Though Bulgakov is perhaps best known in the West for his Master i Margarita, the tale of Satan's vist to the capital of world communism, these tales well exhibit his literary genius and his satirical bite. One of the stories in this collection, Fatal Eggs, is in my mind one of the master's finest works.

"My goodness, what are you saying," Korotkov exclaimed in distress, sensing that here, too something strange was starting, just as it had everywhere else. He looked back as if he were being hunted, afraid that the shaven face and the bald shell would emerge from somewhere, and then he added in a clumsy way, "I'm very glad, yes, very . . ." A motley flush passed lightly over the marble man; raising Korotkov's hand delicately, he drew him toward a little table, reiterating, "I'm very glad, too. But here's the rub, imagine it - I don't even have a place where you can sit down. We're being kept in a pen in spite of our significance." (Mikhail Bulgakov, Diaboliad p30)

A brilliant blend of magical and realistic elements, grotesque situations, and major ethical issues. Its story lies between parable and reality; its tone varies from satire to unguarded vulnerability. Its publication represents the triumph of imagination over politics...

I can really only recommend this book to those who have read all of Bakhtin's translated work and are seeking more information. For those seeking an introduction and interpretation "Creation of Prosaics", also by Caryl Emerson, together with Gary Saul Morson, is much better. Indeed, Emerson assumes that the reader is familiar with Bakhtin's work. These points aside, she does provide some interesting information about the current (1997) state of Bakhtin Studies in Russia, and Bakhtin's reception in his lifetime. I found this of particular interest. In the second part Emerson tackles a "reworking (of) three problematic areas". Mainly the subjects of: 1.) Dostoevsky, Polyphony and Dialogism 2.) Carnivalism 3.) "Outsideness" This makes for interesting reading, but nothing really new or groundbreaking is offered. It is merely another look back by a leading Bakhtin Scholar on twenty years or so of Study. The book is undoubtedly well written, and Emerson surely knows her subject, but I can only recommend this to Bakhtin scholars.

Bakhtin has some great, clear ideas on fiction; and Caryl Emerson is wonderful.

Joe Gallagher does a great job on this book which is a follow-up of Tal's "Life and Games of Mikhail Tal." Gallagher is known for his great works on the openings, and that is reflected here as he uses Tal's games as a vehicle for opening study. The format is great, also following "L and G", with tournament/match results, ratings, and stories strewn about. The game notes are very good.

The downsides of this book are that 1) it is extremely hard to live up to Tal's beautiful writing and notes. Afterall, "Life and Games" is considered to be one of the best chess books ever written. Gallagher just doesn't have the same fire and passion in his writing and notes. Maybe he should have chosen a format that is different from "L and G" if he wanted to avoid such an obvious comparison. He tells some nice stories about Tal, but rather flatly. 2) the games are not of the same quality and beauty as Tal's earlier ones. The opponents are not as strong, and Tal's style dulled a bit, becoming more solid at the expense of sparkling sacs and combinations. However, the games are thoroughly enjoyable if you don't think about is earlier games too much. 3) The introduction chapter is too long, since it covers what Tal already has (before 1975). I found it a bit redundant, although it nice to have another perspective on this best part of Tal's career.

Overall, this is a must have for any Tal fan, as it is well done and gives a complete story in conjunction with "L and G." Just don't be too disappointed that it is not the same quality as Tal's classic work.

Joe Gallagher goes all out in this book! Covering Tal's career from 1975 to his untimely death in 1992, Gallagher picks up where Tal left off in his autobiography. The games themselves are, of course, Tal masterpieces and are well annotated using some of Tal's own recommendations. Galllagher provides ample biographical detail to go with the games and his notes on the games themselves are very readable with not too many variations. All in all, a modern classic on "The Magician from Riga."

I have mixed feelings about this translation. The Russian original has twice the number of pages. Here, the translator gives references to the missing games and examples, that just coincidentally are to be found in other books by the same publisher. This is infuriating.

The Russian original is a masterpiece. Volume 2 is organised differently from Volume 1 in that the chapters are organised along thematic lines such as dark squares, light squares and so on. While some of the examples are well-known, the unified conceptual understanding the authors impart is invaluable. One's level of understanding rises to a new level. The book is a must buy for aspiring masters.

Teaches you how to take a middle game position and carry it into the endgame. It give you the entire game,and shows you how to go from each phase of the game into the next phase.

This is the sequel to "And Quiet Flows the Don", and carries the story of the group of Don Cossacks into the period of Civil War in Russia which followed the Bolshevik Revolution.

