Duffy obviously knows his subject well (5 stars), but his efforts are substantially compromised by what can only be described as poor editorial efforts at the publisher, which results in numerous typos that diminishes the value of Duffy's work. The dust jacket even contains typographical errors, including a misspelling of another title offered by the publisher. Readers should not be made to suffer this way.

First the bad news - the typos in this book were atrocious. For the price you are asked to pay the publishers should have been able to pay a proofreader to go through the book and correct the glaring errors. An excellent work was given the appearance of something rushed into print to make a buck.

Having said that, Eagles Over The Alps is still worth having, both for the military historian, and for the wargamer. The fascinating history of the Italian and Swiss campaigns of one of the period's premier generals is well treated. Napoleon deservedly overshadows all other military men of his time, but Suvorov is arguably the better of the two generals in 1799, and this book helps to bring his career out of the shadows. Especially helpful for the wargamer are the line maps and orders of battle with detailed unit strengths. This book contains information that will be difficult to find anywhere else, and presents it in a lively style that is constantly engaging. Even with its flaws, this is still a good book.

I didn't know General Suvorov until I bought this book. What a fascinating person he was. Suvorov never lost a single battle, this is admirable. I like the maps, and the objectivity of the author. The graphics are OK. In my opinion this book is one of the most interesting, and covers subjects almost unknown for English speaking readers. Good job.

Some of the other reviewers have faulted Luria for not noticing the resemblance bewteen his subject's memory techniques and those used in the Middle Ages. With all due respect to those reviewers, the point of this book (clearly stated by Luria in the introduction) is to examine the effect of such a remarkable capacity for memory on the development of the subject's PERSONALITY. The key is in the approach: to examine how personality structure may hinge on a feature of psychic activity. This book does NOT concern itself specifically with the mechanisms of memory, although, of course, these are discussed as a preliminary to the discussion of memory's effect on personality development.

Fascinating concept and much-heralded innovation in psychological analysis could have been woven into a classic but the result falls short. As a prior review points out quite helfpfully, S. (the subject of Luria's analysis) uses ancient mnemonic tecniques of which the author seems ignorant, although the most cursory research in the field of memory would have revealed them to him. Readers should not repeat Luria's error; read Frances Yates' "The Art of Memory" after finishing this book.

In addition, Luria relies far too often on the subject's self-description and analysis even in matters that could have been tested or at least observed. As a result, the impact of the subject's psychological condition on his day-to-day life is addressed but only descriptively; the subject is not brought to life or "humanized" as commentators claim. The subject could have written this book better himself.

It is indeed a very interesting story of a man
with (apparently) a limitless memory. Where
vivid visual imagery helps him remember, but
handicaps him as well, as he (e.g.) can't
read a single line of text without evoking
a lot of images, somehow not singling out what
is most important in a sentence.
Images those provides both an obstacle and
an aid to learning. A sentence like
"the work goes under way normally" gets difficult
to grasp because each word produces a separate
image that distracts him - still he is a great
mnemonist because of these same powers to produce
images.
Enlightening. Still, there is a lot more to be
learned (and said) about memory
and how it actually works, than what is found here.
But it is a start.

-Simon

i am a fan of Mr. Solzhenitsyn both as a person and as a writer. and i have read a number of his works, including August 1914 (this book's prologue, as i'm sure you know). however, this volume of 1000 pages was just too much for me. i forced myself to keep reading up to the point where i had covered 300+ pages .... and then i gave up.

i wanted to love this book, but it was too pedantic for me and seemed to lack Mr. Solzhenitsyn's usual desire to make his characters come alive. was it just me or did the characters fade into insignificance? was Mr. Solzhenitsyn so taken with relating facts and foibles that his characters got lost in the shuffle? or was this book intentionally written as an history book and the characters were "necessary evils" ? i don't know.

i seem to recall in other books by Mr. Solzhenitsyn (e.g. Cancer Ward) a "slow start" with multiple characters (here read - this reviewer gets easily confused). however, typically after 100+ pages Mr. Solzhenitsyn begins to focus on one or two related souls and then blends his character development with history & implied comment. that is what i had hoped for and was expecting - work then reward, effort then involvement. i genuinely regret to say that i could never get past feeling as if i were a pinball being bounced from one uninteresting transcript to another.

bottom line - if one is (somewhat ?) knowledgeable of Russian history during this epoch, perhaps he/she will find this book worthy of 4 or 5 stars. otherwise, don't waste your time. by all means read Mr. Solzhenitsyn, but perhaps A Day In The Life Of .... would be a better place to get a taste of his prophetic and literary skills.

