Russia Books

Well written and astute, Katya Jung (Cathy Young) did an outstanding job of capturing life in the former Soviet Union in the 70's and 80's.

It is a shame this book went out of print so quickly. The author was a fresh, naive immigrant at the time, with perhaps a tendency to engage in a cliche or two but with a very witty turn of phrase. She acknowledged upfront the fact that her experience in Moscow--one that included a nanny, summers at a dacha and in Latvia, and a father with an important job with Melodiya who seemed very wise to the ways of politics--differed from those of the average schoolgirl. Those caveats aside, Young (Jung in her native Russian) engages us in a story of a girl growing up as a Jew in Brezhnev's Russia, to some extent aware of the differences in politics amongst adults around her, to some extent just being a kid, ironically learning and performing in her appartment for Mama and Papa "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Lloyd-Weber's "Jesus Christ Superstar." As she discusses her life in a special English school for which she qualified from first grade to tenth, when she emmigrated, the anecdotes she tells of herself and other children are amazing both for their similarity to Western primary and secondary educational experiences, and their differences. One of the more horrific scenes schoolchildren (not the author) become involved in has to do with a hockey game, at night, where many Western tourists are attending. Kids would know that Westerners would have gum, candy, and other treats to hand out, and would, in gestures highly embarrrassing to the Soviet heirarchy, not wanting their populace to have a third world sheen, grab, beg, and run for such treasures. Apparently to stop this from happening, when the hockey game let out and the children were waiting as expected, all lights on the outside of the arena and parking lot were turned off. Deathly screams were heard, but as Young states, it's difficult to know whether anyone was hurt or died because it was never covered in the media. (Young also notes that she felt much safer walking around in New York at night in 1988 than Moscow; the reason people thought there was "no crime" under communism was that it simply didn't get written about. Everyone knew someone who had been mugged, raped, shot, or so forth.)

Many of Young's other stories of school are much more idyllic, learning about the history of Russian literature and poetry, learning about those who went against the system as well as those who were held up as Soviet models. There are the descriptions of the ceremony surrounding school: flowers brought for the teacher on the first of September, the first, second and third graders in their Octoberist scarves, pinned with a tiny gold picture of the baby Vladimir Lenin, the older children in their red and white Pioneer uniforms. Each dual desk accomodated one boy and one girl. Young, flirty female teachers the boys oggled at, and old grouchy teachers. An air raid drill with real air raid masks.

Sprinkle in some great Soviet jokes, a few more anecdotes concerning home, travel, relationships between Katya and her family and friends, and this book becomes not only fascinating but enjoyable to read.

Speaking of jokes, to set up my title....the author lived in the USSR when it was being run by a funny looking guy with very bushy eyebrows named Leonid Brezhnev. To everyday Russians he was known to not speak very well, according to Young...both because it seemed he had marbles in his mouth and because he needed a lot of prompting, and was always seen reading notes up close. Ergo, he is alone in his apartment, the doorbell rings; and Leonid Ilyich slowly pulls out a paper from his pocket and reads "Who....is.....it?" (paraphrased from book).

I did not give the book five stars because I know that while the writer's experience in Russia was exceptional, her experience as a Jew leaving Russia was also exceptional. And with the amount of worldliness she had at that time, she should have known that. I would have liked to have discussed the experiences, for example, of friends she'd made in New York who'd had a more difficult time. Ms. Young talks freely with her school friends about leaving Russia (although she tells them she's going to Israel); I have immigrant friends who were told "we're going on a long vacation; we can't tell you where, and you can't tell anybody" and they didn't, out of fear of the government intervening, even though they had a legal right to leave.

I was lent this book by a friend who grew up in Soviet Russia. The author has done a magnificent job of illustrating what life was like under the communist regime. Soviet Moscow seen through the vivid memories of a young girl is a fascinating and sometimes disturbing place.

I enjoyed the opportunity to be taken inside a different culture and shown around by such a masterful writer. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in first hand accounts of Soviet Russia or biographies that illustrate a different lifestyle. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A friend lent me this book to give me a feel of what her childhood was like. It paints a vivid picture of Soviet Russia seen through the eyes of a young girl. It was a fascinating and insightful read that taught me a great deal about a very different way of life.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Soviet Russia or who likes to read biographies that illustrate a different culture to their own. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Gulag Archipelago is a must read for everyone. It is an amazing and jaw-dropping description of madness and destruction of truly epic proportions. Until one has read such an account, one cannot fully comprehend what Russia's dissidents had to live through - the utter madness of it all, the utter destruction of the State and the utter helplessness of the man or woman caught up in its web !

