Russian banking is 'inventing' a new Russian social process for individual and small group entrepreneurial pioneering and providing people with new pathways for economic growth. Every decisive step in the history of economic development ha been the result of deliberate decisions to open up space and enable people to pioneer. This deliberate incubation of the free enterprise of ordinary people has always worked to produce great results. This is not nostalgic, not romantic, not greed. It is the simple principle of applying "opportunity" to the great driving hunger of millions of people to transcend their inadequate past

A far better description of the actual situation in Russia than what is available in the U.S. or Russian Press, or other alternative sources. Opened my eyes to what I should be aware of.

I found this book provided a clear description of possibilities for collaboration and cooperation with Banks in America. Our methods and practices differ but Dr. van de Waal-Palms explains the common denominators.

This book is quite simply a treasure.

I used to have an older copy of this same book, but after nearly 30 years it practically disintegrated, so I purchased a new copy.

The first thing was that I was impressed by the quality of this new edition. A nice flex-cover, clear, white pages with a very clear font, diagrams ... nothing seems to have been missed. You even get a few black-and-white photographs.

The games are as carefully and lovingly annotated as any player could want. (Sometimes there is literally a comment after every move!) Additionally, you get a constant update as to the times the players took on each move. (Any serious tournament player could try to model themselves from this ... knowing when to think and when not to is important information for any competitor in rated events. Most books do NOT give you this kind of information!)

Some reasons NOT to buy this book:
# 1.) If you are a bare-bones beginner, there are many much better books out there that are probably better suited for teaching you the game. (But I do not see how anyone who seriously applied himself or herself would not improve after a careful study of this book.)
# 2.) Do not buy this book thinking casual study will turn you into this type of player. These two were the paragon of chess. Studying these games will help you improve, but statistically your chances of playing at this level of chess is very small, the odds are greater that you will win a lottery. (But the explanation ... AFTER EVERY MOVE - in some cases - will certainly be an eye-opener for most students.)
# 3.) Don't buy this book thinking it is the latest in chess theory, many of these lines are NOT being played today!!!

The main reason you would want to purchase this book is that you love the game and would like to study Tal's exquisite notes ... some of the best ever written by a competitor at this level. THIS IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST BOOK ON ANY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - - - PERIOD!!!!! I would think that this is a book you would come back to again and again and again!

This is a really fine book. I agree with the other reviewers and will try not to just repeat what has already been said above.

There are so many things to enjoy about this book- the notes and comments by Tal are magnificent. It is very interesting to get "inside his head" as he discusses not just the moves, but moods and psychology of the players and match.

The type font and the diagrams are all first rate. In addition to the 21 games contested during the actual world championship, there are another 23 supplemental games between Tal and Botvinnik included at the end of the book.

The notes to the moves are just the right mix of words and analysis. Many modern books go overboard on analysis and skimp on the verbal commentary. This might be fine for players rated 2000 USCF and above (if you don't know what this means - trust me you aren't rated up there!), but for the vast majority of players it just sets the head spinning and provides no useful cues to help evaluate a position.

This book has enough analysis to be useful, but backs it up with much verbal commentary explaining the motives behind the magic (er, the moves) by Tal.

If you are looking to pluck down $ 20.00 or so for a great chess book, this one should be on your list of candidates!

With the advent of computers, it is easy for writers to produce books that contain copious amounts of analysis. Never mind that in many cases, the annotations are often of the "look at me analyzing a position that never happened to show you that I can analyze" variety.

This book is not such a case. Tal concentrates on the here and now of the match, occasionally going into some detail (It should be noted that Tal had no computer help when he wrote this, not that it would be needed) but usually giving verbal descriptions of the position and the psychological apsects of playing certain moves/openings.

It would be a shame not to own this book.

In this book, Naimy has portrayed to us a very simple basic suggestion. A suggestion that we are of the same rank no matter what we may learn and achieve. For the ordinary person has his gift of being ordinary but his ordinariness if viewed at another angle could tell us that he is greater than the captain of the crew. So Naimy has shown to those of them who choose to live monastic lives that no matter what our designations we have all come for the same purpose. Not to lead but to serve.

