Once again, this is a book that I never would have picked to read were it not for my book club. They drag me kicking and screaming to some of these non-fiction books, but once I get into them, I'm glad for the challenge and the variety it brings to my reading.
This is Bill Browder's story of how he went to Russia where he was very successful in heading up an investment fund. He became a target for the corrupt officials in Russia, and ultimately one of his lawyers was put in prison and died. The first half of his story is about all of the investments he made, and the second half is his fight to bring down the people who killed his attorney. It's a compelling read, and I'm surprised there isn't a movie in the works. Maybe there is.
While the story is intriguing, the writing is not the best. Browder goes too far into detail over minute pieces of information (what he was eating, detailed physical descriptions of each character, etc.). Plus he appears to be rather arrogant at times and self-involved. In his defense, this is HIS story, and so we only get his side of what happened in each event. But I found it a bit uncomfortable at times.
I did learn things about Russia I didn't know before. And I learned about the law that he pushed for and that was eventually passed. So I look it as an educational read, not necessary an entertaining one. - June