I have the full three volume set of the Gulag that I read years ago. It is the greatest book ever written. In portraying Communism, as he described as man's inhumanity to man, Solzhenitsyn has an exceptional ability while depicting the excessively cruel treatment of human beings in the Gulag to demonstrate his dignity and the dignity of those who suffered at the hands of their oppressors. The entire book is full of stories of the courage of human beings in the face of such evil. In that way, while depicting the horrible conditions of the Gulag, the book ultimately provides an uplifting message that peace and kindness are enduring human traits that can and do shine through despite overwhelming attempts to erase them. Never has there been a more courageous and humane writer.

This is vintage Solzhenitsyn; his brilliant mind shines forth splendidly. A book that is difficult to put down, places one inside his mind to see what he describes, so much from having spent hours memorizing while in the camps so he could later give us a glimpse of the horror that millions upon millions of human beings endured.

For any who have any nostalgia for the Soviet Union, this book should put it to rest. This book is hard to categorize; it is more than one man's opinion, but less than an objective history. It is, as Solzhenitsyn puts it, "an experiment in literary investigation": a combination memoir and dissertation on the evils of Communism and its inevitable product, the forced labor camp. Some have criticized Solzhenitsyn as an anti-Communist/pro-Western polemicist, but that is not an accurate description. He is a realist, showing not only the faults of Communists, but also those of the West and Western leaders. This should be required reading for European and world history classes. Volume 1 (of 3) describes the arrest and interrogation procedures, as well as life in the Gulag.

I love this book! It's an excellent tool for the classroom when teaching immigration. The kid's really relate to the story and the doodles in the margins make it feel authentic. I highly recommend this book for both teachers and students covering immigration.

We discovered these books when our 1st grader brought Rachel's Journal home from the library. After starting to read it to her, I couldn't put it down. When she had to return it, I went looking on line and bought 4 of the different journals. They are very educational and fun at the same time. It really showed our daughter how a journal can be more than a list of the day's events. THEN I realized the same author did some other books we had, the Amelia's Notebook series. Our daughter is writing in her journal every day now!

Marissa Moss has done it again! In HANNAH'S JOURNAL, as in her other historical diaries, Moss expertly braids fascinating,factual detail with a child's personal story. Hannah's perceptive, poignant voice gives the account of her travels from Lithuania to New York City total freshness and immediacy. I can think of no more enjoyable way to teach history -- the conditions on board a ship in "steerage," the ordeal of Ellis Island, the terrifying, exhilerating experience of starting life in a new country and world. Hannah's (aka Moss') beautifully executed watercolors and drawings also bring Hannah's journey and journal to life. This book is a gem.

Ten-year-old Hannah is a young Jewish girl living with her mother, father, and six brothers in a small Russian shetl in 1901. For her birthday, Hannah is given a journal. She writes witty observations of the world around her and draws clever pictures in the margins. After a violent attack on the Jews in the village, Hannah's parents decide that she should use her dead cousin's never used ticket to America. So with her other cousin, fourteen-year-old Esther, Hannah boards a train for the port and Hamburg, and then a boat for the voyage across the sea. In the face of difficult conditions, Hannah holds on to her dreams of building a better life in America and getting a real education. Highly reccomended if you enjoyed the previous two books in this series, Young American Voices, which is like a younger version of the Dear America series.

You will not sleep well after reading this book...that is how shocking, sad, demented, and torturous the subject and the man of this book is. What a horrible fiend who killed for his own deranged reasons, which are disgusting and terrifying at the same time. Wickedness comes in many places, and this man was truly awful. A very interesting and well-written account.

This book arrived promptly and in good condition. I've not yet read it.

I'm extremely pleased with both the vendor and the product.

Dr. John E. Touchton Sr.

This is the story of Andrei Chikatilo, a sadistic sexual serial killer convicted in Rostov of 53 murders of women and children (although he undoubtedly committed more). Lourie focuses on detective Issa Kostoev, who led the years-long investigation that finally caught Chikatilo, but not before an innocent man was executed for his first murder.

