I find this book to be a very good variety of emotional scenes. I recommend it highly.

It's great when we - as teachers - have great tools to work with. It makes things so much easier. This book is one of those indispensible tools that anyone dealing with young actors MUST have in handy. Scenes are so important in classes. Couldn't work without them. Sometimes, though, they may be banal. This is not the case. They are classics, and classics are never banal. My only hope is to see a second edition of this book, perhaps with more international and eventually contemporary stuff. Ah... I was forgetting... I would LOVE to translate this book for Italians!

In reading this remarkable book, one should not forget that it is a widow's memoir, not an historical work. Anna Larina was but a child when she fell in love with the charismatic Nikolai Bukharin, one of the inner circle of Bolshevik intellectuals who seized control of Russia during the October Revolution in 1917. When they married, she was a beautiful Russian girl barely out of her teens and Bukharin was a celebrated national figure of 43. They had a very short married life together before Bukharin was swept into Stalin's counter-revolutionary net with trumped-up charges that he was plotting an anti-Bolshevik takeover including a plan to assassinate Stalin himself. This culminated in the celebrated "Moscow Show Trials" of the 1930's where Bukharin "confessed" his guilt and was executed.

All this is written about from the horrified wife's perspective and it makes an absorbing narrative, indeed. It was not enough for the Stalinist Communists of that era to imprison the accused. They imprisoned the family of the accused as well. Being the wife of a counter-revolutionist was a crime in Communist Russia. And so -- off to imprisonment or exile. That Anna's and Bukharin's son was only a year old at the time, made no difference to the proletarian authority. The child was taken from the mother's arms and finally was raised in foster homes. It took 20 years before mother and son were reunited. The scene describing the reunion of the mother with her lost son is one of the many high points of her book. Anna's vivid descriptions of her life in squalid, filthy prisons she was sent to over the years is reminiscent of Solzhenitsyn's work. Yet, somehow she did not fully convey the intense moral outrage of such an unjust treatment. Perhaps, that is because she had to learn to suppress those feelings to keep alive, to hang on to sanity.

In her view, it was not Bolshevism but Stalin who was the villain. He is everyone's villain in post-communist Russia. Anna Larina makes no effort to soften her feelings for the dictator who once had been a friend of Bukharin's but who finally did him in.

She argues Bukharin's innocence not as a lawyer would but with all the emotion of a wife whose husband, son and youth were stolen unjustly from her by one of the Century's most vicious despots.

I highly recommend this book to be read after obtaining a more historical perspective in Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution : A Political Biography, 1888-1938 by Stephen F. Cohen who, incidentally, penned the introduction to Anna Larina's most interesting and memorable book.

This is one of the most haunting books I have ever read. Larina provides a window into one of the most disturbing periods of modern history. The reader will find himself (or herself) drawn into the madness that was Stalin's system of terror of the 1930's. The author's survival of the purges, and her determined faith in her doomed husband, are a testimony to the spirit of the Russian people.

Mr. Cohen in his sharp and insightful book argues that American overenthusiastic attitude in the 1990's actually weakened Russian camp of liberal reformers. Russian reforms stalled and the danger of nuclear proliferation increased because of American policy of the unconditional support of Boris Yelstin's regime. Crusade failed. However, for me the question is - was it a Crusade? To my point of view Mr. Cohen spends too much time citing himself instead of analyzing the realities of the US policy vis-à-vis Russia in the 90's. And these realities were created by people; and mostly by three powerful American policy makers: M. Albright, J. Helms and B. Clinton. Lets do a quick reality check.

Powerful Secretary of State in the 90's, Madeline Albright was the most likely crusader out of three. Straightforward and hawkish, she was suspicious of any regime that didn't have a hallmark of American market democracy. However her crusade was siphoned out (luckily for Russia) to the Balkans. That was partially because of her personal attachments to the region. Escaping Nazis, as a daughter of the Jewish refugees from Czechoslovakia, Madeline Korbel for some time found home in Belgrade, capital of Serbia.

Jesse Helms was a chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a sponsor of legislation that tightened the American embargo against Cuba and withheld US dues to the United Nations. Mr. Cohen didn't even mention him in the book, but Mr. Helms was one of the most prominent figures in American foreign policy in the 90's. Actually Ms. Albright was not only Mr. Helms' personal friend and a soul mate, but also pretty much his protégée for the Secretary of State position, as she was a Clinton's choice. A man of integrity, Mr. Helms however was a conservative Cold War "warrior", who didn't trust anybody (besides probably North Carolina farmers), let along Russia. Isolationist who kept blocking dispatching of the American troops, he was an unlikely supporter of any crusade.