The lighthouse is very symbolic; it shows us a rocky path lest we crush. Thus if one is blind how would he know if there is a lighthouse ahead? The ambitious man never really sees the lighthouse and has to dash against those rocks. So work to serve as any one can lead or be a guide This is for those who intend to join the monastic life and for us lay people as we all forget our very purpose in life.

This book first came out in 1948 and has been reprinted several times since then. It has been translated into several languages and also been turned into a play. The author was a close friend and associate of Kahlil Gibran who wrote The Prophet. The Book of Mirdad is a beautiful story containing much wisdom, which has been an inspiration to many. I am so glad it is back in print again after being hard to find for several years. This book has gone around the world and has been recommended by spiritual groups as diverse as the School of the Golden Rosycross (Lectorium Rosicrucianum) in the west and Radha Soami Satsang in the east.

This story of a monastery is very sybolic representation of every soul in search and quest for the ultimate truth of being,which lies hidden within and reveals itself to the adventourous spirit who shakes off everything that binds him to the appearnce-the external play of 'Maya'to put it into the vedic term.Time spent in reading this book is like setting out on that inner journey of soul in a constant company of That invisible helmsman within.

Excellent book, easy to read and understand. Perfect to prepare an exam. Just what you need as a all time companion book

This book is well-presented, easy to read and, with the case scenarios presented at the end of each chapter, puts some of the most important clinical considerations in anaesthetics into a truly practical way. It is relatively small too, so that it is portable and can be referenced easily. All in all, an excellent book.

This is an extraordinary book to prepare the board. Simple,concise, to the point. I upgraded from the second edition and it was really worth the upgrade. New chapters and new presentation with key concepts and case discussion worth reading. All time companion book !!

This book, as many of the other reviewers have commented, is enjoyable to read in its own right even without the games. Tal comes across as self-effacing and amusing, for the most part; the inclusion of things like a diagram showing Tal blundering away a queen against Averbakh in a blitz game is a refreshing change from the egomania that seems to run rampant in high level chess. The book is broken up into nine chapters representing Tal's breakdown of his chess life into various eras. Each chapter has prose discussion of major events that Tal played in that time period, with lots of anecdotes and interesting asides. In these sections he occasionally inserts diagrams and partial game scores, with minor commentary.
The latter half of each chapter is dedicated to games and their annotation. All in all there are 100 annotated games. I have not, by any means, thoroughly studied all of them. But I have looked at a fair number, and the quality of the annotation is generally quite good. Tal employs the same clear writing style in his annotations that he does in the prose sections, and it makes for good reading. The games can frequently be difficult to follow for a mediocre player like myself, but they certainly look cool.
Many players stronger than myself say that careful study of this book will improve your play. After reading it, I found myself occasionally making sacrifices with absolutely no justification whatsoever, so it definitely did something. I plan to try to work through it thoroughly when I am a stronger player, but at the moment I feel I'm not making the best use of its lessons. Right now I'm giving Alekhine's best games a try instead.
As a final comment, I see many people have had problems with the binding. While it certainly doesn't look very sturdy, I have read the entire book and haven't had any pages fall out. Admittedly I'm not keeping it spread open doing long analysis sessions, so it might be more of a comment on me than on the book.

I was surprised and excited to discover Cadogan's reissue of this amazing book - I had been searching for several years for a copy of RHM Press' original version, which is out of print. There are many books about Mikhail Tal, "The Magician", an attacking player from Latvia who conjured up explosive tactics in the most surprising ways. This particular book blows away all the others, though; anyone who thinks chess is boring, or who is burned out as a chess player, should treat himself or herself to Tal. Tal went from a complete unknown (outside the USSR) to World Champion in a few short years. Tal's life, as well as his astonishing games, reminds me that chess is a beautiful and exhilerating hunt where everything is possible! He was also a very impish, funny man and this book's conversational style brings his personality through cleanly. Recently I read an interview with a Senior Master in the US who said beginners should avoid reading Tal because "there's no way you can understand what he's thinking!" Well, I may not understand his thoughts, but I can certainly enjoy his games!!