This book provides an interesting insight into the Russian legal system as it struggled to capture Russia's very own "Jack the Ripper."

The subject matter of this book - Andrei Chikatilo - is extremely interesting, though unbelievably dark, and the book itself lives up to the task. Chikatilo was one of the most terrible serial killers in history, with 53 official victims (and a few unofficial ones more), and certainly one of the most savage and furious. Here is a man who had orgasms while mutilating genitals and used his knife as some sort of [...]replacement, not to mention the rest.

What I especially appreciated in the book is how is the narrative is shared between the killer and those looking for him, more especially Issa Kostoev, the man in charge of arresting the "Rostov Ripper". As the title of the book suggests, you will learn quite some interesting things about how the pursuit of this killer was led, and what kind of problems the hunting had to face; and that will be quite stunning. Corruption, treason, base sexual desires, etc, etc. While hunting for the Devil, there will be many demons on the way: police officers abusing their functions to beat and rape arrested people, all sorts of mentally challenged perverts thought to be potential killers, etc. The whole thing has a feeling of intense dystopia and is quite stunning.

Both lives this book is concerned with, Issa Kostoev and Andrei Chikatilo, are cast against a background of falling empire, as the USSR slowly went to its demise. It's almost eerie how Chikatilo's own fall coincides with that of the Soviet Block. It's very interesting, because in a way, it all begins with it, and ends with it. Kostoev, as a child, suffered from Stalin's unjust removing and persecution of his whole people (in which he lost many a sibling) and Chikatilo as a child had to go through hard times too (though not quite comparable).

Richard Lourie does a great job of not only exposing the facts of the affair (and he had a ton of document for this, as well as having been with Issa Kostoev personally, attending Chikatilo's trial, having all the documents of the case, including audio-tapes and all) but also in putting all of it in perspective and giving the reader a good insight of Russia and of a society not quite functioning, and changing. The reader is made to follow Kostoev in that long pursuit of that demonic killer which took many years, and many lives.

The writing is gripping; I read the whole book in two readings, reading for 5 hours each time or so. This is truly the best kind of "true crime" I have read, because it does not lose itself into cheap novelisation while suing narrative devices to shape the whole thing into a convincing and riveting book.

I haven't read any other book on Andrei Chikatilo, but this one is definitely a classic on that killer, if only for the documents available to the author, who speaks Russian and knows Russian culture, a fact that is very important and whose impact you can feel reading the book.

The range covered here is impressive: the killer, the dysfunctions of the system, the life of Kostoev as he pursues Chikatilo, Russia, history, etc. It's always relevant and very informative. However, none of these overshadow the gruesomeness of the killings, and you won't be spared details, so not a book for the faint-hearted.

Most definitely one of the best books of the kind, and undoubtedly among the very best books on Chikatilo, if not the best.

John's story is well written and informative, explaining the details of life in slave labor prison camps as well as it's impact on a person brought up in a free society. The writer further details the thoughts and philosophic struggles of himself and his fellow prisoners, giving faces to the faceless millions. This book could be used as a manual for communist slave labor camp survival or a picture of what happens to the mind of someone enslaved.

my grandfather was a Latvian POW in Vorkuta with John Noble-
He helped my grandmother by relating his story because
she had managed to get to America and he was in Vorkuta though she was not sure if he was even alive. Must read. Great man.

I have read both of Mr Noble's books. I am amazed to learn that he is still alive in Dresden. What a fantastic story!

I am American who lives in Dresden Germany. I had the great pleasure of meeting John Noble today at his home here in Dresden. We talked for about 3 hours about his life and views on the world today. He is the most fascinating person I have ever met. If you ever get to read one of his books, I'm sure you be very please with his insight and wisdom.

This is a well paced, well crafted book about diamonds and deceit. This is the second book by Robin White that I have read, it will not be the last.

Briefly, the IMF is coming to inspect 4 millon carats of diamonds that are pledged for a loan. The problem is the diamonds have been leaking out of Russia for over a year and the supposed diamond cache is missing. Now the bodies start dropping over dead.

Mr. White writes from a vast knowledge of Russia and sets his story against an authentic background. The tone and texture of the novel captures the Siberian cold, the heartless Gulag and the great warmth of the Russian heart.

