If you consider the meaning of death, you come to the question of Life After Death. But if you put that aside, for now, you have still to consider your own relation to upcoming death, from day to day, irrespective of whether there is immortality or not. Ivan of this tale has a sense of his death because physically he is dying. The philosopher Gurdjieff remarked that man ought to know when he dies: what day, what time, and how. This way, we can live authentically.

Heidegger said that man is a being toward death. His treatment of death is well handled, and Tolstoy's account is the only parallel in literature.

By reading this, you may wake up to your own sense of death. Let's face it: almost none of us realize that we are going to leave this world. We had better come to terms with it, now. And if we knew, as Ivan does, that we will die, we will have an awareness of death in which life gains new "shades of meaning."
But the point is this: you don't need a fatal illnes to have an awareness of death.

Commonly regarded as Tolstoy's third greatest work, "The Death of Ivan Ilych," if not his most famous work is, at the very least, one of the most poignant and powerful short stories ever written. For those who are interested in taking their first leap into the Tolstoy ouvre, perhaps it is better to start with a shorter work. I would suggest this one, because despite its brevity, it packs as powerful a wallop as anything else he wrote.

Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Illych is a short novella, especially in comparison to his magnus opus, War and Peace (or, arguably, Anna Karenina), but far from simple. Complex thoughts and themes are interwoven in the space of time the book covers. It centres around the sudden contemplations of a man doomed to die soon who had never before given death a second thought. At the peak of this dark, existential soliloquy, I felt as if I were on my deathbed, and began to wonder myself...

Tolstoy's biography by Troyat is thoroughly documented, and Tolstoy certainly is an interesting subject for a book. I recommend it for people looking for an authoritative source of information.

However, taken as a book to be read, not referenced, it has serious flaws. The main one, which I find inexcusable, is Troyat's comments throughout the book "explaining" Tolstoy to the reader, and being shocked at Tolstoy's inconsistencies. Troyat will show us a scene where Tolstoy lays down a plan for virtuous conduct in his diary, then breaks his own code. Troyat exclaims: "Paradox! Tolstoy is a strange man, breaking his own code". Well, Mr. Troyat, don't we all?
Then, at another instance, he will characterize, say, Turgenev's judgement of Tolstoy, as "lacking in psychology". Troyat, of course, would have known better. In other words, Troyat doesn't try to erase himself from the book, we see his footprints all over. The book should have been named "Troyat's superior knowledge of Tolstoy".

Another related problem with this book is excessive documentation. We are witness to too many changes of opinion in Tolstoy. For, say, his doubts about his feelings for Sofya Bers, this is revealing, but we are subjected to the same ceremony for each acquaintance made by Tolstoy. The point was well taken from the beginning: Tolstoy changed his opinion of himself and others very often. And again, I don't see this as strange: many people are like that. But by the fourth time I saw Tolstoy meet someone, then write on successive days "Excellent" "Superficial" "Vain" "Far superior to me" etc. I was about to give up on the book. In contrast, we don't see enough of what others thought of Tolstoy, and that is a pity, especially since the book's excessive focus on Tolstoy's inner struggle makes it grey and humorless.

To sum it up: can serve well as a reference book, but not as a novel. Read Tolstoy himself, he is more revealing.

This book is very informative yet reads as lively as a Tolstoy novel. Reading this before, during, or after you read "War and Peace" is very enlightening. Interesting the fact that the author of "War and Peace" struggled with history in school and exclaimed that history was "nothing but a heap of myths and useless, trivial details, sprinkled with dates and names". Other wisdoms include "Bronchitis is an imaginary disease! Bronchitis is a metal!" Highly entertaining. I had to deduct one star due to the fact that there is not one picture in this biography which I find quite odd.

an excellent informative book about tolstoy
most fascinating is his relationship described with Turgenev, doestevosky and later chekov. the ending is a cruel one to him as he describes feeling like a hypocrit as ghandi reads his works as his family fights over the spoils of his estate.

This collection of essays is nothing less than superb.

A great collection of articles by recognised authorities. I got it as a bargain book but would be more than happy to pay full price - or more!

We have heavyweight authors such as William Manchester, Stephen Ambrose, Caleb Carr, John Keegan, and others write essays covering all aspects of World War II in this heavyweight volume of 688 pages. The essays are fairly short so you can put the book down and come back to it later without feeling you have to pick up where you left off. From familiar stories such as the invasion of Normandy to an interesting story on Germany's Black Knight, Field Marshal von Rundstedt and another on General Curtis LeMay will provide you, the reader, with additional information whatever your background on World War II. As mentioned, the book is long, but the essays enable you to break the book up into managable parts so you are able to pioneer your way through it successfully. Don't be intimidated by the length. It is worth the time to wade through it.

