I thought that would be exactly what you were looking for. I had always been curious about how things worked as well, and Sergei covers so many topics. I don't recall any time he seemed to ever think the Soviet way of anything was better than in America, but I feel he presents why the Soviet government thought something would be a good idea, but then how it either didn't have the intended effect, or how people would manipulate the system and cause issues that way. The way he gives context of the cost of goods to USD is also greatly helpful and he explains what % of your budget different items would be. It's easy to see how some mundane things could be extremely expensive while a house could be dirt cheap.

All his stories of his childhood adventures are fun too, like trying to get hold of American fashion to try to impress girls, to some of the chores and responsibilities he would have and how things were different when he was with family in the city vs in the countryside. He's a little older than I am, and it makes it fun to compare and contrast our childhoods.