This is a fabulous book.

I won't dwell on plot since the professional reviews have done that. Rather, I'd like to focus on White's ability as a writer to construct an intricate plot built around his experiences and knowledge of Russia, especially Siberia. In each of his books, we learn quite a bit about the Russian political landscape, and about Siberia in particular. While his plots are top notch, his characters are well fleshed-out and "typically Russian". In every successful novel set in Russia, there is an ambience which distinguishes it from any other type of novel. It's that feeling of hope without hope, that bleakness of landscape paralleling the Russian soul, which nevertheless survives all the stronger for the strife it has been subjected to. Robin White is the master of that landscape and I await his next effort with much anticipation.

Why are there some authors and books that seem to be admired by writers, yet have not found a wider audience, even with two solid books. Robin White is such a writer. No fancy review here...just the promise that no one who enjoys intelligent thrillers would be disappointed with Ice Curtain. Belongs in a class of Robert Wilson (Small Death in Lisbon, Company of Strangers) Craig Shelton (River Sorrow) who are turning out first class thrillers but to my knowledge have fallen short of the top 15.

This book is excellent-- tight,intelligent, warm-hearted, cynical yet hopeful, smart, yet tragic. Not the Demille thrill a minute, but a compelling, readable pace. Russia is the true character here. Read it. You'll pass it along. You'll be putting your imprimatuer here next.

In 1999 Irkutsk, Siberia, Siberian Delegate Arkady Volsky persuades his friend, former geologist Gregori Nowek to accompany him to Moscow. Arkady plans to demand that the Chairman of the State Diamond Committee Petrov pays the Mirny miners for their work. In Moscow, Gregori is late for the meeting in which Petrov tells Gregori he has not sold any diamonds recently due to a feud with the western cartel. Arkady threatens to ruin Petrov through his connection to Yeltsin.

Gregori arrives in time to see Arkady assassinated. He is arrested for his friend's murder. FSB major Izrail Levin has evidence proving Gregori's innocence, but instead cuts a deal. In order to remain free, Gregori must cooperate on the homicide investigation that soon takes them to an icy conspiracy involving diamonds and potentially cold deaths.

In spite of the climate, Robin White's latest Russian thriller, THE ICE CURTAIN, is a heated tale that never slows down. The story succeeds because the key characters feel genuine and make the conspiracy appear so matter of fact real. Anyone who enjoys a conspiracy tale or a solid police procedural will gain immense pleasure from this novel and want to read Mr. White's previous Russian story, SIBERIAN LIGHT.

Harriet Klausner

The IL-2 series was the most successful and numerous ground attack aircraft of WW2. The IL-2 was infact the A10 of it's day. This title while ostensibly about the Guard units actually reads as a battle history of the IL2 aircraft, it's development and the evolution of it's combat roles.

The IL-2 had a reputation for being able to survive serious damage and there are plenty of photos in the book which demonstrate this. One in particular show's how the Pilot's rear head armour stopped two 20mm cannon rounds. From the summer of 1942 the addition of rear gunners also alleviated losses.

The IL-2's effectiveness was also due to it's weapon systems; a mix of cannon, rockets and bombs. The anti armour PTAB bomb's were very effective, especially when used in large numbers.
The Il-2 truly became a nightmare for the Germans from 1943 onwards as the Soviets were able to achieve local air superiority and improvements in pilot training, ground organisation and forward air control took effect.

The IL-2 could also catch out the unwary Luftwaffe fighter pilot who was in danger not only from the rear gunner but also from the IL-2's main guns if the fighter overshot on it's attack run.

Oleg Rastrenin has managed to pack in an incredible amount of information into this 96 page title . He also has a great writing style which is not only informative but also enjoyable to read. Many of the operation's flown by the IL-2 squadron's and tactic's used are described and individual crews named.
While Osprey titles can vary wildly in quality this is definitely one of their very best and I would highly recommend it.

My only minor criticism of the book would be that the plates have a slightly washed out look. An illustration of the revised battle tactics in use would have been nice too.
Also in the line drawings the IL-2 M-82 is shown but no description or use of this aircraft is given. I've not seen this aircraft before and would be interested to know more about it.