This historical novel is the sequel to "August 1914" and continues Solzhenitsyn's examination of Russian society prior to the Revolution. In contrast to "August 1914", the focus is upon the Russian home front rather than the military operations, and to my mind wins over "August 1914" because of that.

However, this is no easy read. The book is lengthy, and very ambitious in its scope - all sections of Russian society are examined - from the peasantry to the Imperial Family. Debates in the Duma are related in some detail, and although Solzhenitsyn advises that the reader may skip those parts, I found it best not to, as references to the Duma and certain of its personalities popped up elsewhere in the narrative.

Above all, the author makes heavy demands upon the reader's prior knowledge of Russian history - I could quite well imagine that the novel would defeat someone who had no background knowledge. You don't have to know the events and characters described in detail (I certainly didn't) but my very superficial knowledge did help me.

I got the feeling at the end of the novel that Solzhenitsyn's ambition was at times too high - many of the stories (for example of the peasant soldier returning home from the front) I felt deserved more space than they were given - it was almost as if Solzhenitsyn said to himself, "OK, I've covered that part of society, time to move my focus elsewhere". Overall a work of immense value in that it gave me what felt like an accurate impression of Russian society in World War One - a subject of which I really knew little about in any depth.

My approach to reading the two Red Wheel volumes has not been ideal, since I read each when it was first avaiable in English translation. The 25 year separation between the two "knots" was not ideal for me as a reader, but then the circumstances faced by the author have never been ideal. The second knot, November 1916, will reward your reading efforts with a recreation of the Great War's Eastern front, and of the unfolding disaster in the Russian heartland, that cannot be found elsewhere. Since the horrors in the process of being unleashed in the month captured here by Solzhenitsyn have not yet run their full course, one cannot, even as late as the year 2003, assess the full damage. But this novel lets us glimpse, and perhaps understand, the beginning of a nightmare--for a great people and for all of humanity.

Vladimir Nabokov is one of the great authors of the 20th century, both as a craftsman and stylist in the novel form. He even succeed in grand poetry (Pale Fire), so one would think that his literal translation of Oneigin would be a welcome publication. It's not. First, Nabokov strips Onegin of all poetics, which he admits is his intent. He believes the poem is better understood from a transliteral (almost interlinear) reading than from a poetic reconstruction. This attempt may please, and I stress "may," those who, unfamiliar with Russian, and who want such a bland diet of lackluster prose. But there are so many excellent translations of Onegin that are beautiful and captivating in themselves, I'm not sure there's much need for such a literal, word-for-word, transcription. Perhaps this book belongs on the shelf along with other translations of Onegin, but it's not one I'll return to in the near future.

I'm a Russian Language and Literature major in Yonsei Univ. in Korea. Having lived in Moscow for around 3 years, I'd heard there a lot about Pushkin and read many of his famous works. The most prestigious of his, however, must be "Onegin." It's a great mixture of verse and prose in its form. If possible, try to read this in Russian, as well. This long poetical prose was written for 8 years and the ending rhyme perfectly matches for the entire line until the very end. Compared to others, it is definitely a conspicuous and brilliant one. "Onegin" can be the author himself or yourself. The love between Onegin and TaTyana is neither the cheap kind of love that often appears in any books nor the tragic one that is intended to squeze your tears. As a literature, this book covers not only love between passionate youth, but also a large range of literary works in it, which can tell us about the contemporary literature current and its atmosphere. Calling Onegin "My friend", Pushkin, the author, shows the probability and likelihood of the work. Finally, I'm just sorry that the title has been changed into English. The original name must be "Yevgeni Onegin(¬¦¬Ó¬Ô¬Ö¬ß¬Ú¬Û ¬°¬ß¬Ö¬Ô¬Ú¬ß)." If you are a literature major or intersted in it, I'd like to recommand you read this. You can't help but loving the two lovers and may reread it, especially the two correspondences through a long period of time. Only with readng this book, you'll also learn a huge area of the contemporary literature of the 19th century from the books mentioned in "Onegin" that take part as its subtext. Enjoy yourself!

i like this book. it helps a lot. and looks good on the shelf to boot.