If you're into war novels, you should enjoy this book. Basically, it's a long tale of the depravities of war, treachery infidelity, misfortune and atrocity. There is no way that the reader can retain a romanticised image of war after slogging through this. The horrors of war are made that bit more tragic by the fact that this was a civil war - towns, villages and even families were divided. Loyalties to the White Russians and to the Red Army were themselves ambiguous and mutable.

Sholokhov interrupts his narrative frequently with descriptions of the flora and fauna, and the seasonal changes in the Don area, as if to say that whatever humans get up to, Mother Nature just continues her work. I got the message Sholokhov was trying to impart about the insignificance of human obsessions quite early on, and found that the repeated descriptions of nature in the novel became more contrived and lost their effect as a result.

I think that the problem I had with the novel was its very bleakness. I have no problem with depicting war as it is rather than dressing it up in romantic verbiage, but as this story slogged its way on from one battle description and tale of inhumanity to the next, I struggled to keep going. There's no redeeming character in the whole novel - you feel that as unfortunate as all the characters were, their faults made you unsympathetic with their fates (the only possible exception is Gregor's wife, Natalia Melekhova, and as a whole the men are depicted far less sympathetically than the women - women's place in society made them greater victims).

I found myself torn between being depressed at Sholokhov's pessimistic vision of humanity, and thinking that in a civil war situation, such a conclusion would be almost inevitable. In all, the novel hardly an uplifting read: perhaps, with present world events, I was in need of something more optimistic.

This was the novel that first introduced me to Russian fiction. I first borrowed and read it from friends of my family in the late 1950s. The author later won the 1965 Nobel Prize for Literature for this novel and the first part of it, "And Quiet Flows the Don". It is a very involved story of a Cossack family in the Don river area of Russia, prior to the 1917 revolution. Members of the family are involoved not only in WWI, but the sons are on different sides after the revolution (Red Army vs. White Army). I found myself getting very involved with the different family members. All of them with strong/weak points. The novel gives the reader a very good insight into the Cossack culture of the early 20th Century.

This book is probably the best work to make it out of Russia this century. This is a truly captivating tale of adventure, love, and war. The story twists and turns as the front lines move over the countryside. The author gives an unbiased portrait of the revolution, and all of it's bloody consequences. Definately a must read.

Bulgakov is certainly one of the best Russian writers, and 'The Theatre Novel' is certainly among his best works. Unfortunately, it's been translated in English as 'Black Snow', which changes the idea of the book quite a great deal - 'Black Snow' is the title of the novel written by Maxudov (the main character), but in this case Bulgakov doesn't mean that we are reading THAT novel. It is quite misleading; Maxudov's 'Black Snow' is NOT 'The Theatre (or Theatral) Novel'.

The novel itself is quite hard to understand; I believe it could be best understood by those who have a good deal of knowledge about the situation Bulgakov is describing. I cannot say I have that, therefore it is not as easy to read this novel as it is to read other works by Bulgakov. However, the novel is definitely a masterpiece - the descriptions, for example, are overwhelmingly vivid and warm, which stands out even more considering that most modern (and pre-modern) novels do not depict that warmth and depth of feeling. The strikingly accurate descriptions of human emotions seem to be a thing that can most often be found in good Russian literature (Bulgakov, Dostoevsky, Chekhov...), and that's why you need Bulgakov to use almost half-a-page to list different kinds of people, for example...

The plot of the novel is quite hard to follow - which only illustrates how much of a genius Bulgakov is, as he manages to brilliantly reveal the confusion Maxudov experiences and the absurdity of his world. The feeling of uncertainty never leaves Maxudov. Nor does it leave the reader...

I'd have given this book 4 stars if Bulgakov hadn't also written 'The Master And Margarita'. 'The Theatre Novel' is a great book, but it simply caanot be as great as that one...

Translation of the name of the book is chosen badly.
It is 'Teatral'nyi roman' - not 'Black Snow'!
The latter is the name of the novel which gets written by the narrator and plays an auxiliary role in the story (it is of course a paraphrase on the 'White Guard' - the image of a man running on the snow away from the horsemen is from there).
In part, the subject of 'Teatral'nyi roman' is theatre - theatre which enchants the narrator.

It is the most fluent and polished of all Bulgakov novels, though unfinished; judging by the reviews of the english speakers, the translation apparently lost that virtue.

About its being 'critical of Stanislavsky'. This is simply not the point, although I can understand the English reader, who tries to find some known landmarks. Of course Bulgakov ironizing on behalf of the actors, their ethiquette and life in the theatre, but this just serves to depict the theatre charm.
As the description of the golden horse on the empty scene which Maksudov sees when he first enters the building of the Independent Theatre.

