The book describes the massive changes in the economies of eastern Europe shortly after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. The focus is on Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The latter is also treated as the 2 new nations of Czech and Slovakia. Also, there is a look at the deindustrialisation of eastern Germany, and its future within a new Europe. There is a clear appreciation of the magnitude of the task of converging eastern Germany to parity with western Germany.
In all regions, a significant rise in unemployment had already occurred by the time of the book's writing. There are suggestions about how each country could find a comparative advantage vis a vis western Europe, and the access to the latter's markets. The tone is roughly optimistic, reflecting the realities of low wages in eastern Europe and an educated population.
With the benefit of hindsight from the subsequent years, this optimism can be seen as well placed.
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