Bill Clinton despite his friendship with "Tsar" Boris and few good laughs together didn't trust Russia either. Educated in Georgetown University he used to be fascinated by the lectures of the late professor Carroll Quigley. Irish Catholic from Boston and a genius, Mr. Quigley was very suspicious of Anglo-American Establishment, but every bit as much conservative. His main idea about Russia (unfortunately erroneous one) was that Russia is a separate and alien civilization, Russian "Orthodox" Civilization. He borrowed, but modified the ideas of Arnold J. Toynbee who thought that Russia was just a branch of the Western Christian Civilization.

Ironically, with new Bush administration in the office Christian tradition may have found a new role to play in the relationship between two countries. Most ethnic Russians are Christians and that may be one single fact that brings Russia closer to the White House. However lets not forget the sad lessons of the history. Sacking of the Christian Constantinople by the Forth Crusade (and the fellow Christians) in 1204 arguably contributed to the eventual demise of the Christian Byzantium and conquest of the Byzantine Empire by the Muslim Ottoman Turks. Started out as a grand enterprise with a moral dimension the medieval crusade ran out of steam and ended up being pure conquest and looting. To tell you the truth, I am awfully glad that the 1990's Russia Crusade has failed if ever happened. May be we finally learned something from the sad story called history.

I checked this book out at the library for a paper I was writing regarding the violations of human rights in Chechnya. I learned a lot more than I expected! And now I am even more concerned than ever before.

On pages 35 & 36 Cohen points out one of the most freighting thoughts, "In December 1994, Yeltsin precipitatly launched a war against the tiny breakway republic of Chechnya. By the time it ended in a temporary truce in 1996, the war had killed tens of thousands of civilians, many of them ethnic Russians in the Capital city of Grozny...earned the horrendous distinction of being the first civil war ever to occur in a nuclearized country." This statement sent chills down my spine.

To this day...Chechnya is still battling for freedom from Russian rule. This is a small country that was absorbed by the Soviet Union by force in 1921 when the Red Army invaded. While I do not excuse the behavior of the Chechen guerilla's...the world must come to understand the threat that still exists. And, while we were busy celebrating the victory of democracy over the fall of Communism - Russia began to really fall apart. Let's hope that our greatest fears do not come true especially since we are so busy in Iraq.

Stephen Cohen examines the effects of the US' premature and overly optimistic drive to promote free market policies in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. (I concur and conjured up an image in my mind of American mangers handing out copies - at cost - of 'The One Minute Manager' and 'Who MOved My Cheese' to Russian scientists telling them to change). He considers this one of the US main foreign policy failures of the 90's. These policies, he argues have set Russa back to an almost feudal condition comparable to the worse experiences prior to the 1917 Revolution. Somehow, when I meet so many talented Russian scientists, engineers, intellectuals of all sorts I notice that mopst have had to abandon the their careers becasue of lack of investmnet and opportunities. Now many talented people have to become salesmen or business men , programmers and take up jobs that have little use for their talents. In this sense I whleheartedly agree with Prof. Cohen. Cohen lived in Russia and, perhaps due to his efforts to understand the Communist moderste Bukharin, argues that a progressive rollback of the state economy along with democratizing reforms would have provided Russians a better alternative than a cold jump into the market - as Sachs advocated. Cohen describes the corrupt Yeltsin years and the Americans who failed to understand Russian developments in the 1990s. Cohen fears that a change in policy is necessary in order to prevent Russia from becoming a threat.
It seems that the september 11 attacks and the overwhelming Russian support of the US will provide that opportunity.

We read this text from cover to cover for our pre-doc endo course at NSU. To say the least, the text was wordy and often got distracted with details that are insignificant to the general practitioner and unnecessary for the pre-doc student. The faculty at nova have promised to review other texts in preparation for next year's class. Trust me, this book will force you to wade through a sea of useless information to find the clinically pertinant information. Don't waste your time unless you are obsessed with details. I hope this was helpful.

I still use this book when I do endo. The pictures of access openings for EVERY TOOTH are a great help. There is a page or 2 devoted to each tooth, with many possible canal variations, and average canal lengths. Good for a beginner, and for someone who still hasn't done enough endos to memorize the average lenght of every canal.

This book is the most in depth, scholarly written book on endo on the market next to the Dental Pulp (by Seltzer). There's ample literature references in each chapter and it's a great preparation tool for specialty boards. While the book is too science based/not enough show-and-tell for most predoctoral students and general dentists (Endodontic Therapy, by Walton is a better choice there), Pathways is best for post doctoral students and practicing endodontists.