At the start, learning why Mr. Leo wrote this book, is what drew me into it. I found it very fascinating to meet a man through his book who began life as a privileged child, but whose life changed as he lived through the difficult times of tremendous change in his homeland (e.g., the Japanese invasion during WW II, the Communist takeover in the 1950s). It greatly enhanced the small amount of historical knowledge I carry with me of that part of our world history. It virtually came to life from the writer's perspective. Mr. Leo's mother often emerges as a hero, certainly Mr. Leo's hero. Nothing wrong with that. Most of us think of one or both of our parents as a hero. Much of what Mr. Leo writes about are his own memories, but without a doubt his mother fed him information over the years that stirred his memories enough to portray them so nicely in the book. Humor, fear, friviolity, trepidation, levity, innocense, love, glee, grief, these are some of the feelings I remember as being created so well by the author. It is to Mr. Leo's credit that he succeeded in finding a new life after leaving his family and his homeland. That took courage and hard work. Can you tell that I liked the book a lot!

A reflective personal account of the priviledged Chinese life changed forever by fluctuating political forces. In the spirit of Amy Tan, this author also demonstrates throughout his story the strength of his mother. She is revealed as a very modern woman for her time, not only taking charge of her husband's business interests but his "other" children as well.

Mr. Leo's Shanghai Remembrance is a worthy addition to the line of Chinese historical family sagas that would include Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth. Mr. Leo shares with the reader his poignant and fascinating family history through the tumultuous times of the first and second World Wars together with the Chinese Communist Revolution and the subsequent Cultural Revolution. Mr. Leo's focus on his family history is expertly interwoven within the historical context. Mr. Leo's artful interplay of his family history against the backdrop of Chinese history is thematically refreshingly subtle. Clearly acknowledging the personal and social ill effect of the Chinese Communist Revolution and painting an unflattering portrait of the devastating Cultural Revolution, Mr. Leo does not overstate his points, which is a pleasant rarity amongst today's authors.

Mr. Leo's writing team paints a vivid canvas of scenery and settings fully availing themselves of the splendors of the English language. These illustrative descriptions combined with fully engrossing characters draws the reader into the novel and makes one feel like a surrogate family member throughout the course of the book. Mr. Leo's complex characters and characterizations are imminently believable and show a depth of perception and understanding. Even the characters which one gets a sense that Mr. Leo's views with disfavor are, nonetheless, also shown in the occasional balanced positive light.

If there is to be any criticism, it would be that the book is too short. One would have liked to read further as to how Mr. Leo's personal history is reflected in his subsequent professional endeavors since arriving in the United States. Such a criticism is indeed a larger compliment as one reaches the last page of his book with sadness wishing for additional chapters; much like not to come to the end of a marvelous read.

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema, Pictures by Leo and Diane Dillion. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1975.

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears is an African folktale which offers a great lesson to be learned by children. The story is about a mosquito who tells a lie to an iguana and annoys the iguana. This sets off a series of events that affects everyone who lives in the forest and the initiation of daylight.

It is an excellent story for a young reader to learn the consquence of telling lies and the detrimental affect it can have on individuals and/or communities. After reading this story to a child parents should ascertain whether the child understood the lesson of this folktale and emphasize how important it is to always tell the truth.

The illustrations in this book are spectacular. Each page is filled with brigthly-colored pictures that will capture the interest of a young child and keep them reading until the very end. The illustrations also correspond directly to the storyline which will give the young reader the ability to glance at the pictures and help them read the printed words.

This is not only a good story for children, but for adults too. The end offers a humorous reason for why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears, and why people shoo them away. This is definitely a good book to keep in every home and school library.

Nancy Paretti

I'll be 30 this year and I remember my father reading this to me when I was a kid. I loved all the different voices he did for the series of animals in it. In fact, I loved it so much that it was one of 3 stories I had my father record himself reading so I could play it for my son whenever he wanted to hear it. If you're looking for a book you can have fun reading, this is a great choice!

The illustrations in this book simply couldn't be more beautiful. It's spectacular to look at, and my son thinks so too. He loves pointing out each of the animals over and over again, commenting on colors and the sun.

The retold African folktale is a great read, a good sequence of events, and a good illustration of logical consequence. My only argument (and this is with interpretation rather than the book itself) is that: a)nobody asks the mosquito what happened and b) what the mosquito tells the igauna in the beginning isn't a lie. It's silly and irrelevant, yes, but she's not lying. The farmer was undoubtably digging up yams bigger than the mosquito. Maybe it's just my sympathy for the underdog here, but I think the mosquito got a bad deal.