During WWII, Russian air force units that had particularly distinguished themselves in combat were awarded the 'Guards' title. Oleg Rastrenin's new volume for Osprey, #71 in their 'Combat Aircraft' series, traces those IL-2 units who received this most coveted award. IL-2 SHTURMOVIK GUARDS UNITS OF WORLD WAR 2 really lifts the lid off Russian Air Force combat in WWII to show readers some incredibly brave men in action.

As revealed in Rastrenin's book, it took horrendous IL-2 losses before VVS Shturmovik units developed effective ground-attack tactics. The book is replete with countless missions where poorly-trained IL-2 crews, usually without fighter escort, hurled themselves at Axis forces only to be slaughtered by flak and Luftwaffe aircrews. Initially developed as a two-seater, the IL-2's rear gunner position was dropped due to the design's poor performance, a decision that only increased the IL-2's vulnerability. Nevertheless, as documented in Rastrenin's book, the IL-2 was eventually transformed into an aircraft hated and feared by Axis ground forces, an aircraft labelled 'Black Death.'

'Combat Aircraft #71' certainly offers a fascinating account of IL-2 units - in this case Guards units - in action. You can't help but admire the courage and determination of the Shturmovik pilots and gunners even as you're saddened by the terrible losses they suffered. Rastrenin's books gives endless examples of why Stalin declared that "the Red Army needs the IL-2 as it needs air and bread."

The book features 80 black & white photographs of aircrews, aircraft, destroyed Axis equipment, etc. (Some of the photos that show flak-damaged IL-2s that made it back to base have to be seen to be believed). Along with four-views of various IL-2 models, eight pages of color profiles by Andrey Yurgenson illustrate the Shturmovik in all its glory.

Though I gave the book five stars, I do have two criticisms. First, in too many cases Rastrenin does not present actual German losses suffered in IL-2 attacks as opposed to what the Shturmovik crews claimed. Second the narrative sometimes reads like a textbook, being on the turgid side.

That said, there simply is no other book available offering aviation enthusiasts such an authoritative, comprehensive account of Guards units in action. Highly recommended.
*****

IL-2 fans should check out Yefim Gordon's wonderful IL-2/IL-10 book for Crowood Press and Hans-Heiri Stapfer's earlier book for Squadron/Signal.

As indicated in the title, this is a well researched, well written book on a fairly little-known subject. As one who's interested in WW2 aviation and the European theater specifically, i found this book to give a great introduction to both the aircraft and the aircrews of the Soviet Union. The book contains a decent intro to the concept of Russia's ground attack theories and preliminary testing of the Il-2s. Many full color drawings of various planes from the course of the war as well as particular pilot's machines are included. There is a nice balance of personal aircrew stories along with tactics and the larger strategic use of Soviet airpower in the defeat of Nazi Germany. The pilots and gunners of these planes suffered terrible losses in their battles but ultimately won the war. This is a great book for those wanting to understand more about the Russian side of WW2 as well as modelers needing great pictures of Il-2's.

This unique pictorial book brings to us in detail a largely unknown aircraft of World War II that greatly helped defeat Hitler and his invading armies. The Il-2 Shturmovik was the workhorse of the Soviet Airforce and raised havoc with the German and their allied Axis forces invading the USSR and occupying Eastern Europe. One time during the war it was said that one of the factories in the Soviet Union which produced the famous ground attack aircraft fell behind in its production of IL-2's and Stalin himself issued a final warning to them, ordering them to produce their expected level or numbers of production or face dyre consequences. This aircraft was so versatile and their crews became so experienced they were credited with actually shooting down German and other Axis fighters in dogfights, which in military aviation is a miracle. This ground attack aircraft relentlessly followed the Nazi enemy into their capital Berlin, causing them devastating losses. It was also dubbed "The Flying Tank".
I highly recommend this pictorial book to all military aviation enthusiasts and historians. It shows us in detail this previously little known Russian military aircraft.

The Russian Mob is second perhaps only to the Italian mob in notoriety. "Investigating the Russian Mafia: An Introduction for Students, Law Enforcement, and International Business" is a guide using the Russian mafia as a model for study of a criminal organization. Joe Serio is a man with much experience in Russia and has served in its law enforcement prior to the fall of the Soviet Union. His study is excellent material for anyone looking to best understand the world of organized crime. "Investigating the Russian Mafia" is informative and educational reading, highly recommended for community library and college library Criminology collections.

