This book contains three short works that provide a wonderful example of the Russian approach to romantic literature. The form is wonderful, the characters perfectly created and the plot shores up the authors ideas with an most resonant clarity.

First love shows the blend of comedy and tragedy that is so prevalent in Russian works of the period. The events portrayed are those that could occur in daily life even to today. The emotions that are evoked are real and timeless. It surely adds proof to the argument that Russian works of this period age so much better than do those authors from other countries whose works have survived.

Spring Torrents is the longest of the works and still provides a feel that the length is exactly perfect for the tale. If the prologue does not pull you into the story you have an absences of a great concern that plagues many of us. How many of us fear reaching that point (or have reached that point)in life where we recognize all of the great loss of opportunity which has occurred in our life. From this prologue the story races along explaining how one of us has reached the position when the concern has become a reality. Wonderful feelings are evoked on the path.

This book is highly recommended for all and is a must read for the Tolstoy, Chekov, Gogol and Dostoevsky fans.

First love is a wonderful evocation of youth, love and life in 19th century Russian life. I challenge anyone not to be moved by this book, which is both humorous and touchingly melencholic.

If reading in translation has proved difficult for you in the past, Freeborn's translation of Turgenev's short stories will suprise you in a wonderful way. There were times when I forgot that I was in the process of reading, but rather felt that these very scenes were being lived out before me, a bodiless and voiceless viewer.

Turgenev's understanding of and ability to capture the complete emotional processes of people in love in this collection touched me in its sincerity and genuine clarity. All the insane, skipping-over-themselves thoughts and quick jealousies that people experience are completely captured in stories like "First Love" and "Diary of a Superfluous Man."

Turgenev is a great introduction to Russian fiction. I'm sorry that I didn't discover him earlier.

This is a remarkable book. I say this as one who has explored this subject in my own writings and who, as a result, understand just how difficult it can be to write about this subject skillfully and in a way that matters. Anyone who has read "how-to" books on spirituality knows how often they suffer from well-intention generalizations which are less than helpful. This book explores four ways in which we can achieve spiritual connection with the Divine--the way of devotion, of action, of contemplation and of self-mastery--and it does so with great clarity and specificity (the latter particularly well done). It is never simplistic. Nor does it underestimate the difficulties involved, although it makes one feel that with proper understanding and commitment, such union is definitely possible. The author demonstrates a rich familiarity with various religions, both eastern and western, and with various spiritual disciplines, and does a first-rate job of discussing these with dexterity, relevance and, again clarity and specificity. The goal of the book is to offer us an individualized path to union, to connection, and one important aspect is its recognition that because each of us IS an individual, our path to such union will vary. We must, it's made clear, find our own way with the tools offered us in the book. This demonstrates great and proper respect for the individual as he or she pursues that path, rather than supposing wrongly that one path will fit all.

The suggested reading list at the back of the book is a rich one. And I very much appreciated the treasure trove of useful quotations from religious and spiritual leaders and scholars, all of it skillfully employed to make various points more clear and therefore more useable. There is also included a very useful chart of the four paths, which acts as a kind of summary of the text, and which one can regularly consult as one makes various choices along the way.

What understanding I have just received from reading Four Paths to Union !! I've known of Bhakti and Karma yoga, but not much of the other two paths. I recognized a ton of practices from all over the spiritual board, but I've always been confused as to any order or way of holding it all. So many practices are coming from "my way is the way" that it has been impossible for me to sort out value in the larger picture or the value to me. I am eternally grateful for this clear map! The metaphor of the mountain and the different approaches/directions was fabulous! I've NEVER known what my spiritual path was since I don't have a specific teaching or teacher. I loved all the directives that were given to go even deeper into the path. Now I am looking forward to reading "my chapter" in much greater depth. The chapter on religions and paths saved me about 10,000 hours of reading and classes in the history of religions! What a remarkable and easy to get synthesis!! I can count the books that have had such an impact on me on one hand. A thousand blessings to the author for the gift this is going to be to many on their spiritual journey.

This book has been yearning to be written for all of us in a spiritual search, and for all of us who would like an objective exposition of the different ways of conducting a spiritual search. I think it is of great use to people who help people.

I have not read a book like it. The paths of devotion, action, self-mastery and contemplation are described with exquisite clarity, illumined by quotes I wanted to write down, and given a breadth of application that enjoyed deep resonances with my experience. These paths would be recognized in the different yogas, such as bhakta and jnaña, in the different schools of Buddhist and Christian devotion, meditation, and service.

As a psychologist I am at times sitting across from people who have, parallel to or imbedded in psychological symptoms, an urging to do spiritual work, or some inner voice demanding spiritual development. This is now the first book I think of recommending.

Having lived and studied in Russia and being married to a Russian I am able to appreciate the tremendous understanding of the Russians by the author. this is a must read book if you intend to travel there, live there or marry someone who lives there; it will save you from making many mistakes or false assumptions. It is well written, concise , easy to read and inexpensive. Essential reading.

This book is very informative and easy to read. My husband and I are traveling to Russia sometime in the next 2 months to adopt 2 children and I feel it is important to understand their culture both for now and for their future. I have recommended this book to others on the adoption related mailing lists I am on and others have also responded favorably.

