In my opinion this is the best selection of Chekhov's stories. There are some inevitable ommissions of personal favourites such as 'New Villa', 'A Doctor's Visit', 'Gusev' and 'The Butterfly' but this is a minor complaint beside the fact that this edition includes both novellas and stories. For one thing it includes the beautiful 'Steppe' which is almost worth the price alone as it is very difficult to find. All the acknowledged major works are here from 'Ward No. 6' to 'The Lady with the Dog' and all - another bonus - in Constance Garnett's rarely surpassed translation.

Carol Rocamora's translations of Chekhov's four most important plays are, simply, brilliant. These are not adaptations of the plays, but true translations: Rocamora is Chekhovian down to the punctuation. She has made the language contemporary not by translating as if Chekhov were writing now, but by providing the language with a poetic grace that is timeless. Chekhov remains very much a writer of his time and place, and this is as it should be -- we value him because he made the specificities of his time and place universal. Rocamora's translations also fill a gap by giving us Chekhov in American English. Michael Frayn's translations are wonderful, but it is impossible to speak them without an English accent slipping onto your tongue. This edition of translations provides a fascinating introduction by Rocamora, a pronunciation guide, and glossary

This collection should get SIX stars. Having sampled one of Audio Connoisseur's other recordings, and being hugely impressed, I went out and purchased this one. I had always wanted to know a little about German literature, assuming that a nation that can build fabulous cars could also produce a few good authors. Before I say anything about the stories, let me just tell you that the narrator, Charlton Griffin, is probably the greatest reader now living. I say that in all honesty. Never have I encountered recorded literature in which ALL the characters, including women and children, have been performed with such utter believability and astonishing acumen. You will shake your head in disbelief that only one person is performing all these voices. I differ with the above AudioFile reviewer who castigates Griffin for his pacing. The pacing is perfect, almost stately. In the appropriate places it has a dreamlike quality. The stories are a very good cross section of German literature over a period of 150 years, beginning with Goethe and ending with Lampe. Every single one of these little masterpieces has a jewel-like quality and a sparkling intelligence behind them. I approached this subject with mild trepidation and came away astonished at the variety and depth of German writers. My favorites in this volume were the stories by Mann, von Hofmannsthal and Schnitzler. Not content with merely great stories, Audio Connoisseur has tastefully added music and sound effects...but only in perfectly suitable places and without distraction. They seem to fit in organically, as though a film were rolling in your head. If you are an educator, this would be an indispensable teaching tool. My admiration for Audio Connoisseur knows no bounds at this point. May they continue this level of quality forever.

Chekhov wrote all of these stories under a pseudonym, some of them while he was still in medical school. Until his death, he denied being their author; perhaps he did not want to spoil his image with these bits of humor, or perhaps he did not want to spoil these stories' frivolity by attaching a name like Chekhov to them. Unlike the dark, brooding impression of Chekhov one may get from some of his plays, these stories are lively, lighthearted and often hilarious. All are short -- some as short as just a page or two -- but all will have clever endings, even for readers not familiar with Chekhov or with his specific Russian brand of humor. Many of the stories are not meant to be laugh-out-loud funny, but are comic in the more classical sense, bringing forth clever observations and juxtapositions in a seemingly familiar world. These are highly recommended either as a supplement to Chekhov's better known works, or as an easy introduction to his writings.

Do you know how your wife/girlfriend trapped you? Anton LaVey knows. LaVey the all-time master of human nature reveals secrets every successful woman should know. More than a How To Catch A Man book. A lot more. If you thought The Satanic Bible was good; you will love this. This is the most devious and crafty thing I have ever had the good fortune to read.

We brought this book with us to South Africa, and it was extremely helpful. Lots of photos, driving directions (which may be dated, due to ongoing construction and the transient nature of certain dirt roads), intelligent evaluations of the myriad dive sites, and detailed descriptions of local marine life.

Fortunately, we purchased it before we arrived there, as there was nothing similar available on the local bookshelves.

Hello, duh, it's by Robert Anton Wilson, of course it's good. Or not. Probably maybe. Just keep reading, you young apple you. Soon you too will see the Truth: that we're all living in apple sauce. Oops, I shouldn't have given it away! Eris forgive me! Or not.

From the cover of the book "Ende": QUOTE Ende - a diary of the third world war. The most powerful argument for nuclear disarmament ever published. Europe, mid-summer. When the Earth is most alive. Yet over the horizon, the war machine is out of control. Then death comes from the sky. A blinding light, a dull crump, the mushroom cloud. One man records the horrors that destroys his family and friends. From his despair there comes a ray of hope for the rest of us. UNQUOTE I guess that it should be no surprise that this book came out of Germany before the break-up of the Soviet Union and the reunification of Germany. I first read this in 1987, and eventually re-read it again in 1998, but the affect was just as compelling, and especially so in today's climate. It describes, in a very effective diary format, the political lead-up to the war, the public reaction to political developments, the war itself, the death, the destruction, the affects of the radiation fall-out, and the personal terror, all from the perspective of a young, married, German journalist. It had a great affect on me and I was stunned. I read the English version translated by Fred Taylor in Corgi Books. This book is not easy to obtain, and not easy to read. I would highly recommend this to anyone.

Shame this is out of print. Simpson was annotator,promoter at The BBC. He is a composer himself of large scale symphonies.

Bruckner has long been an enigmatic creator, a late bloomer,spending years in pedagogical subjection of counterpoint.And his oefish,awkward demeanor gave a false impression to those who surrounded him,usually less talented unclairvoyant scholars who sought the necessity to revise his symphonies. Simpson here scours these giant symphonic boulders one by one,revealing where a great rupture takes place,where Bruckner's symphonic vision begins to look outward,beginning with the Fifth Symphony. Although the D-minor Third begins this transmogrification of vision. Bruckner looked well beyond the shadow of Beethoven,not utilizing that aesthetic pallette of pent up momentums,and overwrought festering movements that get resolved. Instead the Bruckner movement in fact doesn't move,there is no forward moving implication, we must simply withstand the overbearing presence of each movement in its own right,within its own oceanic spaces. Simpson is a good writer and brings some literary image to the outside gestural features, as his machine-like repetitive conconctions, its moments which simply begin and end mindlessly at times,as the various variegated Scherzi. You need the score I found to read Simpson for he does drag us through these symphonies as a callable narrative,moment to moment,step by step,(not quite note for note) inch by inch. This can get tedious,but that is what was the usual fare of musical analysis. Now hopefully there are those essays which introduce more social and political dimensions to the creation of art.

I like Robert Payne's translations of Chekhov because he has a good ear for the flow of beautiful writing. He does not bog Chekhov's prose down with needless commas like Constance Garnett and others. Payne's Chekhov reads seamlessly. He understands that good storytelling is about how the words flow together as in speech. Beautiful translations. (By the way, they are perfect for teaching Chekhov to high school or college students.)

Rosa La Luna