This review is not going to be long and drawn out. Quite simply this is the best book I have read dealing with the Russian mafia. It deals very extensively with Mr. Serio's experiences in the former Soviet Union. The only thing better then reading this book would be to take one of his classes or attend one of his lectures. Either way, this is a must for anyone wanting to take a look into the rising global power that is the Russian mafia. Enjoy, and buy two copies! It makes a great gift if you've got organized crime investigators as friends.

WHAT IF SCENARIOS

Joseph Serio is no neophyte when it comes to the obfuscation of Soviet and Russian crime and justice statistics. His internship tenure at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and his earlier book, USSR Crime Statistics and Summaries: 1989 and 1990, (OICJ Press, 1992) provide critical insights into the processes of compiling, replication and analysis of crime statistics by the Communist and post-Communist governments. It is clear that the central dilemma of what we know - or think we know - about the Russian mafia is intimately connected to the business of the production and consumption of information (impression management). This book is not your standard remuneration of comparative statistics and turgid didactic of comparative crime. Rather, it launches into a cognitive challenge at deciphering historical demographics, national character, culture, mores and, importantly, how to create what if scenarios in the quest of defining and better understanding both the Western purview and the Russian mafia of today. This book is one of the finest examples of contextualizing the content and embodiment of Russian Mafia available. It belongs on the desk of every dedicated analyst, researcher, and critical essayist studying the gut and underbelly of organized crime in the context of our post-modern times.

Jess Maghan, PhD
Chester, CT

This is an important book, not only because it tells us something about the state of affairs in Russia, but also because it gives insight into things popular history is content to pass over. We like labels and select details that fit comfortable paradigms. We want bite-sized stories of human drama from the media that fit, rather than question, our preconceived notions. But history is messier than this and books should go beyond the obvious. They are a chance to get it right. That's exactly what Joe Serio tries to do. He lived in the former Soviet Union for seven years witnessing the country and culture form many different angles. He was the only American to work in the Organized crime Control Department of the Soviet police and has been a consultant to "The New York Times," "The Washington Post," CNN and the BBC. He also played harmonica in a Russian rock `n roll band.

As comprehensive as this book is (with footnotes, flow charts and a thorough index) it is very readable. It is divided into three parts. The first deals with the term "mafia" as applied to the Soviets, the nature and number of crime groups in that country, and the role of the media. Part two examines key issues in the rise of criminal organizations and gives some perspective from the past 400 years that helps us understand the long-term context of the problem. Part three takes a close look at criminal organizations, business, and law enforcement--three spheres inextricably linked in a struggle for power in Russia. I love it when the author says, "There's little in the former Soviet Union that can't be found in the West including organized crime, extensive corruption, fraud, demoralizing poverty and biased media." In other words a look at this other side of the world also gives us a glimpse in the mirror at ourselves.

He explains that in the Russian language, there are two different adjectives for what appears in English as the single word "Russian." The first, "russkii," means humble, homely, sacred--it is definitely feminine. The second, "rossiiskii," is grandiose, cosmopolitan and secular--it is masculine. This latter term stems from nationhood formed by empire building. We Americans (who are pretty good at heart) understand this dichotomy, particularly when our own country is disdained by others because of its role as superpower and self-proclaimed enemy of terrorism. An idealistic, military role our political leaders embrace that seems at odds with the less presumptuous values of the "common man." In any case, Serio's point in addressing the "mafia" label is that, "the invasion of the mafia that was spoken of so often was really a cancer that grew from within the rotting body of the host organism." It is precisely the country's flawed structure that makes crime in the former Soviet Union so dangerous: "The major problem was that the rules of the mafia-like Communist Party and the rules of the traditional criminal world became the rules of the whole society."

I can remember in the early seventies visiting Sofia, Bulgaria, and seeing first hand the godfather-like authority of party officials extending far beyond the governmental system or their official positions. Why wouldn't that remain and, in fact, assume even greater importance when the political structure collapsed? And so the criminal underworld and the criminal upperworld started to merge. Of course that kind of oppression knows no boundaries, and it seems to me the only way to fight it is to more thorough better understanding. The Soviet Union was never a superpower. It had military strength but not the infrastructure (that was sacrificed to build that military strength). It was convenient for our politicians to identify those people as "the enemy" but various populations of the USSR were (and continue to be) its victims. Rather than a cut and dried, the good vs. the bad scenario, players today are "hopelessly entangled in a game where the line between legality and illegality is far from clear."


