Russia Books

This is the best of a number of books that I have read that discuss the entire region - the writing style is accessible and the amount of information contained is quite comprehensive. Ten of my Hungarian, Slovak and Croatian friends who have borrowed my copy have pronounced it the best book on the region they had read in any language.

Meny and Della Porta have assembled an outstanding collection of political scientists who analyze corruption in European countries that they heidenheknow intimately. They are especially good on e corruption wave that has become publicized in Italy, Spain and other countries of southern Europe. Articles on north European countireds are also valuable

Comprehensive research book, encompassing not only the development of environmental movements in the context of democracy in these two very different societies,but also including an excellent background study.

Good reading for anybody interested in social developments in post state socialist societies.

Hibbert does an excellent job covering the British role in the Crimean War. He provides clear insight into the poor state of the British army at the time, the strategic and tactical considerations and dilemmas of the Crimean campaign, and the delicate diplomacy involved in maintaining a coalition of Brits, French, and Turks. His accounts of the battles of Balaclava and Inkerman are particularly engrossing and he sensitively conveys the confusion and waste of both battles. As the title suggests, the central figure in the book is Lord Raglan, whose reputation was battered by the war. Hibbert cogently and convincingly argues that, while Raglan's staid personality was not ideal for his role, he was in fact a diligent and conscientious commander who was in an impossible position.

This is a reprint of a 1956 English translation of the sparkling 1899 book by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the great revolutionary and founder of the Soviet State. The book is very easy to read for the Western reader who may be unfamiliar with all the names and events mentioned in the text. Progress Publishers, original publishers of the English translation copiously footnote and explain every name, event and foreign phrase which is used in the text. This makes for an easy and delightful read. This book is a must for the library of every student of Russian history.

Diaghilev coming out of Marius Petipas's stronghold on ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia astounded the world with a new form of ballet and took it out into the western world, changing it forever. Great ballets with great artists such as Nijinsky and Pavlova are still unforgetable and formed the foundation of our modern ballet. Diaghilev left us a great legacy.

This inciteful look into the life of Punin is quite a page turner. From references to his affair with Akhmatova to reflections on the politics of the time, the diaries provide a rare chronicle of the early Soviet era. The tactful translation is smooth and easy to comprehend. Jennifer Greene Krupala is a very talented translator and does great justice to the diaries of Nikolay Punin; it is obvious that she has a deep understanding of the work and a strong command of the Russian language.

I am a WWII buff. I specifically like to read true stories about personal experiences during the war. This story is like none I have ever heard before---and told by actual diary entries and from the remembrances of the "mad Russians" son. It was fascinating, and I can envision it as a great movie---with the right director. This WWII hero had an amazing background in pre revolutionary Czarist Russia and ends up as an American who then becomes the only civilian to captain an American tank in the war. And what he does with it is beyond belief. Read this fascinating story!

It is the unique multilingual dictionary of Medical Plants, in which one there are Russian equivalents (other dictionaries I did not find). The dictionary is very convenient by that if not know of Russian equivalent to English or on the contrary, always it is possible to use the Latin term.

This is an absolutely critical sourcebook for any student of Russian art, including post Revolutionary Impressionism and Socialist Realism. It has critical biographies of a huge number of Russian artists. No one should invest in Russian art without this book.