Pushkin is to Russian speakers what Shakespeare is to English speakers. His influence on the prose and poetry of the language is second to no one and writing influences Russian literature to this day. Amazingly Pushkin only lived until the age of 38. Even now you can visit his gravesite (as I did) and still see teenage girls weeping and putting flowers on his grave.

This edition of the complete prose of Pushkin is truly excellent. The Queen of Spades and the Captain's Daughter are included are and are worth the price alone.

The translators, Arndt and Debreczeny, do a fine job in translating Pushkin's prose, while the stories are set up in chronological order so the reader can see Pushkin's growth as a prose writer. In fact this was the volume of Pushkin writings in English I took with me while living in Russia for a short while.

Very readable and a worthwhile introduction to the greatest of Russian writers.

What makes this book so beautiful is that word "Complete". In one handy reference you can enjoy all of Pushkin's prose. Mr. Debreczeny's translation of Pushkin's work is hearty. I believe it's nearly as close as we can come to feeling the work outside of really knowing Russian.

That would be amazing for me: to know Russian and read Pushkin in the language that he raised high in the face of the patrician encroachment of French that had relegated Russian to servant status. Each language must have a unique and valuable propriety in it's innermost meanings, and in reading this work (plus knowing something of Russian culture), I believe you can feel that unique Russian "thing" even through this translation.

You have about fifteen pieces plus Pushkin's own pre-work/research and some fragments. Mr. Debreczeny has arranged them such that you walk through the development of Pushkin as a prose writer. Early on, he did have quite a disdain for prose in comparison to poetry. To paraphrase Debreczeny, Pushkin's first serious writing treated prose as a necessary evil, writing with technical correctness but approaching parody of itself with strict adherence to the concept of prose as a sterile, low medium for expression.

I the later works, you will see the layering of complex themes and characters into prose that for me felt like driving a standard shift with power-assisted steering -- You get just enough resistance to feel the road and keep you engaged and thinking. Also, you just plain enjoy the ride.

Mr. Debreczeny is an excellent guide in his commentary and in his translation.

Alexander, The Old Town Mouse is one of my sons' and my favorite books! My 3 & 6 year old boys (and I) adore the detailed illustrations and the fun-filled story of Alexander's "mousequerade ball". Alexander's creativity is second only to that of the author & illustrator of this book.

This is just on of the Barnes' FABULOUS children's books!

I bought my 3 nieces a book and they love it when I read it to them -- very colorful and easy to follow along. It's a fun way to teach history about a very historic city.

I was amazed when I read this book. The stories actually have feeling as well as being really hot! This is the best collection of erotic stories I have ever read-- my only regret in buying this book is that I doubt I'll ever find its like again! :)

I bought this book almost by accident. It was a delight. The stories are literate with clearly defined characters in plausible situations. It is erotica but I have not enjoyed reading erotica for just the stories ever before. I recommend it for all readers who want to dream of a little love. I am only sorry it is the only one by this author I could find.

A very sophisticated piece of work. With great insght into many medical/historical perceptions and social mechanisms!
Absolutely Stunning!

P.S: Looking forward to another one.

A disquieting and destabilising experience is what I was left with after reading Butchart's Anatomy of Power. On beginning the book, I at first thought that it was just another social history, albeit incredibly detailed in its probing of what doctors did in the name of science. But, as a I read on, the commanding thesis of the work took ever greater shape, and by the end I was as convinced as Butchart is of the argument that without the socio-medical sciences there can be no bodies at all. This leaves one with a real dilemma in terms of what to do in terms of liberation and the struggle against oppression. While the book doesn't answer this key question, it surely poses it with a greater degree of lucidity and insight than many other books about Africa, colonialism and liberation.

Highly recommended!

Daniel Kuhlmann, Stockholm

The word Holocaust is most often associated with Europe's Jews and Germany's Nazi murderous policy for making the world "Juden frei" [free of Jews]. However, there is another "race" of people the Nazi's declared as inferior, "untermenschen," Europe's Gypsies. Although they were assigned the historical label of Aryan by Nazi anthropologists, Gypsies were officially decreed to be undesirable for the Nazi World Order. When Germany's Wehrmacht invaded and then occupied Poland, the SS began rounding up the Romany people (Gypies) after all the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto had been moved to Auschwitz to be worked and starved to death or simply gassed and then incinerated.

Alexander Ramati tells the story of the Gypsy Holocaust in his exhaustively well researched book. AND THE VIOLINS STOPPED PLAYING follows the fate of a Romany family which had taken up a nearly middle class life in Warsaw, Poland. The children attended school, and 17 year old Roman Mirga had one more year of study before he graduates from high school. Indeed, this is the true story taken from Roman's diary and notes of how his family together with 500,000 Gypsies suffered the same fate as Europe's Jews under Germany's expanding program of ethnic cleansing throughout the European continent.

The Mirga family had became intergrated, if not assimilated, into the Polish society of the 1930s. Roman's family were musicians who entertained the public in a Warsaw night club (favored by German officers) and coffee houses. When the German army invaded Poland, everything would become changed forever. At first, the Gypsies were ignored by the Germans as the SS herded Poland's Jews into the Warsaw Ghetto or simply murdered them outside of the towns and villages where they had lived. But after most of Poland's Jews had been eliminated it was the Gypsies' turn, and the Mirga family realized that they had to flee for their lives.

