Bunin is a master storyteller, better than as a novelist precisely because his style is better suited to this field. The one I like most is "The teacher", which tells the story of a small-town teacher who is once invited to dinner with the prominent citizens. There, he gets extremely drunk and disgraces himself. It has dark humor and tenderness at the same time. The rest of the tales are about life in small villages, where life is sad but sometimes lights up with unexpected events. The characters are lonely, alienated people, most of the time. But his writing is very good and the tempo is a permanent adagio. Worth your time.

Mr.Woodward His analic help me in

Henri Troyat has excelled in Russian studies over the last decades His work on Catherine the Great is momentous and in this light the comparatively light work on Ivan the Fourth seemed a bit disappointing. But in all fairness to the author the work is a very entertaining read. It traces not just the life of this cruel man but effective leader but also that of the birth of Russia. The rule of Ivan the Fourth set Russia on its course to the West that would gain full momentum under Peter the Great.

Although the book points to the obvious signs of lunacy in Ivan's character it also makes it clear that this man was the first mover in turning Muscovy into Russia proper. His lunacy seems to be confirmed when we learn that Ivan seriously thought that he could win the hand of Elizabeth I in marriage! He probably had his second wife the Csarina Maria poisoned to pave the way for this hoped for English betrothal.

His oriental obsession with religion and therefore sin, and his desire to make Moscow the new Constantinople(after its fall in 1452) forms the basis of the long and sometimes tedious Russian awakening from the confines of the Terem (the royal harem chambers) and medieval superstitions.(which it never really escaped from)

Ivan is indeed portrayed as being that peculiar Russian mix of dark brooding pagan and just Christian that occurred so often in Russian history(think of the characters of Maxin Gorky, Feador Dostoevsky or even Rasputin)

Luckily the work is not just about Ivans 'tempestuous and violent moods swings ( he killed his own son during a temper tantrum) or his callous cruelty ( throwing people to bears often not out of punishment but just for sport) but Troyat also treats us to accounts of English traders being received and treated to sumptuous banquets as well as the important military adventures of Ivan in Kazan and Astrakhan against the Tartars as well as his strife with Sigismund Augustus, King of Poland.

Ivan was also the first Russian leader to value and encourage learning although he was very far removed from being a type of early Enlightment figure. Although Ivan the Fourths' grandfather Ivan III was the first to give Muscovy written laws Ivan desperately wanted to be seen as being a great legislator. He wrote passages in the Domostroy(written mainly by the priest Sylvester)that would be the handbook in Russia for 200 years ,dealing with all manners of household and social issues from personal hygiene, table etiquette, recipes for salting pork to the virtues of beating your wife on a regular basis (those were the days!)

Troyat gives us a fascinating glimpse into a world that was neighter European nor Oriental any more as well as making us aware of the morally uncomfortable fact that Ivan despite the cruelty and madness of the man was probable the only type of man to start Russian on its road to Europe. History cares more for results that morals . It also points to the clear historical precedents in Russian history of genocide ( the extermination of Novgorod compares well to the deeds of Stalin 400 years later.) It poses also the question if Russian political development has not been poisoned by these atrocities from the start? All in all an entertaining read and necessary if one is to understand the development of Russia.

Oma's notion of programatic juxtapositions and choreography are mappped out in this essay, as well as giving due credit to an underappreciated modern visionary architect, whose ideas should be understood by any practicing architect.

Because you can't see the book, I will describe its content. Steiger has gone through the Hebrew and Christian scripture and illustrated simple drawings that correspond to particular passages. Each page as the passage at the top and then a black and white illustration at the bottom. The illustrations are cartoon-like.

He uses symbolism - a Pen represents God, a television represents alienation, etc. The book is really pretty enjoyable to read and not the kind of book you have to read from start to finish - much like the Bible. Instead, you can open it up and find any passage, read it, and look at the illustration to see how Steiger has pictured it. It isn't a book specfically geared toward children (though, of course, children would probably love it and it would be helpful in a bible-study course) and I believe adults would enjoy it tremendously, too.

I recommend the book to people who enjoy the bible or who would just like to learn a little bit more about some of the interestings passages of the bible. I think it qualifies as a fun book to read.

Grey gives a good general overview of the beginnings of the Russian Empire. However, it is somewhat disjointed, jumping from event to event and back again. That makes it somewhat hard to follow, but in the end, worth it.

For anyone interested in the history of the English monarchy and the Civil War, this is a great book. It is well researched, elegantly written, and provides a fascinating insight into this melancholy, intellectual and kind-hearted man who proved himself, in many ways, spectacularly ill-suited for kingship. This book deserves to have a place in every history lover's shelf!

Probably after Capek and Kundera there has not been such a matured author as Klima in the Czeck language. As for Capek , he was often afraid to protest and Kundera lived in France but Klima has stayed in the country and protested. He is brilliant but in this book you get to see the maturity. Its a mix of Klima and Cortazar. This is love mixed with wit in the time of revolution which brings out the pain of human relations. Its a story of a class being detached from the lessons of human relation while a small group tries to get it back. All the stories are great. all the stories are great.

The world is awash in poorly constructed databases. Enormous amounts of information are daily stuffed into tiny tables until they are full to bursting, and the researcher's job becomes a trip mining a nutty world of frenzied displays. Those from industry and academia who work with data and wish to understand recent developments in pattern discovery, data mining, and inductive modeling will find this book a veritable guidebook, a tour pennant, if you will, to discerning the strengths of competing methods and select the appropriate tools for their applications.

It helps to have prior working experience with computers and knowledge of, or interest in, applied statistical techniques, of course, and also to remember that to have this rather large volume before you is far preferable to having it behind you!

Marine Ecological Processes is a clear and broad compendium of the present knowledge on biological oceanography. In my opinion it is, among the books on the subject, the one that presents a wider and deeper vision of biological oceanography. Although it is addressed mostly to graduate students, the complexity of the subjects dealt make it also valuable for more advanced researchers. In summary, is the kind of book that should be, as a basic consult guide, in the library of any oceanographer.