The book is just perfect - as much as one can say so about a translation from a very unusual, tasty, witty and colorful Russian original. It's a must for anyone who wants to know the world literature of the 20th century. A thriller, a history, a fantasy, a satire - all in one. And an enigmatic Russian soul as well. Read it, and you will most certainly want to read more of Bulgakov's works.

This astonishingly beautiful chess work is the pinnacle of what chess literature should be, on every level: it is a physically large book (9-3/4" x 6-3/4") with 248 pages; the pages are laid out two-columns with plenty of diagrams; the annotations are poignant and thematically focused; complete games are given, so that one may see the connection of the opening to the endgame. Volume one investigates open and semi-open games. The book is arranged by opening, beginning with the Sicilian Defence. Shereshevsky is a natural teacher, as anyone familiar with his classic work Endgame Strategy knows. This is not an endgame book per se; rather, it brings you complete games, with the endgame always in mind. For instance, it is generally true that in the Sicilian Defence the short wins go to white, and the long wins to black. The authors use Sicilian game examples to show you why this is the case, and, in more modern games, why this often is not the case. So, there is an explicit plan to this book, and each and every game and annotation supports the plan. This is precisely the type of instruction that the intermediate player needs, in order to expand his overall understanding of chess and the endgame from a strategic perspective. This is not to say that tactics are ignored. Indeed, the games presented are tactically beautiful, the idea being that certain strategic plusses lead to tactical possibilities. The games selected by the authors are wonderful to play through, so this book constantly entertains and astonishes, even as it educates you. Compared to more recent works, I would compare this book (and volume two on the closed games) to the two works on pawn play by Drazen Marovic. I consider all four of these books to be indispensable parts of my chess collection.

The works of Mikhail Bakhtin which are presently available in English are quite uneven because of subject matter, different translators and translations, and because only some were meant to be published by Bakhtin himself. Also Bakhtin's focus and interpretation changed from his early writing to late in his career, thus creating conflicts. The whole of Bakhtin's work is well analyzed by Morson and Emerson in this coherent and comprehensive study. This is not an easy task. The Key Concepts are interpreted as being: Prosaics, Unfinalizabilty and Dialogue and are discussed in Part One. Part Two deals with the Problems of Authorship. Part Three, is in my opinion the most important, and is the Discussion of Theories of the Novel. Of particular interest here is the discussion of the Chronotope and its relation to the Bildungsroman and sense of becoming. As Bakhtin himself never defined the term "Chronotope", the authors here explore its relationship to Bakhtin's Bildngsroman fragment, and the concept of Time in the development of the Bildungsroman. They are correct in this assessment, but do not carry the idea far enough. In order to really understand Bakhtin one must read the books he cites from this genre. No study of Bakhtin seems to have done so thus far.

This book is useful to both readers fammilar with Bakhtin's work, or to those who want to use it as an introduction. Highly recommended.

Yes i know Tal also wrote a great book. But, if you want the best coverage of his emergence in the 1956 USSR championship up to his title match this 1960's book is it. The notes are deep, well-researched, thorough and written to the best of the writers ability. The biography is good and gives a nice feel for how Soviet chess looked to westerners in the early 60's. P H Clarke knows his stuff - he wrote a good book later on Petrosian, translated the Smyslov book (now cheaply available from Dover) and other translations and an interesting book of USSR miniatures. All chess players can enjoy this book for the pleasure of the games, the exhuberance of the writing and picture of how exciting it was when Tal shot from nowhere to world champion in four years.Weak players will like the story, medium players will learn to attack and stronger players can study the deep notes, learn some chess history and find out how the Benoni Defense became popular for a while.

The book is all about attacking play. Of all the world champions, Tal made the most modest impact on openings and was only a so - so endgame player, with good but not great technique. But the tension he produces in these games!!! David Bronstein has described how in the opening Tal's plan is to get his pieces off the back rank in order start sacrificing them somewhere - usually around the the enemy king. Tal has been called the Magician from Riga; this book covers his best period before his health problems set in. If you like Tal from his own two masterpieces (the Botvinnik-Tal match and his Life and Games) this is a book you need, to see how he was viewed by his contemporaries and begin to get the feeling why grandmasters began to talk of the Tal Problem (e.g. how to cope psychologically when scheduled to play him - like they have to with Kasparov now - only Tal is universally reported as a having been a pretty nice man to know). This very readable book is probably the best single volume for explaining to non-addicts about being addicted to chess, chess books and the possibility of this being an exciting pasttime. When any chessplayer needs a lift then get a fix from one or two games in this book.

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.

When I read Nervous People for a Russian Lit class I was overwhelmed by the absurd humor. There hasn't been a funnier, politically poignant and appealing satirist since Lewis Carrol or Jonathan Swift.

Zoschenko etches out distinct parts of the Soviet landscape with hilarious spoofs, ridiculous characters and dark conclusions; Gogol would be proud.

Despite the passing of time and demise of the Soviet Union the humor still survives. What's poking fun at Russians can easily be translated to the same for American government and bureaucracy.

Admittedly this isn't for everyone. It's not all-age-encompassing like "Alice in Wonderland" or as current as PJ O'Rouke. Nevertheless it's worth a read for young and old adults.

An in depth look into Least Squares adjustments. Covers adjustments of observations, conditions, and Total Least Squares. Many fine examples to drive home the information given. The same author as a somewhat simpler book titled "Analysis and Adjustment of Survey Measurements" that goes into more of the practical and less of the heavy mathematics.

This beautiful book is filled with many black and white artist quality photos of Baryshnikov and his dancers, during his tenure as head of the ABT. He was at his prime, and the photos are particularly beautiful. Most are candid, backstage or in rehearsal, and you can see his grace even when he is standing around in sweats watching others. The combination of photos and great backstage stories gives this book a place of honor in my dance collection. A wonderful document of a past beautiful time and a must for any Baryshnikov fan as well.

This is a translation of two quite small Russian books. The first is a biography of Riemann, the second a review of "Geometrical" physics, recently updated. Even the biography includes some mathematics which I did not fully understand, but it is a great introduction, and it's good to get your feet a little wet! The book is small and very readable. I recommend it to students interested in understanding the relationships between physics, mathematics, and geometry. A gentle introduction to the "technical" journey.

His subjects were vast; his output was prodigious; his vitality seemed unlimited. Not only was Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens considered the leading northern European painter during his day, but his gifts were so great that he also designed tapestries, book illustrations, festival decorations, church decorations, and in later life began a series of over 100 mythological pictures for a hunting lodge.

Thanks to the avaricious acquisitions of Russia's Catherine the Great an impressive assortment of Rubens's work is displayed in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. And, thanks to the bountifully illustrated (175 in color) and precisely annotated volume "Rubens and His Age," these glories are also available to art lovers and armchair travelers.

Many of these artworks belonging to the Hermitage have never before been seen in publication, including the stunning allegory "The Union Of Earth And Water." In addition many art objects which Rubens either owner, designed or commissioned also decorate the pages of this keepsake volume. "Rubens and His Age" is a feast, a sumptuous banquet of magnificent art.