Clear in those final months and that clarity allows the Roth family to face the inevitable with courage acceptance and love. A Patrimony Quot is the Story of the Roth family and friends particularly Herman a friends a the 93-year-old Abe who takes walks and sings with Herman until both begin to fray the Long suffering lil the reclusive Bill the doctors. Most of All a a Patrimony is the thanks of a gifted son who Learned so much from his  Man achieves immortality through his children Herman Roth lives. And always will. A. The Book will be available at stars and stripes bookstores. Pages a sunday March 10, 1991