Russia Books

I can definately see why this book is a classic. Dostoyevesky writes with such intelligence and skill. It is as if you are viewing a murder from the mind of the murderer. It is a page turner. For anyone who HAD to read it when you were younger, please read it again for fun. It so interesting to read. This traslation comes with some helpful tips and is a very convenient size. I highly recommend this book, as well as this version.

This book is excellent but readers should take the time to read the Translator's Preface before jumping in. This will help to understand the names of the characters and other nuances that apply to a book translated from another language. The book is about redemption. It's worth the effort to get through it. I woud not have understood or appreciated the book in my youth.

This book is an honest and straight-forward account of one American's experience. The journal entries within the book provide vivid images of Armenia and the "tourist" struggling with the erosion of his cultural safety net.

Johnson's grasp of the difficulties of adjusting to a foreign culture is excellent and moving. This is based on his experience as a community consultant in Armenia, during one of that countries most difficult periods in history--immediately after the Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Through his journals and thorough analysis, I felt like I was there with him! Anybody preparing to travel abroad, or professionals training in social work or other services should read this before going on.

This is a very thorough and insightful book on NATO and its predicaments

This is a great book written by my professor. I think Mr. Gardner is a great writer who know his subject inside out.

Robert Marcum is an excellent author who keeps the action and suspense at maximum in his novels. "Death of a Tsar" was wonderful and if you like that one, another wonderful book by Marcum is "The Orlov Legacy". I get so involved in his books it feels like I am part of the action. Absolutely a must read for anyone who enjoys good suspense!

Robert Marcum does an excellent job in his fourth novel. He is a professor at Ricks College and teaches Russian studies. This book takes an American businessman to Russia ,who gets tangled up with a package that has ties to the Imperial Tsar. It will keep you in suspense never knowing what is going to happen next. The list of characters becomes complex, enough so, that the author gives you a list in the beginning of the book as to who the characters are. It is written by an LDS author, and the main character in the book is an LDS person. But it crosses over to anyone who loves a great book!

