As other reviewers have noted, religious overtones predominate the last half of the book. Although one would expect some religious discussion in the biography of a saint, the predominance of the author's religious message in the last half of the book overshadows Vladimir's life during the last 25 - 30 years of his life. For example, very little of the biography deals with his relationship with his wives or children. Once has to refer to the endnotes to find out more about them. Although the author's writing style makes the book very easy to read, the apparent lack of objectivity prevents me from giving this book a higher rating.

St. Vladimir, prince of Novgorod at age 12 and the great-grandson of Rurik, is one of the most influential (and most mythologized) figures in Russian history. Warlike and ambitious as well as shrewd and progressive, he spread his rule from the Baltic to the Black Sea and from the Dvina River to the Volga. The Orthodox Church regards him as 'Equal to the Apostles' and the author, whose books have received a number of distinguished awards, obviously agrees with that judgment. Based on Russian, Greek, German, Icelandic, and Arabic sources, this first-ever complete biography reads quite well -- if one works around the sometimes obtrusive religious message.

Superficially at least, the subject of this book -- the Viking presence in the preChristian land of Rus -- is of great interest to me. Historical records and artifacts reveal that Scandinavian seafarers had been raiding and trading among the Slavs for at least a century before 855 AD. According to legend, upon that date the Slavs, whose diverse tribes were incessantly warring amidst themselves, entreated the Danes: "Our land is rich and vast, but there is no order in it. Come and rule over us." Rorik (Rus - Rurik) of Jutland responded, and settled to reign in Novgorod. The Vikings brought with them their Norse Pantheon, which was accepted and Russified by the Slavs. AllFather Odin (Rus - Svarog) and His son Thor (Perun), god of war and thunder, took their honored place among the ancient Slavonic deities.

Vladimir (Norse - Valdimar), protagonist of this book, was a direct descendent of Rurik. His grandmother Olga (Norse - Helga) had ruled Rus for many years, but had been converted in her old age by the Church in Constantinople. In a polytheist society, Christian converts were tolerated as merely devotees of yet another god. Vladimir, raised by his aged grandmother, had been exposed to her religion, which no doubt influenced his own, much later, conversion.

Prince Vladimir 1 has been canonized by the Orthodox Church as the Saint who imposed Christianity upon the people of Rus. I began reading the book aware of that historical fact, but I was not expecting its content of blatent religious propaganda. The author makes no apology for his personal Christian bias or for his use of the Church publication "The Chronicle of Bygone Years" as his exclusive reference source. It is disconcerting enough to read that polytheistic pagans are "godless", their rituals "evil" and even "satanic". But the text does not stop there, and similarly vilifies Jews and Moslems. It even gets in a swipe or two at the Roman Catholic Church, longtime adversary of the Eastern Orthodox.

The conversion of Russia did not occur peacefully, as Vladimir systematically destroyed the images of the Slavo-Nordic pantheon, burned the villages of its worshippers, and forced baptism on the reluctant survivors. In his glowing description of this violent evangelism, the author apparently misses the irony: the Slavs are saved from their idolotry of wooden heathen images, that they can exchange them for wooden Christian ikons. In the footnotes is explained the "charitable" reasoning behind the "excesses" of the Eastern and Western Churches: "heretics would be burned in this world so that they would not burn in the next"!

From the perspective of a pagan reader, it's a shame this most interesting history is contaminated by such intolerant religious chauvinism. One anecdote is heartening, however. After tumbling the colossal image of Perun in Kiev, Vladimir ordered it thrown into the Dniepr. To "cleanse" Russia of the pagan presence, the image was to be carried over the cataracts and smashed to pieces on the rocks below. However, the deity survived the journey intact and came to ground on a beach thereafter known as Perun's Hill.