This book is pervaded with a literary and anecdotal air that is rarely found in Chess literature (and, as I see it, is much needed). One gets the sense that he is reading the work of a man who deeply loved life and who took great pleasure in those little disjoint stories of which it is comprised whether or not they occured at the board. This book reads like a true biography with brilliantly annotated games acting as much welcomed photographs. Upon seeing the position from Tal's 1959 Interzonal game against Fischer, anyone interested in Tal will be captivated to hear Tal speak of how he tricked Fischer into losing a won position. The games and stories presented in this volume compliment each other masterfully. Quite simply, this is one of the greatest chess books ever written: In it one finds both great chess and great comedy. One must conclude that Tal was not only a master of chess but also of the pen!

This is a tight and powerful novel. It is more or less unique in Russian literature in that it is the story of a "typical" (i.e. non-socialist) family affected by the Revolution and Civil War. Bulgakov grew up in Kiev and his love for the city comes through very strongly. When I read this book I knew very little about the historical events it describes but this didn't prove much of a problem in the long run.

I am also astounded that only three people reviewed this book. The novel centers on the Turbin family living in Kiev, Ukraine during the Civil War (1918 - 1921) that followed World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the Russian empire fell apart in 1917, the Ukraine declared an independent state in early 1918 led by a parliamentary leader called a Hetman. The Hetman Skoropadsky in The White Guard is the second such leader. Skoropadsky assumed power with German support and intervention. Having just lost World War I and being not all that interested in the Ukraine anyway, the Germans could not support Skoropadsky enough to quell the inevitable power struggle. In the Ukraine, there arose armies of Tsarists (led by Deniken, mentioned briefly in the book), Bolsheviks (who, of course, ultimately win but are not major players in the book), and Socialist nationalists led by Simon Petlyura. The Turbins enlist in a local guard unit supporting the Hetman against Petlyura's much larger army. It soon becomes clear that their loyalty to the Hetman is misplaced, but the Turbins' loyalty to each other, their city, their friends and neighbors, and their commanding officers is heart-warming. Besides "heart-warming" there are also running gun battles, sabre decapitations, machine gun ambushes, and enough action to please all but the most hard core testosterone addicts. Petlyura is regarded by many Ukrainians as a great general (no opinion from me), but many readers will enjoy despising Petlyura for the pogroms he instituted that killed 100,000 Ukrainian Jews. Petlyura is called a "dirty Yid" at a point in the book that might give insight into Bulgakov's view on these pogroms. This book is both a taut thriller and a beautiful story of loyalty and love. Brian says "Check it out" (Sorry, Joe Bob).

While we are, as Americans, familiar with the story of the Stalinist purges and know something of post-Revolutionary Russian history, the Russian Civil War between the White and the Red is not as well-known.

But this is the crux of the struggle that subsequently determined Russian history. Many authors tried to give a view of that turbulent period; Pasternak in "Doctor Zhivago", Solzhenitzen marginally in "Ivan Denisovitch" (Denisovitch was in a gulag because he was a returnee from the German front and thus viewed as a political traitor) and Ayn Rand "We the Living." Bulgakov's novel is one of the richest, most touching and well-written I have read on this historical time.

He takes the story from the personal standpoint of a single family affected by the German betrayal of Russia to the incomprehensible brutality of the Civil War. The use of "white" and "red" as symbols in describing everyday objects and landscape is novelistic, the action is pure stage drama as you'd find in a play or film.

This is a far better novel than "Doctor Zhivago", which dealt with essentially the same subject (families torn apart by the Civil War and their way of life forever altered.) If you are at all interested in Russian history, I can't recommend "The White Guard" enough to you. I just loved it.

I have read a great deal of health and spiritual books. Many of them give little useful meaning beyond nostalgic " hippie-dippie " advice.

At first glance Mikhail Tombak brings out things in his book which we would just shrug off as " common sense ". However, if we read deeper between the lines we realize that the basis of all medicine, holistic and mainstream, relies heavily on age old remedies which have been adapted to modern times.

Here is where Tombak's wonderful book really shines as he enters
" grandma's advice " which we might have shrugged off at first. So often , when we look back at our childhood carefully, only then can we realize, how it has helped us get cured , or just feel better.