In this autobiographical novel, Bulgakov describes his experiences working with the Moscow Art Theatre of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko in the 1930's. The characters and situations are exaggerated to enhance the satire, and it is obviously not impartial, but it is extremely revealing nonetheless. This book, which is critical of Stanislavsky's method and the Soviet theatre scene of the 1930's, gives a moving portrait of a talented, dedicated author working against incredible odds. As usual in Bulgakov, satire is mixed with a serious message. Anyone interested in Bulgakov, the theatre, or Russian cultural history will enjoy this book.

This book from 1981 gets alot of hype from chess authors such as Dvoretsky and Silman but I found it practically useless. The diagrams are not labelled with which side is to move, so you cannot study the positions before reading the text solutions. While the positions are categorized into different chapters based upon schemes or themes, its just a collection of endings played out by grandmasters during competitions that took place decades ago. Who reads these books anyway? My hunch is that most people buy these esoteric chess books and place then neatly on their shelf where they belong, to forever gather dust. I cannot believe that the average person could retain enough information from this book to help him win a single chess game. This is a collectable book of historic interest, not something that modern day players will find useful in improving their play. Its become apparent in recent years that the chess book-buying public is being milked by crafty ex-Soviet players who are cashing in on America's capitalist system. Books by Lev Alburt, Dvoretsky's recent re-writes of prior books, and the influx of never-ending game collections from Russians from Beliavsky to Shirov have overwhelmed the market and have flooded the bookstores with books ranging in quality from good to disposable. If you want to improve your endgame try Averbakh's Essential Chess Endings.

Some book reviewer said that if you have trouble purchasing this book you should beg for it. I agree with him one hundred percent.I have never seen an end game book with a chapter about not hurrying in the endgame.An example would be that repeating moves in many positions is fine,because most people have a tendency of breaking the repetition. In many instances that will make their position worse.He also talks about preventing counter play in the endgame which is closely linked to the concept of not hurrying.In addition problems involving whether or not to exchange pieces and how and what to exchange are clearly covered.Shereshevsky also talks about the importance of the economy of pawn play.Topics such as alternating maneuvers against two weaknesses along with king centralization are also discussed along with many other endgame topics of great importance.This book can definitely improve one's endgame exponently. A must read.

Organizing his material thematically (e.g. "problem of exchanging," "suppressing the opponent's counterplay"), the author has assembled a great intermediate level endgame book. It's probably best suited for those who've had some previous exposure to endgame study previously but who need more intermediate books. I'd recommend Silman's Essential Endgames, Soltis' Grandmaster Secrets Endings, and Mednis' Rate Your Endgame, as books somewhat more basic than Shereshevsky.

The Stanislaski Brothers is a book of 2 complete stories; one about Mikhail Stanislaski (Luring a Lady) and the other about Alexi Stanislaski (Convincing Alex). I have to admit I liked Mikhail a little better than Alexi. Something about his story held me more and I felt it more compelling, a little more romantic. That is not to say that I did not enjoy Alexi as well, his is a great story.

Both are great romance stories, every woman's fantasy! Mikhail and Alexi are both fabulous leading men, very different people but each sensitive, caring and loving in their own way. I really like it when Nora Roberts writes about families you can feel as if you are a part of them and get to know everyone - I just love this family, wish I could have met them! I can't wait to read The Stanislaski Sisters!

The Stanislaski (what a mouthful!) Brothers by Nora Roberts is a wonderful book! I enjoyed every minute of it. In the book, there are two complete stories. One, titled as LURING A LADY is based on Mikhail Stanislaski, and the other, CONVINCING ALEX is based on Alex Stanislaski, who is two years younger than Mikhail. Both brothers are complete opposites, Mikhail being hot-tempered whereas Alex is an all-around ladies' man. ;)

In LURING A LADY, Mikhail meets his soul mate when he encounters Sydney Hayward, newly president of Hayward enterprises and owner of a condominium he lives in. Sydney's grandfather recently passed away, and the company business was given to her. However lots of problems arises within the building (electrical and hydro problems) that Sydney isn't aware of, and Mikhail confronts her in her office. Sparks fly between the two, and soon the two find themselves attracted to each other. But something with Sydney's past will not allow her to have a future with Mikhail even though she does end up loving him. Read the book and find out what happens~ Just for your information: Mikhail is a carpenter and a famous artist that makes sculptures out of wood. It's very romantic.