Thus, the Chronicle prophesied, paganism would never be erradicated completely from the people of Rus, but in fact would flourish after a thousand years. Indeed, the Russian language still retains many of its preChristian roots. "Odin" is the word for the number One; priroda, the word for Nature, invokes the most ancient of Slavonic deities, the rodiy, daughters of the Moist Earth Mother Herself. Slavonic heathenism is experiencing a reawakening in post-Soviet Russia. The Orthodox Church, also reempowered after 70 years of Communist repression, is again trying to erradicate paganism and other "false" faiths, through alliance with the new government to establish itself as State Religion of Russia.

"Vladimir the Russian Viking" is therefore a timely read. Although I had hoped for a Russian history sympathetic toward the culture of the Vikings, the Christian-Supremist overtone of the text was unwittingly eye-opening.

Actually, 1.5 stars: this has to be, without doubt, the most unfocused and incomplete AMG ever produced. I agree with the reviewer who asserted that AMG simply cut and pasted content off their web site and quickly threw together this diffuse hodge-podge of questionable and incomplete listings. Caveat Emptor: this book is not the 2nd edition like Amazon lists it as. 2nd editions generally take what was wrong with firsts, correct, and expand. This is what the AMG brain-trust needs to do with this book: the foundation is there, just seriously review content, edit out what isn't true electronica (by their admitted definitions), and expand to include other artists, including the complete discography (you don't have to review each album, just list) of established artists and the genre's prolific indies like Thumbtack Smoothie and Voice of Eye. So what if it approaches 1,200 pages? Same with Pop: unless they're cutting-edge contributers like Blancmange or Gary Numan, leave all the 80's synth-pop and hair-band fluff out; C'mon AMG,Flock of Seagulls and Talk Talk? Plus, devoting nearly three pages to verbose, hyper-detailed reviews of every Prince album, yet hardly any attention to the shifting careers and prolific output of ground-breakers like Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze? Some listings are just plain insulting: the superficial Sun Ra discography is a huge disservice; although Sun Ra did introduce electronics into the jazz idiom, the music was still jazz--artists like this should be given full attention in the AMG Jazz Guide. Likewise, rock-oriented artists should remain in the AMG Rock Guide; I like Radiohead and Pink Floyd, but they seem woefully out of place here (in the case of PF, they stop the discography listings at "The Wall." Who was in charge of this project?) And if AMG wishes to questionably include the "Shoegazer" movement as electronica, why list My Bloody Valentine and leave out Lush or Catherine Wheel? Be consistent!!

Not that the book is all bad. The essays and chart maps on how all the various electronica sub-genres evolved are informative reading, and push the book up 1/2 star. Plus they give good attention to all the various DJ's and their respective roles in the genre's development. And thankfully Yanni and John Tesh aren't included (there is a benign God, after all.) The foundation is here; nonetheless, AMG needs to start over with this guide, review, cut, and expand. Better yet, maybe an enterprising MUSICHOUND editior will read these reviews and decide to produce and release their own competing guide. At least they won't short-shrift the artist's discography for the sake of space. Who knows, they might even include a photo or two....

If you need a guide electronic music, and don't have a lot of access to the internet (and if you don't you probably won't be reading this review anyway), this is really the only source. However, I find that there is a lot missing from it. It deals with mostly mainstream artists, with a decent amount of independents. However, it seems to feature a very high concentration of dance music artists and DJs. Also, it includes some bizarre choices such as bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor, Sigur Ros, Labradford, Mogwai and other "post-rock" bands that really have little to do with electronic music. I love these bands, but it doesn't seem to me that they belong in this book. I also find a lot of their reviews to be very harsh toward experimental music and overly praising of more unoriginal genres.

But that, of course, isn't really this particular book's fault, but rather the reality for any printed survey of a topic that's constantly evolving. Like previous reviewers have said, you might want to just checkout the allmusic web site, unless you're a freakishly obsessed collector or are using a gift certificate and feeling a little more free than usual with what you buy (like me).