As North Americans , especially, we should peer deeper into values presented to us from the old country as we accelerate into the 21st Century, often forgetting the lessons of the past.

Thumbs up Mr Tombak for reminding us of that !

Since conventional medicine could not cure my daughter's eczema, I turned to natural (alternative) medicine. I have read many good books on the health subject in the past, but " Can We Live 150 years?" beats them all! The essential message that the book conveys is that we are the ones who should be taking control of our own health. This message is supported by simple, do-it-at-home, inexpensive, and natural formulas and techniques used from generation to generation. The book is a guide to proper eating, breathing, maintaining healthy spine, liver, kidneys, and more... As the author rightly points out, we clean our houses, we keep our cars lubricated and clean, but many times we forget about proper care of our "internal houses". It can be argued that nature enabled our bodies to maintain themselves, but a question arises : Did nature create artificial, genetically modified foods and chemicals?

Very informative, common sense approach, easy to comprehend. Once I started reading this book I found it so interesting that I had to finish the same day.I found the recipes for body cleansing specially helpful.
Next day I bought 3 books for my friends. I recommended this book to everybody who cares about their health.

If an appreciation of the personal perspective of the poet can deepen the experience of his words, then Lemkhin's photographic tribute to Brodsky's beloved home belongs on our bookshelves alongside the poetry books and essays of the Nobel laureate. Except for an intimate foreword by Milosz, a moving afterword by Sontag, and brief postnotes in which Lemkhin provides background details on several of the images, the message of this book is delivered entirely through black-and-white images. The voice of those visions comes through most clearly when one imagines viewig through the eyes of the poet himself, not only in the streets and the statues, the skies and the stories of Leningrad, but in the mirror of the close-up snapshots of Brodsky himself placed throughout the collection of pictures. Even the mediocre artistic quality of some of the individual snapshots can be forgiven as the soft footsteps of the poet can be heard stepping through his own lines in the movement of these deeply personal worlds of his own home.

JOSEPH BRODSKY, LENINGRAD: FRAGMENTS succeeds on every level. For those not familiar with Brodsky's brilliant poetry I would recommend that you spend time with WATERMARKS, his tribute to the city of Venice, before coming to this book. Once the gentle subtleties of his poetry are in mind, then spending time perusing this pictorial essay of Brodsky's face and the scenes of Leningrad (the old name for St. Petersburg is used because that was the city's Soviet name used when Brodsky lived there) will form a complete picture of this amazing expatriate. Mikhail Lemkhin addresses not only the pictorial influences on the poet, but also adds some words of wisdom. The tribute at the end of the photographs, in some of Sunsan Sonntag's most eloquent writing, is a fitting closure to this very lovely book. Highly recommended.

I greatly enjoyed the two books by Mikhail Lemkhin: "Missing Frames" and "Fragments". I am especially moved by portraits. There is something about the portraits that make them very different from most others. The pictures are not posed, but don't seem to be too candid either. I get the impression that the subject is aware of the photographer, but is not posing for him, at least not physically. It is as if the subject is exposing his/her inner soul to the camera. The photographs work, in deeply satisfying way, very well. I know I will look at them again and again.

For years this book sat on my shelf unopened. Before playing through the games and studies in this outstanding work I was under the impression that Botvinnik was a dry positional player. Nothing could be further from the truth. The games are highly instructive with outstanding analysis. Just by playing through them my play has gained some solidity and my endgame is more exact. The endgame studies will delight you. A very fine additional to the volume those studies were.

First let me Warn you about the old notation... If you dont know descriptive notation, that might throw you a bit... If you can deal with that, then fine... I really personally dont like it, but there is more to this book... Botvinnik Im not a huge fan of or anything like that... Still reading this book I found a few helpful things to say least... The price is really low and anyone just about can afford it... You can get a file with all these games in modern notation so that makes it easier... This book taught me how to use a Pseudo Gruenfeld vs. (1 c4) The sad English... Just for that simple facts and the few games in book with it... I think its worth picking up...