Leo Tolstoy is brilliant at expressing and delving to the core of human emotions, his insight into both males and females emotions is exceptional. The different stages of love and the beauty of death. Written in the 1800's and still prevalent today.

I found the stories to linger too long on emotions as the pace grew slower and slower, almost to an irritating halt.

An interesting read, although for the reader with a bit of patience.

This story begins with the death of Ivan Ilych, a well-respected member of the Court of Justice in the late 1800s. The story follows this event by going into flashback, and exposing the significant events that lead up to his death. Ivan Ilych's unsatisfying life primarily consisted of drowning himself into his work, putting up with married life, hosting social dinners, and playing bridge with his friends and colleagues. One of the most crucial events pertains to Ivan Ilych being diagnosed with an illness. This forces him to analyze his way lof living. I really appreciated this specific short story, because it expressed how much a society's views and beliefs can effect an individual's way of life. I highly reccommend this book to everyone.

This is my first Tolstoy book. Excellent, breathtaking, and strinkingly similiar to some people. I read this book as a final assignment in my Medical Ethics class-the reading is short but full of mind tickling content. If you brain is hungry, read this. I now look forward to other Tolstoy greats.

When H Bloom named this his favorite novel, self-styled serious readers found old copies at the Strand until Amazon stocked the book. H Murad is both complex and well-paced, but it is not nearly as strong as Anna Karenin or W&P. Bloom overstated his case.

This is the partially fictionalized account of the last days of Hadji Murad, a renowned and feared Chechen -more precisely, Avar- warrior in 1851-52. Feared by the ruthless Imam Shamil, ruler of Chechens and other Caucasians, Murad is forced to defect yet again to the Russians, who recieve him warmly but suspiciously (he has switched sides before). Murad keeps telling the Russians he won't be of much help unless they support him in getting his family safe and back from the cruel Shamil. Some of them incline to do so, but others fear he might be just spying on them. The action drags on, with no resolution arrived at, until Murad makes his final dash.

As literature, the story is incredibly well written; as background information on the origins of the still-going-on Chechen war, it is priceless. Tolstoi show here his very literary genius: in only 125 pages, he conveys a portrait of many characters, each and every one with his/her own full personality. It is marvelous how Tolstoi can give a whole personality to even the minor characters in a short work.

The depictions of landscapes and circumstances are also masterful, and you can really feel the cold wind and see the wooded mountains of that magnetic and troublesome corner, neither fully European nor Asian.

It is, then, the story of a real man who got caught between the despised Russians and the murderous Chechen leader, really a tragic figure in the sense that he has to make decisiones in front of certain death for him and for his family, whom he deeply loves. Great literature tends to be that which posts credible and appealing characters in limit-situations, and this is clearly one of the best. Refreshing to read an action-packed, well-written, historically interesting story with compelling characters.

Like most everyone who's read his terrific book The Western Canon, it was Harold Bloom who sent
me scurrying to find Hadji Murad. We, all of us, take a stab at War and Peace and Anna Karenina,
and many schools assign the shorter Death of Ivan Ilych as required reading. But not many of us
venture beyond these narrowly circumscribed borders. Heck, the thousands of pages required just to
finish his major works seems like all we should be required to stand. But then came Bloom's soaring
endorsement of this minor work, and suddenly it was back into the breech.

Now, I confess, though I did like the novella and found it much easier reading, perhaps only because
shorter, than his other books. But I can't fathom Bloom's statement that :

It is my personal touchstone for the sublime of prose fiction, to me the best story in the world, or
at least the best that I have ever read.

Bloom seems particularly taken by the character of Hadji Murad, his heroic qualities, and by the
"growth" he displays over the course of the tale. Indeed, he is likable in a roguish way, but he's also
utterly unreliable and ultimately foolish. These are not heroic qualities in my book.

He's unreliable in the sense that his allegiances switch back and forth between the Russians and the
Chechens whenever changing circumstances make the one side or the other more personally
convenient. Absent is the kind of consistent political philosophy or moral matrix that makes for a
great hero. And he's foolish in that he rides off to near certain death in a futile effort to rescue his
family. Though appealingly sentimental, this is the suicidal gesture of an unserious person. What
good does adding his death to theirs do anyone?

Tolstoy does an impressive job of detailing many of the layers of the society of the time and of
presenting both sides in the conflict. He is generous with the Chechens, whom, as a Russian, he might
be expected to treat ill, and ungentle with the Tsar, who he might be expected to spare. Hadji Murad,
even if he does not rise to the level of archetypal hero, is nonetheless someone we root for and who we
are genuinely sorry to see meet tragedy. All of this is more than enough to recommend the book,
without being enough to call it the greatest piece of prose in the history of man.