In CONVINCING ALEX, Detective Alex is working hard on a new case where two young girls were murdered. He decides to make a visit to the part of town where he was told that one of the prostitutes knew the two girls, and was to question her. He comes across a hot "blonde" and after a few questions he arrests her. But imagine his surprise when the hot "blonde" is actually a redhead and not a prostitute but a soap-opera writer. She's Bess McNee, a bubbly and funny girl who claims to need to feel what it is like to be a character so she can write it better. Soon she puts herself up to some danger, and Alex is there to protect her. But he can't seem to fight the attraction he feels for her, and soons end up falling in love with her. Bess, as well falls in love with Alex, but she's already had three engagements before that fell apart, and it's difficult for her to convince Alex that this time around is true love. So there begins the problem, and Bess must make Alex trust in her.

The Stanislaski Brothers is full of humor, love and kindness. Nora Roberts is fabulous at making the reader fall in love with The Stanislaski family, they are all great people and fun to read about. I can't wait to get my hands on The Stanislaski Sisters. Enjoy!

I enjoy Nora Roberts books. The Stanislaski Brothers has two novels in one book. The first story involves Mikhail and his romance with Sydney. An unlikely duo at first glance, Sydney is a polished, sheltered, high society woman who becomes president of her grandfather's company upon his death. Mikhail was raised in the Ukraine until his family fought their way to the United States. Sydney mistakes him for a carpenter and hires him to make improvements on a building owned by her company and where Mikhail lives. She discovers he is not a simple carpenter but a complex man of many talents. Mikhail vows to win Sydney's heart. The second story revolves around Mikhail's younger brother, Alex, a tough street cop who arrests Bess McNee for soliciting, only to discover she is a soap opera writer doing "research". They fight to solve the murders of several prostitutes while falling in love. Bess has a history of "collecting" fiances, will Alex simply be added to that group, or will he believe in her declarations of love?
Both stories were a delight. I recommend them highly! Enjoy...

This is a brief, but remarkably potent polemical tract against religion and the state. Bakunin never minces his words, expressing his inexhaustible contempt for religion and state in bitterly cynical language that very strongly resembles that of Nietzsche. I was, quite frankly, impressed with Bakunin's case against the state - a perfectly artificial construction that invariably and disastrously achieves the status of divinity. An immediate example is conveniently furnished by crude American patriotism. I also accept his case against illegitimate forms of authority (parental authority offers but one example of a generally legitimate form) and the sacrosanct value one must place upon human liberty.

That said, a few critical observations concerning Bakunin's scattered ideas are in order:

1) His case against God and the state largely makes sense in the Western historical context. The nation-state system is a Western political construct (an idol, for that matter, as Bakunin would rightly have it), which only recently was imposed upon the non-Western world. Thus, this historical facet of the non-Western world is critical, but overlooked. Bakunin insists that states cannot exist without religion (he obviously had not anticipated the rise of Communist states, though one may argue that those states had a unique religion of their own), thereby attempting to show an inextricable link between religion and power. His discussion of religion and power in the Christian West, valid as it is, is contrasted by a near-total void on the question of religion and power in the non-Western world - hardly an insignificant matter. Which leads me to my second point:

2) Bakunin's grasp of religious history is severely limited; in fact, to the detriment of his argument. He claims, for instance, that religion necessarily corrupts, dehumanizes, and debases humanity. The example he offers, with no modest amount of justification, is the impact of Christianity on Europe. The rise of the Christian faith was logically coterminous with the rise of the Dark Ages, from which Europe only awoke by shaking off its Christian shackles, first during the Renaissance and later during the Enlightenment. However, the universality of this historical model of religion is betrayed by one obvious example - that of Islam. The rise of Islam led to the very opposite of the Dark Ages - a civilization so advanced and so rich in the arts and sciences (all of which Bakunin affirms is the very goal of humanity) that it actually paved the way for the European Renaissance. Consider, for example, Bakunin's remark:

"At the close of the Middle Ages, during the period of the Renaissance, the fact that some Greek emigrants brought a few of those immortal books into Italy sufficed to resuscitate life, liberty, thought, humanity, buried in the dark dungeon of Catholicism. Human emancipation, that is the name of Greek civilization." (p. 43)

This is obviously based on the impoverished contemporary historical scholarship Bakunin had at his disposal. We now know that Islam inherited classical Greek learning and made a vast number of original contributions to multiple fields of knowledge, even inventing whole new fields of knowledge. The Muslim intellectual heritage, of which Greek classical learning was but a fraction, was translated into Latin and other European languages by Christian scholastics, such as Gerard of Cremona. Thus, the remark that Greek civilization singularly awakened Europe is simply erroneous; it's actually a staple of antiquated Orientalist scholarship.