I don't know what that means for businesses, tourists, and even governments who now interact with that part of the world, but comprehending the past, understanding the larger context of existing problems and appreciating the things that keep us in ignorance of one another, is a start.

The book was received timely and in good condition. I am enjoying the art work. The book is verything I expected to be, very abstract.

Normally I do not read art books, for art tends to speak for itself.

My wife bought this one in response to remarks I had made in an art boutique in Maui about a Miles Davis painting we saw there. The comment, the same one I made on other occasions upon seeing similar paintings by Ornette Coleman, Calman Shemi and Wasssily Kandinsky was that "I could hear the paintings much better than I could see them."

Shemi actually has a series of painting, fittingly called "Jazz" - and if you do not think about them too hard, you can actually hear the music in them.

I suppose since there are no art books about Miles, Ornette, or yet even about Shemi, the next best thing was for her to get me one about Wassily Kandinsky, known to be my favorite artist. And speaking of books about heroes, never was I more disappointed than by Miles' own book "Decoy," whose title could not have been more prophetic as it was not so much about his music as it was a decoy deflecting one from Miles' music and focusing on how Miles - even deep into his fifties - seemed still obsessed with remaining a "hip East St. Louis inner city thug." And while "Decoy" certainly cut Miles down to human size, nothing can ever erase the impact of his musical genius and legacy. Miles, whatever else, were his failings, did for music what Kandinsky spent a lifetime trying to do for painting: He freed American music from its rigidly imposed aesthetic structural strait-jacket of time and chordal discipline, in one fell swoop.

His "Kind of Blue," is such a pure expression of musical yearning for freedom; such a pure expression of musical genius, such a pure stretching of the boundaries of musical form, and such a pure stripping away of social orthodoxy, that it alone serves as a transcendental model for yearnings for freedom that go far beyond the bounds of music or even the arts. We are unlikely to see one musical piece have such a profound impact on the psyche of a culture repeated ever again.

What a surprise it was to discover in this volume by Ulrike Becks-Morlarney, that Kandinsky was nothing if not a frustrated musician, using his palette of colors as a musician would use a horn: to express his emotions through the visual modalities of color, light and his own understated and reorganized idea of form. Kandinsky does so with the same freedom from the rigidity of structural orthodoxy as that expressed by Jazz musicians such as Coleman, Coltrane, Monk and Davis. And while any description of what was going on in his head has to be a vast oversimplification, it is not too much of an exaggeration to suggest that Kandinsky was a "revolutionary musician" with a paintbrush, an easel and a palette of colors, rather than a horn.

And just as Miles staged a quiet musical revolution with the album "Kind of Blue," one that overthrew a half-century of musical orthodoxy, Kandinsky, who gave up Law at the late age of 30, also staged a quiet revolution again the established orthodoxy of painting at the turn of the 19th Century. Both of these syn-esthetic trailblazers had keen cross-modal sensitivities and sensibilities, and could smell, feel, see and hear across and well beyond the established aesthetic boundaries. Both used these heightened sensitivities and sensibilities to burrow beneath the established orthodoxy so as to better upend it.

And upend it they did.

While Miles' used "structural understatement," "rhythmic nuance," and "tonal finesse" to get his abstracted musical message across, Kandinsky used "overstatement," "boldness," and "surprise" to communicate to us abstractly through colors, light and form. Miles' muted trumpet "tip-toed" across the musical canvas like "walking on egg shells," while Kandinsky's bold colors and angular lines "shocked and awed" the old representational objects and their representations motifs back into the closet somewhere well "off the stage" of the canvas.

And while there is a great deal that is both comic and tragic about the lives of both of these "larger-than-life" artistic geniuses, what provides the common thread between them is their relentless single mindedness yearning for freedom from mindless and repetitive orthodoxy. In the end their goals were the same: to free art (and by extension people) from the shackles of conventional orthodoxy and mindless constrictions. Taschen has produced an enduring masterpiece of artistic biography here. It summarizes in the most exquisite way the essence of the man, Wassily Kandinsky Five stars.