To be honest I just think there are some chess books everyone should own... The book has an endgame study at the end which might be interesting to some. I am not sure if it is outdated or anything like that. Still seeing how they saw things in the past can be helpful. I like how Botvinnik talks a bit about his life besides chess. Sure maybe some might not agree with all he says or how he said things. Still he was World Champion I believe 3 times or something like that. Maybe there was a dark side to some of that... The guy in his time was one of the Best Chess players. I am not a fan of him, still I very much enjoy my time reading this book. I do not really care so much if the games are old and theory. I was glad to learn to use Gruenfeld vs. English from this book... Also the FACT a former World Champion Botvinnik used it helped convince me to give it a try. I only wish the Gruenfeld book I bought had least 1 chapter covering using it vs. English.... If you are just looking for cutting edge modern theory, this book might not appeal to you... If you care about chess history get this book.

I would say any rating can enjoy this book. I got it as one of my early books when I was new to chess. I did not know any notation really, so the descriptive was even more confusing to me :)... Still even without really knowing much about the game I enjoyed the book. Just reading it and stuff I found helped inspire me to keep playing. Also seeing some of the human side of him was rather interesting. Do not get this book thinking it will make you a World Champion. Still I am sure many World Champions past and present own or have owned this book :)...

Ok - i agree with many that thought that Botvinnik had no outstanding talent. Then why did he succeed so long ? The answer is method: you go through his games and are not amazed as in Tal's but he leads you through the logic of the position. Playing logically does not mean stereotyped or predictable: Botvinnik introduced the wildest variation in the Semislav; he was one of the first to adopt k-side expansions w/ g2-g4 in queen-pawn opening- even uncovering his king. Careful study of this book will repay much more than study say Shirov's games: it does describe wonderfully the way to handle typical key positions and themes. The only annoying thing is that Botvinnik uses too much the tone of an "illuminated teacher" that knows the absolute truth; don't be fooled when he says that the opponent's position is lost already from the late opening. This is not how chess work- even at superGM level.

Bakhtin's "Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics" remains an essential critical writing to understand the complex and eclectic critical imagery of Bakhtin. The plurality of consciousness within a novel (polyphony) together with the idea of simultaneity in the relationships among characters confine to this work an extremely contemporary view of what literary creation is like or must be conceived of.
Bakhtin's defense of the independency of the hero from the author stands not only as a strong critique to those critical trends which regard biographical information as the only source to fully capture the essence of a literary work, but also it enables a new kind of open criticism which embraces the role of the reader in the process of authoring a text, that is, providing the text with a meaning. Bakhtin's interest on physiology to capture the real insight of human perception and, hence, of human understanding of a literary work is, in my opinion, a great advance for the reader to become an undisputed element in the literary chain formed by the author, the text and the reader.
Bakhtin's work has rapidly become a cornerstone in the current flow of literary criticism and his "Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics" stands as one of his finest achievements.

Bakhtin's critique of Dostoevsky's work has revealed so much more to me about the form of this great author's novels than I would have ever been able to understand for myself. What makes Bakhtin such a masterful theorist is his methodical approach to understanding an author's work discussing the historical influence of form and the critical misinterpretations that have preceded the work. He is so attentive to levels of narration that he is able to identify voices in relation to the author and the other characters. This helps to clarify the structure of the narrative and the many ways we can interpret it. Many people have marvelled at the brilliance of Doestoevsky's work but haven't been able to put their finger on why it is so great. Bahktin not only names the reason, but also gives an incredible amount of thorough evidence as to why this is so in a comprehensible way. The technical theory is easy to understand as he is very careful to define his terms and the reasons he uses them. His survey of the development of literary forms, particularly the carnavelesque is informed and inspiring, but be careful as it is slightly idealistic and, though perfectly relevant, you feel that he is assimilating it a little too easy to his critique of Doestoevsky. The narrative techniques he identifies are not only useful in understanding Doestoevskys work but are incredibly useful in thinking about current authors. This is a very important piece of critical work I have come back to again and again.

Bakhtin's seminal work owes a lot to thinkers like Nietzsche, buy by gum, does he stand on his own. The most brilliant exposition I've read on Dostoevsky (with Rozanov in second place) and perhaps the most perceptive and insightful comments on the literary process and theory this century.