A beautifully produced slipcovered volume of Nicholas's own watercolored renderings of his personal jewelry, of which he apparantly had a lot of (I guess that's a necessity of being tsar-emperor). The real treat, however, are the family photographs, many of which are previously unpublished. If your a serious Nicholas and Alexandra collector, this is a must have.

Nicky was a man of creative impulses like his children and his drawings totally show it. Not to mention this has lovely photographs of the family. My favorite has to be the one of Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna in 1906.

A BEAUTIFUL red volume with gold letters. This volume is wonderfully illustrated on either end with pictures of the Imperial Family and their royal relations from all over the world. In the middle of the book is the jewel album of the Tsar. Ever since 1889, Nicholas drew and painted every piece of jewelry he was given until 1913 when the notebook was ended. The notebook is exactly as he drew it. Their is an excellent essay, as well, on the jewelry by Irina Bogatskaya. I would say this book is a must have for people interested in Nicholas and Alexandra of the Royal Houses of Europe.

After reading this book, i rather enjoyed it.. Its really nice to have basic instruction with examples taken from Korsakov's own works.. Good book, though a bit old in the style of orchestration. A good one to learn the Old Style of this composer

One of the few Orchestration books that not only discusses the technique of the art, but also the emotional and psychological effect of instrumentation. The translation of the original text is well done. I always keep this book close by.

This is without a doubt the greatest book on orchestration in my opinion; not only does it give you an insight on Rimsky-Korsakov's style, but also helps perfectly balance any mixture of instruments, and gives you almost all information on any instrument (that he had at the time) that you'll ever need. It is not only a book on orchestration, but a course on it.

Pygmalion is a brilliant success by George Bernard Shaw to modernize the legendary Greek tale of a sculptor who falls in love with his artsitic creation and wishes to bring her to life. The rags-to-riches tale of Eliza Doolittle captivates the reader with its fast paced storyline, and witty dialogue. Shaw fascinates the reader with complicated characters such as Henry Higgins, Doolittle, and Colonel Pickering. Set in England, during a period of sophistication and elegance, Higgins and Pickering were faced with the seemingly impossible task of transforming a filthy flower girl (Eliza) into a beautiful duchess. The outrageous antics that ensue are both humorous and entertaining. Shaw's playful dialogue and timeless plot have been updated to fit the social and cultural standards of our time. For example, Alan Jay Lerner's My Fair Lady is an internationally acclaimed musical adaptation of Shaw's classic play. 1999 brought yet another adaptation of Pygmalion, in the form of the film She's All That, penned by R. Lee Fleming Jr. This teen comedy brings a new twist to the classic characters of Shaw's play. Pygmalion is a quick read and an enjoyable way to spend the day, and the characters in the story will remain with you forever.

This is an enchanting film for which George Bernard Shaw won an Oscar (which I believe he displayed proudly) for best screenplay after adapting the play "Pygmalion." It is true that the movie lacks the grand production values of "My Fair Lady," but it is much closer to the drama that Shaw had in mind. The dialogue is much richer than "My Fair Lady," which still managed to keep much of the language of the play and some of the movie.

Like many of Shaw's plays, it is built around his pet ideas -- here (in a simple form) the notion that class distinctions are not genuine and could be overcome through education. Unlike some of Shaw's plays which read like socialist tracts, this one has very human characters who keep your interest throughout (in contrast to "Major Barabara" which was a rather tedious movie).

For me, Wendy Hiller make a marvelous Eliza Doolittle. Although Leslie Howard is very good (and presumably what Shaw had in mind), it is hard to forget the bluster Rex Harrison -- a great actor himself -- brought to the role of Professor Higgins. Hiller brings a wonderful dignity and pathos to the role of Eliza Doolittle. The rest of the cast is very good and the sets are very authentically set in Edwardian England.

This is definite buy if you like Shaw, theatre in general, good movies from the 30s, or want to see a richer version of "My Fair Lady."

It started out as a play by George Bernard Shaw based on the Greek myth of a man who created a statue and then fell in love with it. The play, which was a spoof on the British upper class, was an immediate success and several movie versions followed. This 1938 version, in black and white, was nominated for four academy awards in 1939 and won an Oscar for best screenplay. Later, it was adapted to the musical hit, "My Fair Lady." The rest, as they say, is history. But Pygmalion should certainly not be forgotten.

The cast is excellent. Leslie Howard is perfect as Henry Higgins, the professor of dialects who transforms a flower girl into a lady. And Wendy Hiller is sensational as Eliza Doolittle. There's a certain regal freshness and her British authenticity comes across beautifully. Even though "the rain in Spain" is spoken, rather than sung, it still keeps the same quality. And there is music throughout as background, lively original music created especially for the film. The supporting cast was excellent too. I particularly loved the performance by Wilfrid Larson as Eliza's father. The film moved fast and kept me totally captivated. The costumes were wonderful and the timing for the comedic moments perfect. I found myself laughing out loud in places and smiling to myself throughout. Certainly, this film has stood the test of time and even though it will always be compared to the musical we all know and love, I must say that Pygmalion can definitely stand on its own. Give yourself a treat and check it out. Highly recommended.

This was Pope's first novel (of ultimately nearly 20) about Lord Ramage, a character who seems based [like O'Brien's Lucky Jack Aubrey] somewhat on the real Lord Cochran. It gets off to a hurtling start as Ramage comes to in the midst of total chaos, on a sinking ship littered with dead and wounded, and is told he's in command. He completes the mission his sunk ship was on, to rescue some Italian nobles, and meets the Great Love of his life, the georgeous Gianna. Back at the base, he's court-martialled and it looks grim... but the novel switches from courtroom drama to another rousing naval operation as Ramage rescues the officers and crew of a wrecked British Navy ship. If you entered Age-of-Sail fiction by way of O'Brien, this will be pretty thin gruel, but it is pretty much up to the Forester/Kent/Woodman/ Lambdin mark, and quite enjoyable. I was certainly motivated by reading it to eventually read the other novels in the Ramage series.