M. Steven Fish hat Neuland beschritten, indem er erstmals die eigenartige Entwicklung russischer unabhängiger sozialer und politischer Gruppierungen in der Sowjetunion unter Gorbatschow in eine komparatistische Rahmentheorie eingebettet hat. Die Enstehung einer unabhängigen Zivil- und politischen Gesellschaft in Rußland ist zuvor schon zahlreich dokumentiert und beschrieben worden. Explizite und umfassende Erklärungsschemata für die zunächst stürmische Parteiengenese von ca. 1989 bis 1991, allerdings später immer deutlicher werdendere Fragilität dieser neuen politischen Landschaft sind bisher jedoch kaum vorgelegt worden. Zur Begründung der spektakulären organisatorischen Ineffektivität, programmatischen Abgehobenheit und ideologischen Haarspalterei der vielen neuen russischen Parteien der frühen 1990er sind bislang wenig mehr als fragwürdige Spekulationen über den unmündigen Nationalcharakter der Russen oder über die Auslöschung ihrer politischen Kultur durch das bis zuletzt "totalitäre" Regime hervorgebracht worden. Fish liefert hier ein wesentlich differenzierteres Bild und schildert mit viel Empathie und theoretischer Finesse, warum die erste Welle der Parteineugründungen von 1988 bis 1991 zum Scheitern verurteilt war.
Zwei wohldurchdachte Argumente stechen aus Fishs Begründung heraus. Erstens weist er darauf hin, daß die sogenannten "Neformaly" (wörtlich: Informellen) - also die eigentlich verbotenen, aber nichtsdestostrotz geduldeten neuen politisch und sozialen Gruppen - der zweiten Hälfte der 1980er und die neuen Parteien der frühen 1990er im Prozeß ihrer grundsätzlichen Identitätsfindung und politischen Selbstverortung nur beschränkt auf tradierte Handlungs- und Denkmuster, wie etwa auf den Hintergrund einer Dissidentenbewegung, zurückgreifen konnten. Anders als in den Ländern Ostmitteleuropas, spielten Dissidentennetzwerke und andere alternative nichtstaatliche Institutionen nur eine beschränkte Rolle im politischen Leben der UdSSR vor 1985. Die sich selbst oft explizit als "Parteien" bezeichnenden neuen Gruppierungen mußten somit bei der Formulierung ihrer politischen Ziele, Programmatik und Rolle im gesellschaftlichen Leben des Landes tatsächlich bei Null - "from scratch" - anfangen. Damit war ihr Reifungsprozeß in gewisser Hinsicht demjenigen der neuen, ebenfalls traditionslosen und lange organisatorisch ineffektiven Grünen Parteien Westeuropas der 1970er-1980er in mancher Hinsicht ähnlich. Die neuen russischen "Parteien" waren in ihrer Anfangsphase somit oft keine vollentwickelten Parteien im herkömmlichen Sinne, also pragmatische, um politische Macht ringende Organisationen. Sie sollten dies zunächst auch in erster Linie gar nicht sein. Vielmehr dienten die "Parteien" und ihre häufigen und langandauernden Kongresse und Konferenzen zunächst als Foren einer ideel-politischen Selbstvergewisserung der einzelnen Mitglieder, der kollektiven Identitätsbestimmung nach innen sowie der Abgrenzung gegenüber politischen Konkurrenten nach nach außen. Häufige Spaltungen und eine Aversion gegenüber Verschmelzung mit ideologisch nahestehenden anderen Gruppierungen waren die Folge. Prominentestes Beispiel war das vom Westen mit viel Bedauern beobachtete Scheitern der Vereinigung der Republikanischen und Sozial-Demokratischen Partei Rußlands. Obwohl beide Parteien ideologisch nahezu deckungsgleich waren und den offensichtlichen organisatorischen Nutzen des zunächst ernsthaft anvisierten Zusammengehens scheinbar verstanden, spielte die Wahrung der neugewonnenen Identität eine letztendlich größere Rolle als politische Pragmatik. Die aus der Demokratischen Plattform der KPdSU hervorgegangene Republikanische Partei wollte ihre neugewonnene Selbstidentifikation als progressive Avantegarde der intellektuellen Elite des Sowjetstaates nicht aufgeben. Die SDPR ihrerseits wollte ihren Status als alternative linke, explizit oppositionelle Partei ohne KPdSU-Vergangenheit nicht aufs Spiel setzen.
Die zweite Besonderheit der russischen Transformation war, daß eine breit angelegte Demokratisierung auf Landesebene noch vor dem Abschluß einer Reihe elementarer Liberalisierungsmaßnahmen einsetzte. Anders als in den Transitionen in Südeuropa, Lateinamerika oder Ostasien hatten politisch ambitionierte Persönlichkeiten in Rußland die Chance, sich insbesondere in Legislativorgane verschiedener Ebenen wählen zu lassen, noch bevor oder schon kurz nachdem sie die Möglichkeit erhalten hatten, sich politische zu organisieren. Nach der Wahl einiger der bekanntesten russischen Demokraten in die Volksdeputiertenkongresse sowie Regional- und Stadtsowjets beziehungsweise sogar in Exekutivorgane (Jelzin, Popow, Sobtschak) waren diese wichtigen Führer weitgehend für den Aufbau einer unabhängigen Zivilgesellschaft und Parteienlandschaft verloren. Und dies, obwohl die UdSSR und RSFSR Deputiertenkongresse und Sowjets zumindestest bis zum August 1991 in ihren Kompetenzen beschränkt waren und somit eher als Sprechtribüne für verschiedene politische Kräfte, denn als relevante Entscheidungsorgane fungierten.
Fishs fruchtbare Kombination einer Vielzahl von sowjetologischen und komparatistischen theoretischen Erkenntnissen mit gründlichen Vor-Ort-Recherchen und teilnehmenden Beobachtungen stellt zweifellos einen Meilenstein in der Aufarbeitung der neuen russischen Revolution am Ende dieses Jahrhunderts dar.

"Democracy from Scratch" explains, in theory and anecdote, why Russian politics were so confused around 1993. It is a special historical document -- and was quite an influence on me personally (in the form of a semester's worth of lectures) because Steven Fish was my senior thesis advisor.

