Vladimir Zhirinovsky is an easy target for Western journalists. They label him "Vlad the Mad" and a "clown." He obliges by giving them plenty of ammunition. The tough-talking ultraconservative brawls with fellow Russian legislators, men and women alike. He has raucous bouts of public drinking, and is photographed slam-dancing in a Moscow discotheque. He spits and throws rocks at Jewish protesters and threatens to kill his enemies with his "atomic pistol.".

In 1991 he stunned the western world by finishing third in his country's presidential race. His Liberal Democratic party - with a flag that includes Finland and Alaska on its map - has shown unexpected strength in parliamentary elections. Zhirinovsky appeals to Russians bitter over the economic and social chaos that followed the fall of communism. Loss of security. Homelessness. Poverty. Hunger. The decline in world stature. And he appeals to the armed forces who feel abandoned by the system.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky promises to reunify the Soviet Union by 1999. He threatens to redraw the boundaries of Europe and Asia, eliminating Austria, the Baltic States, Bosnia, the Czech Republic, and Pakistan. He also calls for the reclamation of Finland and Alaska. And he would be the absolute leader.

My Struggle sets out in Vladimir Zhirinovsky's own words, his plans and goals. Here is the startling, often moving autobiography of a childhood deprived of love and attention that shaped this paradoxical man, and may someday reshape the world.