It was turning winter as our Warsaw family of Gypsies join their tribe wintering along the Bug River. They try to convince the tribal leader, called the Shero Rom, that the Germans intend to round them up and treat them the same way as the Jews. The Shero Rom does not believe these Bareforytka Roma (big town Gypsies), and will not even begin to consider a plan to move his tribe to safety in Hungary in the middle of winter. The Mirga family becomes worried about their chances for survival. Eventually, word gets to the community from a similar tribe that the Germans have begun a Gypsy round up and several of their kind have been killed.

Like other Holocaust stories, this one too has a very unhappy ending. However, along the way the reader is treated to a rare and authoritative glimpse inside the Romany culture and social structure, made mysterious by centuries of bigotry and social isolation. Most of Europe's societies tolerated but shunned the esoteric Romany people. Landless and rootless, Gypies wandered the landscape, providing entertainment and skilled craftsmanship during their wanderings. Ramati's book evenly explores both the positive and negative aspects of the Romany people while the story is told of their exodus, capture and then suffering cruel medical experiments and then murder at Auschwitz.

As both anthropology and Holocaust scholarship, Ramati's AND THE VIOLINS STOPPED PLAYING deserves wide readership. It provides a refreshing examination of who the Romany people are and why they deserve not only to be tolerated and allowed to live in peace and dignity, but to be respected for who they are and what they value.

A great book about World War II, is a great story about the gypsies, who are not known for there suffering. I will tell you I hate reading books unless they are extremly intresting, and let me tell you, this book is Awesome with a capital "A" baby. There is a great love story too. If you can't buy it here, check your local library. The name sounds really corny, but after you read it, you will want to give Alexander Ramiti a Pulitzer.

This is going to be the coolest April Fools day ever! Michelle has a practical joke kit filled with awesome stuff--fake bugs, disappearing ink, pepper gum, and more. And she's going to use it all. Most of Michelle's friends think her jokes are funny. But there's on person who has a plan to get even with Michelle. And if Michelle doesn't find out who it is--she's going to be in so much trouble it isn't even funny.

The book was good.I liked the whole thing and couldn't resist reading it more than one time.It is full of fun and exciting jokes.So what are you waiting for? Go and read the book and you will be sure to love it.

Ark Of The Covenant: Simplified Information For Lay-Persons by Kelly D. Alexander, Jr. is a straightforward presentation of the history of the revered religious artifact known as the Ark Of The Covenant, from its origin, up through its disappearance, and offering the latest conjecture as to where the Ark might be today. Written in plain language for non-specialist general readers of all backgrounds, Ark Of The Covenant is an erudite account of Ark through the centuries and a superb history which is highly recommended for religious studies supplemental reading lists and Biblical History reference shelves.

Ark Of The Covenant: Simplified Information For Lay-Persons by Kelly D. Alexander, Jr. is a straightforward presentation of the history of the revered religious artifact known as the Ark of the Covenant, from its origin, up through its disappearance, and offering the latest conjecture as to where the Ark might be today. Written in plain language for non-specialist general readers of all backgrounds, Ark Of The Covenant is an erudite account of Ark through the centuries. A superb history and highly recommended for religious studies supplemental reading lists and Biblical History reference shelves.

This book is as informative as it is beautiful. The author has done a great job researching Grimshaw's life. He also tracked down about 100 of Grimshaw's works. It's a great compilation.

Being a huge fan of portraits of people: Grimshaw's paintings are astounding to say the least. This book is a must have for anyone remotely interested in scenery painting, but a must have for the aficionado of portrait painting at its best.

As a former student of Dr. Durig at California State University, San Marcos the book reflects his class room lectures, which is filled with interesting examples and thought provoking information on the subject of Autism.

Autism as a diagnostic category is relatively new, and as such, the disorder is a long way from being fully understood. For the last decade it seems most attention to autism has been focused on identifying, categorizing, and treating the behavior of autistics, or on identifying and treating possible brain abnormalities. Few, however, have attempted to put together a coherent theory of how the autistic mind works from a subjective point of view. Durig takes a bold leap in his attempt to articulate typical patterns of autistic reasoning, and builds most of his arguments not upon scientific theories, but upon subjective accounts from people living with autism. Durig is not a psychologist, nor is he the parent of an autistic child, but as such he is not ensnared by the dogmas that constrain how we perceive of autism or its potential treatments either. He stands naively beyond raging battles amongst psychologists and educators concerning which cures to sell, and as such brings us back to considering the root of the problem. Some of Durig's conclusions about autism are truly enlightening, and others are absolutely infuriating. Although I do not agree with all (or even half) of Durig's theories, I commend him for pioneering a new way in which to begin thinking about autism, thereby bringing about a more comprehensive understanding of the disorder, and perhaps even ourselves.

Endersby and fellow authors, using an intelligent combination of pictures, drawings, and text to successfully depict both finished buildings and structural detail, have written the definitive book on barns. They trace the lineage of American barns from their European roots in a lively, readable, informative format. In addition to it's functional qualities, the book is quite handsome, a stunning addition to the library of anyone who likes barns. Quite simply, this is the best book on barns I have ever seen.

This book is truely an inspiration... the images and descriptions will bring great memories of Barns to your mind, will bring tears to your eyes if you spent childhood fantasies in "the barn", and might inspire you to save, build, or restore a barn someday... thank you Elric, Alexander , and David, whoever and wherever you are for presenting such a work...It stays on the table, within easy reach...