This book is a gem. Eschewing the conventional historical narrative/survey approach, the author weaves a tapestry of anecdotes and vignettes tied to events and artifacts, thus creating a fascinating historical pastiche of the Caspian region. This book is a particular achievement in how it manages to reveal Iran's (Persia's) view of itself -- its role and relationships with other players in the region's power politics through the centuries. Mirfendereski, in an erudite but engaging writing style, provides not only interesting information but a nuanced glimpse into a world view.

This is a good read. For those who know the Caucasus and Central Asia, it is a fascinating look at the rivalry betwwen the Tsars of Russia and the Shahs of Iran over almost three centuries. For international oilmen concerned with petroleum development in the Caspian, it is must reading. Furthermore it is timely because of the discussion of Afghanistan in the history of Iran. And finally, for those who lived and travelled in Iran, it is a return to a beautiful nostalgia that is, alas, no more.

Ella writes what she remembers about her childhood and gives us a chance to understand what life was like for a girl dealing with World War II and the aftermath. The details of everyday life help you understand what it took to survive. She writes with honesty and gratitude for those who helped her. It is an inspiring story. God is good - all the time!

I think this was a great book. It answers alot of unasked and unanswered questions. It also talks about the effects of war. We met the author at a time share and she gave a talk about the book. She was very interesting to listen to. My Dad read this book too. He agrees with me that she didn't leave anything out. I did wonder why I couldn't get a straight answer from distant relatives where our relatives were from. When a country or state boundary line has moved other places people write on there family tree death or birth record that when the people were born they live in X which is call Y in 2006. I never thought they were not telling the truth because they were afraid the communists would find them.

If you want to read an interesting book about Russia and Germany about WWII this is the book for you. The section about life in America was vivid about living with her parents but when she was more integrated into American life and not living with her parents the information was slimmer. I definitely wouldn't have wanted to live on a cotton plantation in the South.

We were studying immigration in school. So when the novel unit rolled around, I chose this. I loved it at the beginning that her sister saved her from not coming to America. That was so nice.
I think it was a little upsetting there with Blu. :( I feel so sad for her. Also for Zipporah's other sister who was treated like she was JUST because she wanted to marry a Catholic. That was so wrong. It was an excellent read though. I plan to read more of Kathryn's books.

This was the first Dear America diary I ever read, and I love it more than any of the others except A Picture Of Freedom. Perhaps it is because of what I learned in history as a young child about the Second World War, and the Civil War - but I have always had a special feeling about blacks and Jews. At any rate, "Zippy" and Clottee stole my heart. Dreams do come true.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Title: Eagles Over Berlin
Author: Kati Fabian

John and Esther fall in love. It sounds like a simple story line but it is not. John, American pilot during the Second World War, and Esther, survivor of the holocaust, meet at a volatile time in history, and their love supports and carries them through difficult times beyond their control. But this is not just a love story. It is a look into a time in history that few people understand. The Second World War was officially over but the Cold War was in its infancy, during which time, the Soviet Army blockaded West Berlin, an attempt to force communism on over two million people. Esther refused John's offer to escape the difficulties of this time and insisted on making the one decision that she could make on her own. Up until that time, everything that had happened to her was out of her control. She stayed in Berlin to help the cause, while John flew for the Airlift, transporting vital supplies that would save the lives of many in West Berlin.
Author, Kati Fabian's life had been affected by the Cold War years and her interest in finding the truth about a little talked about subject led her to write Eagles Over Berlin. She has filled the pages of this well written novel with facts that few would know, but softens the pain and fear with a love story that transcends the horror. This is a story of love, devastation, optimism and grief. But in many ways, it is an education. This reviewer better understands the workings of the Cold War and highly recommends Eagles Over Berlin to all those interested in learning more about this period of history. We must again make a stand against terrorism and it is heartening to be reminded that with perseverance, teamwork and love, there will be success.

Reviewer: Elaine Fuhr, Allbooks Reviews

As an American participant in the postwar years of Germany, including the period of the Blockade, I was drawn strongly to the descriptions and experiences of the characters in your book.

The book brought back many memories to me of the traumatic times and places described so vividly and yet clearly therein.

I couldn't put it down from the moment I started reading until the very end. Thank you for your memorable story.

Charles A. Bearchell, Ph.D.
Executive Director - German American Cultural Society, Los Angeles
Emeritus Professor, California State University, Northridge