GRADE : A-

WARNING WARNING...do not expect too much from this book if you are a fan of Elton John's Broadway musical and not the actual opera. I found this book in the library shortly after seeing the traveling version of the new "Aida" (it was AWESOME) and, while the book does have gorgeous pictures and the story is told from the point of view of someone who practically lives in Aida's shoes, I was disappointed with the overall story. It was completely unlike the show I saw. I realize that the opera and the Broadway show are totally different. However, I found this book to be confusing and was unimpressed by the sloppy style of the writing...loved the musical, though!!

I read this book and marvelled at the incredible illustrations. I'm a teacher, so I shared it with my young students. They didn't understand everything, but they sure did appreciate the artwork and story line. I'm buying it again as a gift for my niece's 12th birthday. She is obsessed with Egypt and Egyptian subjects. The Aida Broadway production recently came through Austin at the Bass Concert Hall, but we were unable to attend. This truly is the next best thing. When read correctly, it pleases the senses so much more (or as much as to some people) than hearing the production.

I was only about 10 or 11 when my PATS class was studying the arts. I was given this book as a gift, and brought it to the class. The teacher then got the information from my book to buy it for herself. To this very day I have an appreciation for the arts, and especially Aida. Even though I cannot find my book, I still have the cover, and the memories. The tale is beautifully written, and the exceptional artwork in my opinion should be enlarged and framed. I recommend this beautiful book as a teaching tool for young students.

I bought this book when my son was small, to explain the concept of death to him. The story is told gently and lovingly and children relate well to it. I still have this book and my son is now 25 years old! This shows how much I appreciated it then and now I read it to my grandchildren!

The Fall of Freddy the Leaf is an extraordinary book for anyone, especially children, to understand the beauty of life and the inevitability of death. The artful metaphor of a person's life being a leaf--whom we follow through his budding, existence, and finally, decay--gives word pictures to children who cannot yet comprehend what "death" means. The imagery creates a lasting comfort, not only for children, but also for adults who are having difficulty understanding "Why, God?" As for its basis on faith, the book is written so that any religion may adapt the metaphor to its own beliefs--after all, death is inevitable no matter what belief one embraces or denies.

The Fall of Freddie the Leaf is a truly amazing book. It is written in such a simple yet sensitive way that people of all ages can understand and relate to it. After reading it I read it to all my children, ages 14, 11 and 8. My sister read it to her 4 year old daughter. We all found it very helpful while dealing with the imminent death of my mother. It makes it easier to talk about such difficult issues as death AND life.

This was the first novel in G.M. Ford's Leo Watterman private detective series that I have read. I found Ford to be a decent writer and Waterman to be a moderately interesting character. But neither can hold a candle to such greats as, say, Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder or the master Chandler's Phillip Marlowe. The back cover says that Ford is a former creative writing teacher and that figures because his writing is at time a bit too cute in its effort to be entertaining. The biggest drawback of Waterman's charcater, son of a now deceased prominent politician, is that he's far too happy with his domestic life and too well known in the community to be the classic alienated cynical private eye. Ford gives a good feel for life in Seattle as a backdrop for Waterman's antics. Waterman is also properly quick with both his wit and his weapons when need be. But his continuous run ins with the cops get tiresome after awhile and the story is bloated by about an extra fifty pages or so.

Overall, I rank Ford squarely in the middle of P.I. fiction writers. Though I enjoyed spending time with Waterman on this one occasion, I will not be going out of my way to seek him out again.

This is definitely a quality book. It is a very well developed story with interesting characters. The story builds very well and the conclusion is satisfying. I would recommend this book to any avid mystery reader. I am a big fan of Robert Parker, Robert Crais, and Harlan Coben. While Leo Waterman doesn't have the sidekick that the hero in those books does, he has much the same demeanor as Spenser, Elvis Cole, and Myron Bolitar. The wit isn't quite as snappy, but still enjoyable. These are only minor comments and what prevents me from giving the book 5 stars, don't let it prevent you from reading this book. I have a ton of books, but I am sure that I will pick up another one of Ford's novels sometime in the near future.

I've been looking for new authors recently, and decided to give Ford a try. I am happy that I did. His main character Leo Waterman is in the same vein as Robert Crais' Elvis Cole, only perhaps not quite as funny. In Last Ditch, Leo, in the course of doing some renovations to his property, comes across a buried body. The body turns out to be that of his late politician fathers biggest enemy, and has been missing for some 30 years. Obviously Leo's father is the number one suspect, so Leo sets out to find the truth. Leo is a great character in the genre, tough, but not unbelievably so, very human, and of course wisecracking. There are lots of twists and turns and misdirections in this well plotted novel. The writing is also above the quality often found in the genre, Ford really puts the reader into the scene. If you like a good mystery, Last Ditch is a good place to look.