I had been happy to read about a supposedly unabridged and very inexpensive edition of "Queen of Spades" and the Belkin tales, as (as a college instructor) I often assign "Queen of Spades" in courses on opera or Petersburg, or in which one would not neces sarily need the student to order a whole compilation of Pushkin's fiction, such as Norton's very solid COMPLETE PROSE TALES.

However, this edition is *far* from unabridged. The editor has taken it upon himself to cut not only ALL the epigraphs from ALL t he stories (an absurd economy which distorts the tone of these parodic stories) but also fails to provide the two-page "From the Editor" frame without which the purpose of the Belkin tales is obscured.

I would not recommend this edition even to the casua l reader who wished to get the true flavor of Pushkin's Sternean, self-referential prose works. 'eo

If someone comes to me and asks what I think true Russian

spirit is, I would say, "duel" is. Russian duel is very reckless

and even absurd because the percentage of survival is only 50%.

Each load their gun and go to the opposite end and they shoot

from distance in turn until either one is shot.

In the book, German,the main character, is a half-bood of

Russian and Germany. Due to his birth,mixed with German blood,

he is usually very realistic and doesn't believe in magic or

tricks. In numerous gatherings German never participates in the

card games but always watches people play. When he hears that

an old woman knows how to win the game he sniffs and ignores

it. But ironically it is he who arrives at the gate of her

house. However, it is not his intention but he himself is

dragged by some magical power.

As quite an ordinary and poor man, German believes in

diligence and reason, but not fantasy or fate. That's why he

never participates in any games. Their game is like a duel. The

players say some number and they take cards until either of

them get to reach the number and he wins. Then a new game

starts as if they already forgot about the former game. Usually

the loser loses a huge sum of money, which means that the

winner becomes enormous rich. In other words, the game actually

changes their lives in totally different ways.

Everyone who has read this book would never forget the last

scene of the Queen of Spades. Perhaps she really does say so,

or he only dreams or imagins. No one knows except Pushkin.

Bytheway, he is not telling something moral to persuade or

teach us. All he shows is something like Matrix, I guess. Maybe

the whole story is just a trick or magic or some parts are. The

judgement is up to the reader. We all are German in a way.

This book is a nice (don't forget cheap) adaptation and translation of Russia's most celebrated author, A.S.Pushkin. I imagine that other editions (hardcover and so on) are extremely expensive, so this book is a good introduction into the works of a classic and exceptionally talented writer. I have read much of Pushkin in Russian language, so I can honestly say that this book is true to the originals and it is worth spending your $3 on. NOTE: To people, who know that Pushkin is considered greatest RUSSIAN (emphasis on "russian") writer and expect to find real Russia in his writings: you won't find much of it here, for the fact that Pushkin wrote mainly about his upper-class contemporaries, who (pretty much like Pushkin himself) lost touch with real Russia, hence the revolution awhile later... If you want to feel some of Pushkin's russian spirit, you should try reading his poetry instead of the short stories.

This book is full of interesting subject matter. Pushkin, the founding father of Russian Literature and its most exemplary poet, is a fascinating figure, embodying the enigmatic Russian soul and character. He was the ultimate Romantic outsider. His African descent was the subject of behind-the-back snickering at the court of Nicholas I. He was, however, held in great esteem as a writer by his contemporaries, yet he did not achieve his heroic status until after his death. It is his death (at the relatively young age of 38) in a duel with the French dandy, George D'Anthes, that is the primary subject of Serena Vitale's investigation.

The main drawbacks to Pushkin's Button are stylistic. Instead of marshaling her facts and presenting them in a forthright manner, Vitale instead resorts to a kind of breathy, gossip-laden, Dominick Dunne for "Vanity Fair," type exercise. She also scatters tidbits of information that she claims will have some significant import later in the story, yet in most instances, this turns out not to be the case. If she is trying to write a mystery, there are way too many red herrings. She claims that a series of letters found in a trunk in Paris in 1989 and viewed for the first time by her, reveal some startling information concerning the events leading up to the duel. Written by D'Anthes to his patron Barron Heeckeren (the Dutch Ambassador to Russia, who later adopted D'Anthes and may have had a more-than-fatherly love for his charge), they convey nothing particularly startling. To those familiar with the background behind the main characters, the fact that the letters reveal that D'Anthes and Heeckeren were shallow, supercilious hedonists is hardly news. Though she constantly hints that "all will be revealed," concerning the identity of the perpetrator of the "cuckold letters" that were disseminated amongst the Petersburg aristocracy, and that directly led Pushkin to challenge D'Anthes to the fatal duel, the identity behind the letters is never established. This is but one example of myriad unsubstantial queries the author leaves hanging.

