Marissa Moss has done it again! In HANNAH'S JOURNAL, as in her other historical diaries, Moss expertly braids fascinating,factual detail with a child's personal story. Hannah's perceptive, poignant voice gives the account of her travels from Lithuania to New York City total freshness and immediacy. I can think of no more enjoyable way to teach history -- the conditions on board a ship in "steerage," the ordeal of Ellis Island, the terrifying, exhilerating experience of starting life in a new country and world. Hannah's (aka Moss') beautifully executed watercolors and drawings also bring Hannah's journey and journal to life. This book is a gem.

Ten-year-old Hannah is a young Jewish girl living with her mother, father, and six brothers in a small Russian shetl in 1901. For her birthday, Hannah is given a journal. She writes witty observations of the world around her and draws clever pictures in the margins. After a violent attack on the Jews in the village, Hannah's parents decide that she should use her dead cousin's never used ticket to America. So with her other cousin, fourteen-year-old Esther, Hannah boards a train for the port and Hamburg, and then a boat for the voyage across the sea. In the face of difficult conditions, Hannah holds on to her dreams of building a better life in America and getting a real education. Highly reccomended if you enjoyed the previous two books in this series, Young American Voices, which is like a younger version of the Dear America series.

For anyone who is interest in the history of Latvia, this book is a MUST. The book does not go in great depth. But presents the reader with highlights of Latvian history, culture, and chronology. Most of the book consists of a historical dictionary. The historical dictionary, portion of the book, is interesting. After the dictionary, I would rate the bibliography as interesting and useful. It is 25-1/2 pages long.

This book is a MUST, for the Latvian historian.

Plakans' dictionary is well thought out and reads extremely well with supporting background material. A must for scholars and historians as well as the casual Baltic observer or student!

Russian architecture is not well known to Western readers. Prof. Brumfield is a prolific and systematical writer about Russian architecture. Reviewing book is the best modern book in English about a history of Russian architecture. The book covers whole periods of a long history of the glorious Russian architecture. Author have visited Russia several times and most of pictures made by author and that also makes his approach more unique and personal. Text, pictures and references are very impressive and higly professional. As a systematical desription of history of Russian architecture (data base) it is close to classical Grabar's work History of Russian Culture (in Russian). The book creates a solid basement for building a theory of Russian architecture with discussion its origin, its unique stylistic features and factors which influence the development of Russian architecture. Prof. Brumfield's book established a golden standard for any other attempt to write a book about a history of Russian architecture (in Russian or in English). I have this book and I am treating it as a my national treasure. Everybody who are interested in the architecture and/or Russian architecture must buy this excellent, beautiful, well written, highly informative and richly illustrated book.

I studied under Brumfield at Tulane, with this book as the main text for study. He employs strong, fluid writing to encompass a millenium of russian expression and turmoil. The book does not lose its sense of history. A decisive book for any interested.

de una epopeya, en la que los heroicos guerreros españoles le devolvieron a Stalin la visita que este habia hecho a su pais, mediante sus comisarios, durante la guerra civil, es una edicion que actualmente se encuentra agotada, yo poseo un ejemplar comprado hace ya 16 años en la libreria San Martin, de Madrid, el cual fue el primero y muy valioso de una serie de estudios historicos que poseo acerca del desempeño de la legendaria division azul en tierras rusas,mi ejemplar no lo venderia por nada del mundo.

A great book for everyone. It is one of the few books that would satisfy both the serious historians with the detailed accounts and the casual readers with the plethora of human drama. It describes the journey and battles of the Spanish Blue Division, made of volunteers from Spain to fight Soviet Russia. By recounting the events in one sector on the Leningrad front, the book gives the readers a feeling of the enormity of the Eastern Front. A must-read for anyone interested in World War II history.

All congenitally melancholy souls will love this novel, where intense romantic and spiritual conflicts unfold in the dreamlike setting of a nineteenth century Russian estate. This is a beautifully written, extremely lyrical work...it will especially appeal to devotees of Romantic piano music. The final few paragraphs are unforgettable and heartbreaking. I consider Home of the Gentry to be the most quintessentially "Turgenevian" of all the author's works. I have read the novel many times, and I never tire of it. If you are new to nineteenth century Russian literature, this is a good work with which to start. The novel is not long, and most chapters are quite short. Each one stands like a perfect little jewel, and many passages will remain in your memory for a long time. Like most Russian novels of the period, Home of the Gentry is a novel of ideas. Your reading will be enhanced if you have some background in the cultural dynamics of the period and understand the intellectual caste to which the protagonist belongs - he is a "superfluous man," and his conflicted ideological stance relates directly to issues that were intensely debated in the 1840s. Although knowing something about this situation is helpful, I imagine that even those readers who have no prior knowledge of the period will enjoy the work immensely. If nothing else, Turgenev's elegiac portrayal of the Russian countryside is unrivaled....even Tolstoy cannot match Turgenev's affecting depictions of the land itself. Freeborn's translation reads smoothly, and there is a helpful introductory essay in this edition.

Unlike his famous contemporaries Turgenev's writing is not heroic and it's not full of pathos.Home Of The Gentry is a sensitive 'quiet' novel, the characters are portreyed delicately with an impossible combination of cynicism and true love for humen nature. The touching love story is a reward for those who like smart observations and have a real passion for the truely romantic.

