Review in "Artscene" December/January 1998/9

Art as the cognition of life (Mehring Books £19.99) is a large selection of critical writings by A.K. Voronsky. It is impeccably translated and superbly presented. Voronsky was a Bolshevik critic and editor whose life and work was expunged by the Stalinist regime. Predictably, then, he is in the Engels camp of Marxist criticism ("The more the opinions of the author remain hidden, the better for the work of art") and not the Leninist camp ("Literature must become Party literature!").

Voronsky is not a radical critic, but openly develops his key notions from the work of the 19th century writer V.G. Belinsky, and the title-piece of this book is in some ways the least relevant of the collected essays. More intriguing are those which dwell on the circumstances and the figures of the time; some well known to the West (Maxim Gorky or H.G. Wells), other much less so (the poet Sergei Esenin or Voronsky's friend Mikhail Frunze).

This is a significant historical document, a window onto a smudged world and into a giddy time that wants for levelheaded commentary. Voronsky is an authoritative voice rather than a great critic; but you have to remind yourself of the constant barrage or personal attack he was under and marvel at the near complete absence of self-justification and cheap vitriol in his writings. Reviewing the "disgraced" political activist and thinker G.V. Plekanov he bemoans: "The revolution is ruthless. Like Saturn it devours its children, without slowing its furious pace for even a second". 17 years later this "furious pace" saw Voronsky shot and buried in an unmarked grave near Moscow.

Sheffield's Mehring Books deserve huge credit for publishing Art as the Cognition of Life, but who can pretend there is a ready market for it? There are many kinds of censorship but the "free economy" is, in telling ways, the most efficient of them.

A starry winter night, a lonely sleigh accompanied only by the light of the full moon. The deep sadness of vast russian plains fills our soul as we read these thoughtful, brilliantly crafted yet simple stories about life, death, love and honour. Truly a book to get lost in and an excellent introduction to the writings of Russia's greatest writer.

Of course, I loved the book. It's well paced, entertaining, and insightful to a moment in russian history. Pushkin's charm as an dramatist is as well done as shakespeare. There aren't as many quotable lines, but that only makes it more fluent to read. The poetry is also nothing shy of great and the characters are well written, notably boris and the impostor. It's always tough to find russian literiture that doesn't bore a person, but pushkin's drama has enough romance (i.e. Romantic era), action, jokes, and touching speeches to move the reader to bite their nails, laugh out loud, and cry.

This book fills a huge gap in the literature about the Russian Civil War. The Siberian theatre hasn't been the subject of a monograph since the 1930s, and only Canfield Smith's wonderful book on the events in Vladivostok during 1920-1922 gave the reader an in-depth look at a part of the complicated sequence of events east of the Ural mountains. Dr.Smele's book is the first in-depth treatment in any language of Kolchak's government, how it came to be, why it performed so poorly in all its tasks as it did, and what became of it. The political intrigue, the rather inept leadership of Kolchak himself, the tragically inept military efforts - after reading this book the reader may wonder how Kolchak managed to do as well as he did (at first). I have found this book to be an indispensable reference work. In addition, it is beautifully written - perhaps not an important consideration for a scholarly work, but definitely a feature that makes reading this book a pleasure. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in Siberia and/or the Russian Civil War.

This is not one more book, but the foundation of a theory not yet understood and much more not yet accepted. It opens new frontiers in biology and life sciences. The role of electromagnetism is vital to the concept of life. Each cell should not be considered and studied as one unit, but as part of one organism (my though is that maybe the one organism should be considered as part of one ecosystem). If you are trying to answer how external electromagnetic fields can affect a living organism, then you will find unique the idea that field intensity is not the criterion. Weak fields can be more important than strong fields.
Anyway, this book is classical and rare. It revolutionizes life sciences, enters unexplored regions. If you are a true scientist take it, if you can find it.

I am not a poetry lover but I found this book to be delightful. It can be appreciated simply as a good read. This particular translation made it very accessible, very engaging. I was swept up by the period detail provided by the author. If you like books with dashing but jaded heroes and strong minded heroines this is for you.

Aleksandr Kuprin was one of the most important Russian classics. He did not limit himself to the rewarding field of entertaining the rich, he wrote for regular people and he wrote about the regular people. He was deep, powerful and true.

This stunning work is the most important literary achievement of the 20th century. The book is an incredibly poignant documentary of human cruelty. The book is brilliantly and capitivatingly narrated. But these are not the book's greatest gifts. The book reveals uncontrovertably the true nature of communism, its utter dependence on repression of freedom, and the inevitable measures and consequences of that repression. This book should be required reading in all high schools. Our young people would then appreciate why the Cold War was fought and why our victory was a stunning triumph for humanity.

The father of Neuropsychology's seminal work on higher brain function and cerebral organization. The clinical-pathological approach and bedside testing at it's best

Alexander III is a tsar who has disappeared in history, probably because he reigned for too short a time to make much of a difference in Russian history. He ruled in between two of Russia's better known monarchs: his father was Alexander II, who freed the serfs, while his son was Nicholas II, the last tsar. Alexander III has been ill-served in biography; the sole real English-language biography of him was written in the 1890s and contains (unsurprisingly) numerous errors. Bokhanov's "Imperator Aleksandr III" fills all the gaps (although it is, alas, in Russian). Bokhanov quotes from tons and tons of letters, including Alexander's letters, those of his siblings, those of his wife, those of his children, and those of his parents, and even includes a section on Alexander's short-lived, more liberal older brother (whose fiancee he inherited). Bokhanov's scholarship and use of primary sources is, as always, fantastic. (See "The Romanovs: Love, Power, and Tragedy" in English for an example.) Lots and lots of beautiful family photos, too. A fascinating book for anyone interested in Alexander, his charming, iron-willed wife, Maria Fyodorovna, the intertwined world of late nineteenth-century royalty, or the early childhood of Nicholas II.