For those looking for a more carefully reasoned, and infinitely better written book that covers much of the same material, I would recommend Henri Troyat's biography of Pushkin. Troyat, unlike Vitale, doesn't engage in empty conjecture and he has a thorough understanding of Russian history and literature, as he has authored several great biographies, ranging from Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Tolstoy, Elizabeth II, Alexander I, etc.

In her work on the events surrounding the duel that killed famed Russian writer Pushkin, Vitale weaves a literary web of both his contemporaries' accounts of the events leading up to the duel and its repercussions, and the often tangled motives of the players and those who reported their actions. Similar in its reconstruction techniques to Charles Nichols' "The Reckoning" (dealing with the murder of Christopher Marlowe), "Pushkin's Button" reads like a great mystery, and a window onto upper class Russian society of the day

A stunning tour de force of scholarship and literary style. Truly a suspenseful page-turner, somehow not slowed down by the author's use of liberal quotations from primary sources. Some of the credit must go to the translator, Anna Goldstein.

This book is very well researched but it's an incredibly boring read. If you're interested in things like Soviet wheat production in the 1940's, this is the book for you. The writer does a good job of showing how the twisted Soviet ideology made the U.S.S.R. more than just your "typical" dictatorship. The book makes it all too clear that the country under Stalin was simply a hell on earth. Unfortunately, personalities and geopolitical situations are given very short shrift and this is what makes the book such a difficult read. The book condenses far too much concering the immediate pre-Revolutionary era as well as the Revolution itself and the subsequent consolidation. One scarcely has an idea why it happened or why the people who led it tried to make it come about. Some fascinating passages concern the time just after after St. Petersburg falls. The Bolsheviks simply wait and do nothing, apparently believing that the historical "laws" set forth by Marx will soon kick into gear and communism will just appear. Instead things turn bloody quickly. Tragic and comic all at once. A bit more of this kind of thing would have made for a better read. By the end of the book the author ignores the conclusion his own book should have been leading him too. He shows how the Soviet Union had become a stagnant backward hopeless mess with an embittered populace, yet he fails to see its inevitable collapse which occurred just shortly after the publication of the book. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose but if the CIA had had a few copies of this book back in the 1980's, perhaps they would not have been so blindsided.

Heller and Nekrich have written a comprehensive, indepth history of the Soviet Union. They give a perspective that is not politicized nor P.C., but factual. A must read for 20th century scholors and students. I would also highly recommend Heller's book "Cogs in the Wheel" to understand how the Soviet Union tried to reshape humane nature.

Unfortunately, he was killed in a helicopter crash in Krasnoyarsk, Russia...Spring of 2002.

Former general Lebed, despite some legitimate Western concerns about his authoritarianism and inexperience in international affairs, comes off in this Rand/USAF study as a not unreasonable alternative to the political and economic chaos of post-Soviet Russia.
His early years are sketched in a few words, leaving many unanswered questions about his character and early development, but his expressed opinions and political maneuverings are charted here in a way which provides some illumination. He seems neither the Russian Napoleon some fear nor the saintly figure seen by the simpler Russian voter, but, possibly, a man with whom the West could do business.
The book is necessarily dated, and doesn't cover Lebed's dismissal as Yeltsin's national security advisor, nor his relatively obscure more recent activities, but is of value nonetheless as scarce material on a man with whom the West may yet reckon.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)

Abraham's book is a bit wordy and caught up in blow by blow descriptions of back room discussions and negotiations of the period. He does provide a revealing portrait of Alexander Kerensky and his troubled government in the turbulent times of war and revolution. Worth reading for serious students of Russian history. A Contribution to the history of the Revolution that changed the world.

This book, Blockade Diary, is one of those rare pieces of work (you all know the ones I am talking about) that make you really think about your life. I have always taken for granted the freedoms I have that the people in this book do not have. It is a great book for self-discovery and I think it is wonderful for summer reading.