"The House of Special Purpose" is compiled from the papers of Charles Sydney Gibbes (or Gibbs), English tutor to the children of Tsar Nicholas II. J. C. Trewin did an excellent job of going through Gibbs' papers and combining them with published sources to form a fascinating narrative. The photographs, too, are well-chosen. The Russian revolution happens a third of the way through the book; however, Gibbs was with the family in their captivity in Siberia, and has interesting anecdotes and dimensions to add. One complaint is the lack of a proper bibliography. While "House of Special Purpose" was mostly based on unpublished sources, it would be nice to know at a glance what other sources Trewin consulted. (Sometimes sources are given in footnotes at the bottom of the page; other times they are not.) Similarly, an index might have been nice. However, these are both stylistic complaints. This is an interesting book, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the last tsar. It is, as other reviewers have said, a shame that it is out of print and hard to find.

This is a wonderful book that describes the last days of Czar Nicholas II and his family. The emphasis is on the children --- son Alexis and daughters Anastasia, Maria, Tatyana, and Olga.

The book is based on the recollections of the children's tutor, Pierre Gilliard, who accompanied them in exile for a time. It is filled with photographs, letters, and other memorobilia from Monsieur Gilliard's collection. These provide a delightful side to the tragic story of the last days of the Romanovs.

It is a pity that this wonderful book is out of print.

This book, first published seventy years ago, is a harrowing account of the author's escape from the Soviet Cheka shortly after the Russian Revolution. He was the leader of a group of rebels in Turkestan, and as such was a much sought after prize for the Bolsheviks, who wanted to eliminate him and all other opponents of their regime. The story is told in such a low-key way, however, that often it becomes a mere travelogue rather than a tale of action. For all of that, the underlying terror comes through, and the danger and hardship which the author faced appears very real to the reader. In addition to the main story, this book is also full of geography, geology, zoology, botany and history. The author was certainly a well-rounded individual, in addition to being very, very brave. We don't see many heroes such as this man in our times, and it's rewarding to read that such people were more than wiling to risk everything to combat tyranny.

It is the story of a White Russian who was worked against the Bolshevik's during the Russian revolution. It provides chilling insight into the reign of terror but also fascinating information on life in Central Asia during the 1920's. Highly recommended

Eric A. Kimmel retells this classic Russian fairy tale with such lively language that you are immediately drawn in to the story of a noble archer and his adventures with a magical dove. He faces all kinds of perils including a jealous and treacherous czar. He is given some help along the way by Baba Yaga and Grandmother Frog. In the Land of Nine Times Nine he faces Kot Buyan, a huge and monstrous black cat. He solves difficult puzzles and fights impossible battles with his wits and the magical help of I-Know-Not-What. This rich story is told in chapter format and is accented with the wonderfully evocative illustrations of Robert Sauber. The colorful images are filled with folksy charm and the one of Baba Yaga in her house set on chicken feet captures this traditional Russian witch with delightful humor and a pleasant sense of thrill. This is a fun book to read aloud over a period of several nights, taking time to go over the costumes and details of the pictures and to talk about czars and enchantments and magical spells. It is a super book for cultivating a child's imagination.

This is a really good book. The illistrations are beautiful and I keep on re reading this book. It is one of the few books that doesn't bore me if someone reads it out loud.

Why are there some authors and books that seem to be admired by writers, yet have not found a wider audience, even with two solid books. Robin White is such a writer. No fancy review here...just the promise that no one who enjoys intelligent thrillers would be disappointed with Ice Curtain. Belongs in a class of Robert Wilson (Small Death in Lisbon, Company of Strangers) Craig Shelton (River Sorrow) who are turning out first class thrillers but to my knowledge have fallen short of the top 15.

This book is excellent-- tight,intelligent, warm-hearted, cynical yet hopeful, smart, yet tragic. Not the Demille thrill a minute, but a compelling, readable pace. Russia is the true character here. Read it. You'll pass it along. You'll be putting your imprimatuer here next.

In 1999 Irkutsk, Siberia, Siberian Delegate Arkady Volsky persuades his friend, former geologist Gregori Nowek to accompany him to Moscow. Arkady plans to demand that the Chairman of the State Diamond Committee Petrov pays the Mirny miners for their work. In Moscow, Gregori is late for the meeting in which Petrov tells Gregori he has not sold any diamonds recently due to a feud with the western cartel. Arkady threatens to ruin Petrov through his connection to Yeltsin.

Gregori arrives in time to see Arkady assassinated. He is arrested for his friend's murder. FSB major Izrail Levin has evidence proving Gregori's innocence, but instead cuts a deal. In order to remain free, Gregori must cooperate on the homicide investigation that soon takes them to an icy conspiracy involving diamonds and potentially cold deaths.

In spite of the climate, Robin White's latest Russian thriller, THE ICE CURTAIN, is a heated tale that never slows down. The story succeeds because the key characters feel genuine and make the conspiracy appear so matter of fact real. Anyone who enjoys a conspiracy tale or a solid police procedural will gain immense pleasure from this novel and want to read Mr. White's previous Russian story, SIBERIAN LIGHT.

Harriet Klausner

I can't express how exquisitely these 4 volumes are packaged. Take a look at the price!!! There is a large case that contains four slender volumes bound in what appears to be handmade paper. Each volume focuses on one of four palaces. Each one contains watercolours with a description paragraph to the left. The watercolours are breathtakingly reproduced -- bright colors, intricate details. Treat yourself to these four, perhaps the most beautiful book ever produce on the subject of Imperial Russia. Go ahead and splurge!

These four volumes are a wonfderful collectionof watercolours and grisailles from the times of Imperial Russia. They would be suitable for anyone with an interestin art, architecture, Russia and St Petersburg. They show the four palaces (sadly there is no volume for other palaces such as Ropsha, Strelna or Oranienbaum) as they were before they were destroyed by the Germans in WWII. The palaces (both interiors and exteriors) as well as their gardens are brought to life by this wonderful collection. They are shown as they exisited throughout the 19th century and are interesting not only for their artistic and architectual merits but also for their intrinsic historic and cultural value. Very strongle recommended.