This stands as a testament to the mediocrity and imbecility of Lenin as a philosopher. It is a overtly lengthy, dull and plodding work. Lenin demonstrates that he has little of the flair of a born philosopher but the heavyhandedness and arbitrariness of a politician. This book, which is so antiquated that it now seems unworthy of even academic interest, is nothing but a compilation of quatations from previous Marxists, glossed and re-worked to back up official party policy. Also includes a typically stupid and blustering polemic against the majority of positivists and idealists who are all deemed as "blockheads"; only the revelations of Marx and Engels, as Lenin seems to think, contain the monopoly of infallible truth. A laughable example of the dogmatism and intolerance of an ideology upon which was founded a totalitarian darkness that could not maintain itself without resorting to terror, persecution, assassination, sabotage and institutionalised ignorance.

This book was written when Lenin wanted to show his prowess in the communist community because his position was threatened by Bogdanov and the other high ranking communists that had opinions that were contrary to his; Robert Service wrote that when one of the communists read the first page of this book he threw it across the room! I liked this book but it could have been a lot better, I liked the first half but the other half was Lenin ranting about how other philosophers ideas are wrong. It is also said that after Lenin read Aristotle's Metaphysics he had changed his ideas; Lenin had a good education that highlighted the Greek's classic ideas but he would eventually abandone them because of the newer ideas that were voming from the Agrarian terrorists and people of the like. Overall, I think this book is okay but there are many others that should be read first.

This book is difficult to read without knowledge of the philosophical debate at the time. But at the same time, it is an introduction to that debate, and has great relevance to theocratic tendencies in American science and government today.

I became interested in reading after reading Stephen Hawking's "Brief History of Time". It was interesting to me that even so reknowned and path-breaking a scientist as Hawking is still promoting belief in god. Even the "scientific" community is subject to religious superstition.

Written in 1908, in the demoralizing aftermath of the defeated 1905 Russian revolution - the book powerfully upholds Marxist materialism and refutes the idealist wavering of some so-called "Marxists" and scientists of the day, showing the inherent self-contradictory nature of idealism and the reactionary conclusions it leads to.

The theortical political book of V.I. Lenin.

The place where Lenin put forth his concepts on, the role of the revolutionary, the difference between the Bolshevics (before this name applied) and the Political Economists. The need for the over-throw of the royal family and the current (at the time) political system of Russia. Also the theories of the revolutionary newspaper, information, and what revolutionaries should do for the movement.

A very thick little book. The concepts of who may become a revolutionary and what parts of the populace should be tapped are all included in this piece.

The major flaw is the fact that one must work very hard to figure out what Lenin is trying to say. There is so much diversion and unclear thinking that one is not surprised to find out that Lenin never dearmed of seeing the revolution within his own life time. He must have thought that nobody would be able to get through his book before he would die of very old age.

Interesting for the sake of political history and revolutionary theory alone. Nobody in their right mind would read this book unless they were being required to do so. On the other hand, they might just be happy that they had been forced to read this book, because there really is a lot there (if you are willing to dig far enough).

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A very theoretical study by a liberal intellectual. Rejects economic determinism and the idea that 'the Balkans are different', but reduces everything to 'ethnic strategies' and 'power structures', and seems not to notice any difference between a peaceful 'break-up' and a war of territorial conquest

The book is a deep and insightful look at the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Unlike most books on this topic it is written with grace and style. It is a pleasure to read. The book sidesteps the usual interpretations of the war in the Balkans and aims straight for the real issues.

This short compilation of memoirs was published from the Karta Journal web site for Russian war veterans. The contributors include officers of the Spetznaz and air forces, and professional mercenaries. Basically, these are standard Soviet war memoirs: fairly impersonal accounts of battles, ambushes, casualties. Caravans of foreign weapons and jihadists constantly intercepted from Pakistan. The Afghan government forces ("tsarandoi") were considered soft targets by the rebel mujahedin ("dushmani"), and often proved to be of little help to their Soviet comrades. The book contains details of a couple of notorious massacres, in which Russian platoons were abandoned or even betrayed by their Afghan allies. And there are some curiously indifferent accounts of torture at the hands of mujahedin. Although translated from the veterans' own words, the anecdotes and interviews give little indication of their writers' emotions. The translation itself is barely adequate. The overall quality of the book is below average. It appears to have been printed on a Xerox machine. Pages alternate between text and illustrations, the latter consisting of small, badly-reproduced sketches and photos. There are approximately twenty different illos, which are repeated in series. Each one appears over a half-dozen times, apparently for the purpose of "padding" the contents. ...! Overall, these memoirs are interesting, and valuable as historical reference. ...