This was the first novel I have read by Pope and I throughly enjoyed it. It gets off to a very fast start, which is unusual for a sea novel. It slows down somewhat in the middle but never gets boring and the ending is very suspenseful. Ramage is an interesting and likable character. The book is well-written, for the most part, although there are lines here and there that struck me as a little corny. The tone of the book is mostly serious, but there are a couple of scenes that are pretty funny. One of the things that I particularly liked about this book was the way Pope does not romanticize the Royal Navy. He presents the Royal Navy with all its flaws; such as its tendency to promote incompetent officers from wealthy and influential families while far better officers get stuck in the lower ranks. This book shows the tremendous pressure that Royal Navy officers were under to succeed in their missions, or die trying. Pope compares very favorably with the novels I have read by Alexander Kent and Richard Woodman. In fact, I like him better than Kent. Pope is not nearly as good as Patrick O'Brian, though. Anyway, I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

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Review of the Ramage series of novels:

This is first of a series of nine books. All of these are fictional novels based on British Admiralty records of the Napoleonic era. Written in the best tradition of Forester and O'Brien, these books will capture our imagination. And if you haven't read the Hornblower series by Forester, or the Aubrey/Maturin series by O'Brien, try them also. All of these are excellent books that you will treasure and reread. I particularly like these books by Pope. I recommend that you buy them all at once and read them in order. You will be glad you did.

If you enjoy reading accurate descriptions of naval maneuvers in the age of sail, or simply a good adventure yarn, Dudley Pope delivers. Pope conveys how the best of the best, handle emergency situations. He portrays these situations with realism and authenticity.

Review of this book:

In this novel, Ramage awakes after receiving an injury in battle to find himself in command of the rapidly sinking Sibella. The pace is fast and furious as he struggles to complete the Sibella's mission and save his crew. As any Captain who has lost his ship, this book concludes with Ramage facing a daunting courts martial board with the deck stacked against him.

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Conrad B. Senior

Clowe, West and Kassow gather a collection of 22 essays that address from every conceivable angle the subject of Russian civil society, and civic identity-- aka "obshchestvo" and "obshchestvennost"-- all during the transitional period from imperial rule to the Russian Revolution. The volume looks through the lens of social history, work ethics, civic associations, professions, classes, and many more perspectives to create a definition of civil society (or "middle class" as Clowes, West and Kassow choose to identify it in the title.)

For those of us attempting to make sense of what is occuring in Russia today, it is critical to take a long hard look at its past. And, that is just to start the road to understanding. I recommend this book to the hard-core Russophile or anyone wanting to build a historical literature review of Russia.

When we get annoyed at Solzhenitsyn's lack of insight in contemporary politics (for instance, when he applauds the Russian intervention in Chechnya), we can turn back to his depictions of life in the Soviet work camps and delight in the fact that he used to be different (when the ruling was an enemy suiting his conservative and slavophile ideas, as one is tempted to add).

'The Love-Girl and the Innocent' is a brilliant play about the inhuman world of the camps, that have their own rules, and where nothing of the world outside matters. The 'Innocent' is a newly arrived prisoner, who still bears idealism and is reluctant to adopt the camp techniques of survival. His love for Lyuba, one of the many women forced by circumstances to sell themselves for privileges and rations, tempts him to compromise with himself and betray his moral and emotional loyalties.

This book, although mainly intended to explain Alexander the Great's political system and success, also haas a great amount of information to offer on the most brilliant military campaigns of all time. Anyone interested in an amateur understanding of battles, not to mention polytheism and Macedonian social code, would find this book a vast ocean of useful facts.

Mr. Hammond's study of the campaigns and generalship of Alexander is a insightful look at perhaps the greatest General in world history. What is most interesting is that the book does not necessarily focus on the specific battles of Alexander, but on Alexander as a general. In a very real way, his accomplishment as a general are greater than his conquest of Persia.

The book does discuss the battles of Alexander and describes what happened and why it happened. Hammond does a good job of putting the reader in the head of Alexander.

The book is well written and maps help explain what is going on. For those who are interested in Alexander or how he accomplished so much so quickly, this book is a must.

Excellent insight is provided by Mr. Hammond. Alexander's war campaigns and crusades are explained here in detail.This is indeed,an excellent book for people who are into military history,and out of the half a dozen books I have read about Alexander,I'd place this in first place.Highly recommended.

I acquired with great hopes the book of Professor Emeritus Slaatte, because part of my own ongoing work covers Berdiaev, beside a few other important thinker figures. However, I must say that Prof. Slaatte's book turned out to be a disappointment. Despite the evidently good intentions of the author, he does not really get "there". This is to be regretted all the more, because the Index of the book is promising and consists of very relevant Berdiaevian entries, and because Prof. Slaatte's reading approach involves a multitude of detailed references to pages in Berdiaev's books.

For this or that reason, Prof. Slaatte's book does not really go into the thought of Berdiaev but somehow stays gliding in the surface. I see it as possible that Prof. Slaatte's own frame of reference is too different to allow ascent or descent into Berdiaev's sphere. The part of Berdiaev's ample production that Prof. Slaatte goes through is also limited. I find the best book on Berdiaev to be the one by Olivier Clement's, but it is only available in French, albeit in an edition that is not sold out by far.