"The artwork is composed of two elements. The inner and the outer. The inner element, regarded individually, is the emotion that feels the artist' s soul . That emotion is capable to provoke a parallel emotion in the spectator. Generally, while the soul remains bounded to body, only the vibrations will be able to be attracted though the sensation. Hence, the sensation is a bridge from the materialness toward material (artist) and vice versa (spectator). Emotion-Sensation-Work-Sensation- Emotion." (Wassily Kandinsky)

Wassili Kandinski represents by far, one of the highest peaks in what concerns the reinvention and redefinition of art, deeply worried about Theosophy, inaugurated several artistic movements in pursuit of new forms of expression. Indeed, his memories from Moscow, his unforgettable impressions from the childhood, generated a vigorous inner creator impulse that would become a true driving force.

The text describes with zealous detail, his metamorphoses in Munich since 1896 to 1911, his decisive meet with Gabriele Munter, his settlement in Murnau, as well as his breakthrough toward the abstraction "The blue rider" his interlude in Russia 1914-1921, his fruitful period in Bauhaus 1922-1933 until his last stage: the bio-morph abstraction in Paris 1934-1944.

That febrile disposition respect the perpetual innovation, the same fact he could live in worlds so opposite (October 1917, respect the new tendencies of Paris and Munich as gravity centers of fevered proposals), the sharp contrast between tradition and innovation, the breakthrough of so many paradigms, the Fauvism, Cubism, Impressionism, Constructivism, enlivened in his soul the imperious necessity to transcend the Halls of his art and thence, his concerns for publishing and divulgating his standpoints.

His life was a worthy example of Camus statement. "To create is to live twice" and this book provides of a very ordered sequence, every one of his different stages of transformation.

Highly recommended.

Ulrike Becks-Malorny has brought recent perspectives on Kandinsky's career to further light with this new biography.

The density of the layout is phenomenal: so much is crammed into this volume it is almost unbelievable. It includes many plates in colour and numerous documentary photographs.

The handsome large format paperback begins with his artistic life in Munich, in the process showing many of his earliest impressionist, fauvist and folk inspired paintings, photographs and sketches, lino- and woodcuts, etchings and drawings never seen before.

Most illustrations are captioned with insightful comments about the work and matters of relevant historic interest.

It also shows how his work developed in dialogue with other artists, architects and musicians of his era, especially the Jugendstil artists, Gabriele Munter and other Blaue Reiter painters, Paul Klee, Adolf Hoelzel, Kasimir Malevich and Alexander Rodchenko.

My only problem with the book is in the non-justified text and choice of font in Times Roman, which in this particular leading, is not the easiest typeface to scan these days.

Katyn was Stalin's cultural assination of the Polish people. Allen Paul weaves a masterful tale combining geopolitical background and personal experiences. His detailed research and interviews with actual particpants are woven into a compelling narrative. The reader experiences the full impact of dislocation and ethnic cleansing first hand. This is my grand parents story...My grandfather Karol Dziedzic was a Katyn officer. This is my parents story. This is my story. The story I never was able to get fully told.....probably because of the pain my parents felt in reliving the years of suffering. I was born in the camp near Karachi(then India). Finally I know the whole truth. Thank you Mr. Paul!!

This book discusses key post-Soviet archival discoveries and discusses a critical historical issue -- the COORDINATION OF THE GESTAPO AND NKVD in liquidating the Polish elites as part of the 1939 Pact and invasion. That was more than enough to get me intrigued enough to buy this book. There's a lot more that I learned from the author's research -- even as an analyst in this field (former, now with the Cold War over).

The world still knows very little about the Katyn Massacre, and until recently many people believed that the massacre had been committed by the Germans, so effective was the propaganda machine of the Soviet Union and its supporters and collaborators the worldover. Today we know the truth. The other major event was Great Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33, instituted by Stalin and the communist regime, which the Soviet government was able to keep hidden for decades, and which is only now beginning to be acknowledged.

Yes. The Katyn massacre is a grim reminder of what the Soviet Union and its supporters and sympathizers were all about. Like the Great Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33, the Katyn Massacre has been kept hidden by the Soviet Union until its disintegration. Both are still not widely known - unlike the Jewish Holocaust. Far too little information has been brought to light on either subject. More needs to be done. "Katyn" is a must book for those who want to understand the brutality of the former Soviet Union.