While the book was very informative, it was hard to follow. The authors seemed to jump from one topic to another. Also they would discuss topics like perestroika without explaining them at all. In another instance, a speech Yeltsin gave was discussed but the topic of the speech was never revealed. Despite these downfalls, the biography was very informative and covered all of Yelstin's life, from childhood to becoming the President.

In Russian it probably is a really great book, but the translation is so poor that I can only guess it. Besides, there are too many misprints. The Index is poor indeed.

After reading it not once but twice to figure out what the author was trying to focus on. I came to conclusion that its a typical Serbian Propaganda tool. Most of the facts have been altered and if you pay attention the number of Serbian victims stated in this book grows larger and larger as the reading goes on. The book is a compilation of fictional facts that were developed in former Yugoslavia durring the 50's and 60's in the height of Communisit rule. Durring the last 10 years the issues revolving around Jasenovac have come to light. Serbian photo editing of archives and the stories that were written about this matter have been uncovered and have come to be falsifications. This book is just a tool of the Serbs to fuel a hatred of Croatia and Bosnia peoples durring the 70's that lead to the wars in the 90's. Its hard to stomach bad history writing and propaganda that is stated in his book. I hope that the Serbian people could finaly realize the truth about this matter and realize the 700,000 victims is well exagerated and that the mixture of religous and political propaganada is not a good tool to use. Any person killed over nationality or religions is wrong also using peoples death to benifit your interest is also wrong. The 65,000 Serbians killed in Jasenovac is not condoned or justified but in no means close to the numbers stated in his book.
Hopefully the Serbian People will finally admit the Massacre of hundreds and thousands of Croats after the Second World War. Maybe Vladimir should research that topic.

This is an important book for everyone to read, but especially for Catholics. After all, this is not something you will learn in CCD. Truth always has the ability to shine in the light, and expose the darkness of lies, hatred, and murder. As a baptized Byzantine Catholic, graduate student, and lover of truth, history, and philosophy this book receives my highest recommendation. Read the book, check out the references, follow the research, and by all means prove the facts for yourself. Heed this warning, "By their fruit you will recognize them. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." Matt. 7:18. As a follow-up to this book, I would also recommend Avro Manhattan's "The Vatican's Holocaust". The evidence is strong and history records the truth. Do you really think God cares if it was 1,000,000, 700,000 or 350,000 that were murdered in the name of religion? Every single victim was loved by God. A Roman Catholic attempted cover-up will not work. Judgement Day is coming. Don't be left in the dark, "The Yugoslave Aushcwitz and the Vatican" deserves five big stars!

I always had an idea of the forces at work during WWII, but not to this level of detail. WWII buff will love it!

What a pity. The first practical guide to the implementation of real options - that I have found at least. Copeland and Antikarov are to be congratulated on finding the gap in the market. But, alas, this book has been so badly spoiled by the endless number of errors: reflects badly on the authors and publishers and also on all those acknowledged at the front of the book who had an opportunity to comment, but obviously did not read it properly. On the positive, there are many useful ideas in this book and it has greatly increased my knowledge of the subject.

Content : A
The book enables the reader to understand the world of real options without having to take a course on stochastic calculus, which is good because otherwise Real Options would be too hard to sell to management. The book is rich on examples and presents the building blocks of almost every combination imaginable. More case studies though would have been a big plus.

Presentation : F
You absolutely should not read the book without first [knowing] the corrections.... There are so many errors everywhere - in formulas, calculations and text (a total of 177 for 350 pages of relevant content !!) - that I could only shake my head in disbelief. Quite obviously, nobody has made even a half-baked attempt to proof-read the book.

Accessible to practitioners but occasionally superficial with some flaws in structure and content real options.