The author has really exhibited a knack of thoroughly analysing the psyche of a third world,s most important Armies, which is truly concerned not only with the external security of the country but is also vigilant of the internal foes, threatening not only the solidarity of the country but also posing a menace to it's (Army's) own position in the country.Author has shown a remarkable insight in to the subconcious thought process of the Army ,it's transformation brought about by the subsequent wars of 47,65 and finally the debacle of 71. The propensity of the national political leaders for leaning on this institution once in the quagmire of trouble, and the physical and mental approach of the Army towards the political and stratigical challenges posed by the external and enternal foes alike.

This is a pretty good book that has stories about ghosts and things an roads and railroads, and it is pretty creepy. But this book has a totally stupid cover, a man is sticking his head out the window while a huge thing is flying there. That is the last thing I would do if I saw something like that!

Stephen P Cohen contends that India's power is balanced and paradoxical. Its economy is thriving, yet it is likely to contain over half of the world's poorest people. Its strategic elite is ambitious, yet it has been unable to translate its civilization distinctiveness into international influence and respect. Further, while India has long been praised as the 'world's largest democracy', the logic of democracy has triggered a series of domestic revolutions that are transforming the economy, the unique institution of caste, the relationship between India's states and the central government, and India's very identity. Cohen further argues that the United States should build on the recent warming in the relations between the two countries to ensure that India does not turn hostile and threaten to block American policy initiatives.While India is now emerging as a major pan-Asian power, this evolution will be conditioned and shaped by a series of dramatic internal social and political developments that are transforming much of India. These developments will occupy the attention of Indian politicians for years. The author is of the view that as a strategic power, India is likely to continue its cautious policies toward China. India's relations with Pakistan present another area of vulnerability and that New Delhi seems unable to develop a strategy that would resolve the Kashmir crisis.The author has covered almost all aspects of the Indian History and suggested an overwhelming future but Economy of India has not been given due coverage. His entire thesis of emergence of India is based on the existing growth rate, which is about 6 %. However, Means of Production and Services Sector etc have not been covered with rationale. In this connection it is recommended that "The world in 2020" by Hamish McRae be read, which hardly shows any tangible change in the Indian Economy by the year 2020. An entire chapter dealing Economic aspects would have given the real picture of "future of India". In the book one finds a lot of repetition of events. Even some of the chapters could have been lumped together to provide concrete material. One finds most of the chapters without addressing the main issues. The author has not covered the various ongoing separatists' movements in India and their repercussions on the overall stability and the growth of India. Though he has touched upon the movements in Tamil Nadu and Kashmir. He has suggested that until Kashmir Dispute is not resolved the chances of status quo in the region remains. The author has given a lighter touch to the critical role of the RSS/BJP, their popular agenda and the future of the so-called Secular State. The dangerous consequences of this revivalist movement have not been appreciated fully.

As India became an independent nation in 1947, it became the world's second largest country in population and the world's larges democracies. Cohen in India:Emerging Power looks at how India has been advancing since 1947. Cohen looks at the different influences on India such as non-alliance, the Nehru view, and the Gandhi view. Cohen also deals deals with India's interactions with other countries such as the Soviet Union and later Russia, United States, Africa, China and other South Asian countries. Cohen also looks at some of the more well known issues of India such as its military. It relied on Soviet Aid for a long time but was never able to get as much as it wanted. Cohen looks at American influences on the Indian military and its desire to become an arms exporter. Cohen also looks at India's nuclear program and its relations with Pakistan. He goes through the history of the conflict and how nuclear weapons. It also deals with INdia's relations to the United states and about how the two countries can work togheter.

Its one of the best book in the market about South Asia
And i agree with the author that India is going to be a Power in South Asia
As USA and the free World have one thing common with India and that is Democracy and to work hard and live in a civilized world

Cohen and Peterson attempts to make the argument that the lack of role definition has led to failures in decentralization efforts in the third world. Current efforts have focused on system wide changes/decentralization, and assumes the roles the actors have after the changes will take care of itself.

They provide case studies from various countries to show how they perform using various decentralization schemes. Without giving too much away, the Mexico case is an example of what the authors deem as what other countries should strive for in decentralization.

Their chapter on the evolution of decentralization and the case studies was very informative. When they elaborated on administrative concepts, it is very easy for a person not involved in the development administration field to get lost in the jargon and forget what the whole point of the chapter was. This book is not designed for the person looking for a good international development read.

The conclusion is sketchy and not very convincing that is why I give it 3 stars.

It takes a lot of time (or it seams that way) to get through this book. I do not know what slowed me down more, was it the disjointed writing or the plot that seamed to just be thrown together. The highlight was the interesting details of NASA, which come from the author. I only made it about half way into the book. There are many better books out there.

Back in the late 1980's, the Space Shuttle program was all the rage as the topic of stories and movies. What make this novel unique was that a Senator and space advocate wrote it (mostly). Beyond that uniqueness, with it's intricate real experience detail, Night Launch is just another technothriller.