A fictional diary, this Lenin's tale through his own eyes, starting from early boyhood until shortly before his death. Though some 700 pages, it is more exhaustive than exhausting, and so awfully entertaining I daresay for a month I couldn't put it down. While no substitute for Trotsky's history of the Revolution, this is a historical distillation bound to give an insight into both Lenin and his times. Alan Brien has worked an undiscovered masterpiece!

This novel is misunderstood, both by the pedophile minority and the normophile majority, as glorifying sexual attraction to children. That it assuredly does not do. On the contrary, the protagonist undergoes an Epiphany and recognizes his mistakes. In the first half of the book, Humbert criticizes every adult he meets. For the second half, he discontinues this pattern.

Nabokov was decades ahead of the professional writers on the subject. He commits rationalizations which de Young commented on in 1982. He comments on "blurred boyish blondes in faded slacks" and his love-object's "beautiful boy-knees" and "blurred boyish blondes in faded slacks." In 1962, Fitch was the first professional writer to comment on pedophiles' preference for androgynous children.

Our hero also ascribes magical powers to himself and those like him. He thereby jumps the gun on "A Study of the Child Molester," which was published in 1984.

Most significantly, he shows the tendency of pedophiles to idealize their subjects. The first professional writers to comment on pedophiles idealizing children were McCormack & Selvaggio (1889) and Segal & Stermac (1990). Humbert opens his testimony with "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my lions" and finally regrets pursuing "the great resegray never-to-be-had."

Nabokov's accent (half english, half french, half russian) brings a fantastic, rhythmic power to this tape, in which the great man reads from his prose and verse (which he once defined as "concentrated prose"). Until you've heard an author read his own stuff, you don't really have a sense of what he had in mind, especially with verse, it being essentially an oral form. (at least the poetry I like.) Nabokov's neglected poems are among his best things, much better than his tedious early and late novels. Especially worthwhile is the author reading the same poem in Russian and in English -- both have the exact same cadences!

n.b. James Mason reading Lolita is even better than Nabokov's version. I suspect Nabokov had someone like him in mind when writing.

The three interwoven narratives are funny, sad and poignant, and the hero is a combination of resolve and absurdity as he doggedly digs his tunnel. This is a charming story, beautifully told and translated.

Though Nabokov's novels, like the luscious "Lolita" and the poetic "Pale Fire" are well-known and read, it's little known that he was also a playwright. This book collects some of his better dramas, all written when he was still a young man, and all written in his native Russian rather than the English that he mastered. One, blank verse masterpiece, is translated so poetically you won't know the difference. A great book to place next to his novels.

...is very highly recommended for Russian History academic reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Among the many books on icons, this is one of the oldest still in print. Why has it become a classic? Because it was written by one of the greatest twentieth century theologians, Vladimir Lossky, and by one of the greatest 20th century iconographers,Leonide Ouspensky who spent the whole of his artistic life in France painting icons and frescoes. Their approach is unique not only because of their deep experience of the Orthodox faith, but also because of the way they decided to describe the colour prints reproduced in this volume. What we have here is a superb commentary in the form of selection of poetry from the feasts during which these icons are placed in the middle of the church. Much of this Byzantine hymnography has no parallel in the West. It is what is heard in the eastern Christian church throughout the liturgical year which this volume beautifully illustrates both in word and image. The authors' feeling for the uplifting prayer of which icons play such a vital part is genuine and rarely found in any other book about the iconographic tradition. All Christians and many non-Christians will appreciate their respectful presentation of the revelation of God to man as it is presented in this book.

If you are searching for the Grail in the mystical experience of love and the transference, this is the book for you. The title says it all. Solovyov explores and uncovers the reason there is such archetypal emotional power in love even though the divine, cosmic source is not consciously recognized and understood. It is the failure to recognize the source behind the emotion which results in such tragic disillusion and despair. Finding the true source can be - should be life transforming.

This is a great reading for anyone who loves Russian classics. It combines the unique Nabokov's style with the wonderful plot of Lewis Carroll's masterpiece. Don't expect to see the exact translation of Carroll's book, rather consider it as a "variation on the theme" of "Alice in Wonderland". Take a book, a cup of tea, spend the time with favourite and funny Carroll's heros in the magic country of Carroll-Nabokov.

Library Journal's review of this guide: "Combining encyclopedic coverage of destinations with loads of practical information and atlas-type maps, the series illuminates the wonders of nature but emphasizes the peculiarity of a place's people and their folklore."