It's a shame the marketing of this book is inaccurate. Inside the cover is a great biography of a man and his masterpiece, both torn between two powerful ideologies and the countries that believed in them. There are some clandestine activities on both sides, particularly the CIA. But it was less cloak and dagger and more idealism about spreading the varied works of the free world. Dr. Zhivago as a novel was caught up in the battle between western ideology twisting his novel into a political message and Soviet Union suppression of his humanity as punishment for not toeing the party line. The ego of Pasternak set loose his novel on the world, and nearly destroyed him. Knowing what the book actually is, rather than being fooled into thinking it was something else, I think would tamper some of the negative feedback that is creeping into reviews. I would definitely recommend this book to those interested in how the United States and the USSR realized the power of the written word and used that to their advantage, as well as those interested in how the Soviet Union treated the artists within their borders.

Pasternak loved his country, just not in the way his country wanted to be loved. Keep that in mind when thinking about disagreements you have with citizens of your own country...