Furthermore, Bakunin insists that because religion debases human beings, the progressive abandonment of religion is necessary for the realization of humanism. However, humanism itself is the product of a deeply religious civilization - that of Islam (see George Makdisi, The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West. Edinburgh University Press, 1990). Moreover, the university, which thrives off of its integral components of intellectual innovation, critical thinking, and dialectical disputation, was also a product of classical Islam (see Makdisi's other notable study, The Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West, Edinburgh University Press, 1981). Hence, these historical facts greatly challenge Bakunin's philosophy of history. Which, in turn, leads me to my next point.

3) Bakunin's polemic against religion, effective as it is in exposing the detrimental consequences of one particular religion in one particular context, is based not on a systematic philosophical argument, but rather on pragmatic grounds; i.e. since religion debases, corrupts, and oppresses, it must be abandoned to actualize liberation. The pragmatic efficacy of this argument thus rests on contextual factors, not scientific or philosophical ones.

4) Bakunin's scientific materialism leads him to some dangerously racist conclusions:

"The idealists, all those who believe in the immateriality and immortality of the human soul, must be excessively embarrassed by the differences in intelligence existing between races, peoples, and individuals." (p. 66)

Granted, certain individuals are obviously of decidedly inferior intelligence. However, to charge that entire races are different from one another in intelligence provides the very basis of modern, scientific racism, i.e. racial theory. Furthermore, Bakunin advances typically racist notions about the "Oriental", such as the Oriental's corrupting influence on thought (see p. 74). I find it very difficult to reconcile Bakunin's racist ideas with his staunch quest for human equality and liberation.

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In conclusion, God and the State is a very interesting read. I would certainly recommend getting a copy, since it's an integral document in the history of revolutionary thought. Bakunin's scorn for status and privilege is admirable, as is his intractable opposition to tyranny and oppression. The combination of religion and power has a notoriously guilty history behind it, thus providing much justification for his opposition to both. However useful his criticisms, though, one must concede the severe shortcomings in Bakunin's thinking. What he puts forth as universal criticisms of religion and state are not as universal as they would seem. It would have been interesting to see how Bakunin would have dealt with these questions, had he been given a more accurate reading of religious history, not to mention a more humane view of humanity.

Next to "Atheism: a case against god" by G.Smith, this book by Bakunin is among the essential readings if you are set out to get rid of the mythology of "god".
People like to refer to this as an "anarchist" book , and i guess in a sense it is, since it is written by one of anarchism's most important and effective leading figures. However, i don't think you need to be anarchist to reach Bakunin's conclusions, you need first to respect your own intelligence. The fact that this might lead you eventually to anarchism is another matter.
Bakunin deals with the "god" issue as he should from his position: he examines how religion is used by the ruling classes to manipulate us, to keep people ignorant and believing in theological myths. A person that lives on the doctrine of "believe without evidence" is a person destined to be a slave and Bakunin's fiery rhetoric does a good job to drive this point home.
This book might seem polemic to some , especially those not acquainted with the equation religion=slavery, but then again this is exactly the point. Bakunin is merciless in his critique because in order to free slaves you need to first free their minds.
As close as any book can come to being explosive...

This is one of the first books I have read on anarchism, and it certainly makes some very powerful points, especially on issues of "divine authority" and the church in general. Bakunin also reveals some novel ideas about religion, its origins and most importantly of all, how church and state support one another to have power over the masses. I have read some of Bakunin's essays but this short book (although incomplete) is good overview of his thought, and a rich overview of some of anarchism's core beliefs.

I also recommend Emma Goldman's "Anarchism and Other Essays" and if you are willing to search for out of print titles "Bakunin on Anarchism".

I can say that I was much interested in russian freedom, but i got dissapointed with this book because its quality in a general sense is really poor, both technically and artistically speaking; so, don't waste your time and money and go for something else!

I was simply disappointed. The photographs are nice. How can you go wrong with photographs of people - especially nudes. Always interesting, always beauty. But if you are drawn to buy this book with any intellectual curiosity regarding Russia, Nudism, aethetics .. I suspect you will be diappointed. There is very little text, very little thought expressed, as is implied in some of their marketing.

I have to say that based on the cover, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. Well, if you like titles by David Hamilton, Jock Sturges etc. let me assure you will like this book. I see Amazon now carries a DVD called 'Rituals of Summer' that features the people from the book -- I'm ordering it and will write a review under it once viewed.