This book is a must read for anyone traveling or living in the area of the former Soviet Union. I live in Lithuania, which is not part of Russia any longer, but everything that I have read in this book applies to these people. They may not have Russian blood but they have been under Russian rule for over 70 years and the Russian way of thinking is engraved in the minds of these people. Again, this book is a must read for anyone considering to travel or to live in the former Soviet Union.

Brian Johnson Lithuania

I actually haven't read the book, but came here on foot of a recommendation from William Boyd in the Times Literary Supplement. This is not Morgan Robertson's "Futility - the Wreck of the Titan" - as other reviewers seem to think!

I was told of this book by a friend who claimed that it told the story of the ill fated ship - Titanic but it was wrtten 14 years before Titanic sailed. Strangely enough he was correct. Though the plot is ordinary by today's standards, the eerie feelinge once gets in noticing the similarities between Titanic and th story in this book ensures a top rating.

This book astonished me. I heard that it was written some time before the Titanic sailed but I had no idea it that it was this explicite.

I'm almost tempted to give this collection four stars but that's impossible to do when it includes a story like Notes From Underground. The first four tales are the strongest, IMHO, the weakest probably being The Eternal Husband and then A Gentle Creature. I found White Nights enchanting but the former two seemed less developed, pale shadows of Dostoevsky's other writings. His thoughts on love are simply not as poignant or profound.

But his grasp of the human impulse towards self-destruction and his ability to put flesh on humiliation and suffering remains unparalleled, The Double and Notes being the best examples. His delight in skewering Russian progressives makes A Disgraceful Affair perhaps the most entertaining of the lot.

But through all his voice remains distinctive and inimitable. He was perhaps the greatest novelist of all time, and as this collection shows, he ranks among the greatest of short story writers as well.

This collection can be recommended to anyone interested in sampling Dostoyesvky's shorter fiction; it contains within the one volume a good number of stories which in other editions (Penguin and Oxford) fill more than one volume.

The short stories themselves are just sublime and should not be overlooked by those who tend to think that the best work will be necessarily contained in the novels. The Double is my favourite; it is an especially humorous tale, though sombre in its overall vision. Notes from the Underground is seminal, of course, and is probably the most important story included; A Gentle Creature is disturbing.

One night i decided to "start" the first story in the book, The Double. I was up a little past four in the morning, finishing the story. I was simply enthralled. I continued in this fashion for eight days; until i had finished all eight stories. Dostoevsky seems to have endowed every piece of everything he ever wrote with complete brilliance. Though my favorite story in the collection was Notes From the Underground, all the stories were generally entertaining and almost always enlightening.

Ratushinskaya, ther very accomplished poet and former Soviet exile, has produced here one of the most rspectable and well arranged books of all time. I expect it will go down as one of the most prominent and exceptional gifts of memoir for the entirety ofthe twentieth century. Unjustifiably charged in 1983 for "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda" (whatever that may actually mean is obviously conjectural)for her stance on human rights and opposition to persecution of personal religious freedom and conviction, Ratushinskaya was imprisoned with a sentence of seven years, four of which were filled. Her memoir here attests to a type of courage seldom seen in any era and exceed the sometimes absurd limitations imposed by politicoes as well, the genre of writing of such an ordeal. This book, along with the follow up ("In the Beginning") are highly impressionable, admirable and an answer to anyone who ever thought either one respected for their insights or convictions seldom put to paper such depth and maturity. I haveenormous repsect for her and can highly recommend to anyone this book.

I found the novel not only to be beautifully written and inspiring but also very educational. It describes what commonly happened in the Soviet Union to people like Irina Ratushinskaya. It is hard to believe that life in prison can be filled with hope, friendship and such morality. The novel is a testament to the stregnth of a human spirit.

I started reading this book after finding it in my gramma's book shelf. I'm not a big book reader, but I couldn't stop reading this. It really shows the hardships of prison. Each page shows compassion, and strength, the depth and detail makes my heart go out to the women in the story. This novel left me in tears. It is one of the best novels ever written. Ratushinskaya is a wonderful writter.

From pre-history to Independence in 1991, this book surveys the history of Ukraine and its people. It is unique in not only portraying the history of the Ukrainian people but also includes the other peoples who live or have lived in the land now known as Ukraine.

The organization of the book is chronological with 49 chapters divided into ten parts. Each part covers a significant period in Ukrainian history: Pre-Kievan Times; the Kievan Period; the Lithuanian-Polish Period; the Cossack State; the Hetmanate; Ukraine in the Russian Empire; Ukraine in the Austrian Empire; World War I; the Interwar Years; and, World War II & the Postwar Years. Forty-two black-and-white maps help illustrate the concepts described in the text. Also included are thirty-six textual inserts which provide lengthy quotes of important documents. Sometimes these feel redundant because the author has described so well the events highlighted by the inserted texts.

For readers to whom 700 pages of Ukrainian history is not enough and who want to learn more about specific events or periods described in this book, Magocsi provides a forty page bibliographic essay called: For Further Reading. One of the great stumbling blocks for English-speaking readers who want to learn Ukrainian history is the fact that so many Ukrainian sources have not been translated. A great feature of this bibliography is that the vast majority of the works listed are in English.

Ukrainian history is complex. This book, although daunting to read because of its size and depth of coverage, can help the student of Ukrainian history untangle the puzzles of Ukraine and its people. It is a great reference work that belongs in the library of anyone interested in the subject.

A beautifully written history of outstanding excellence. I have found it most helpful. Professor Magocsi is to be commended on a another success.

Mr. Magocsi's "History of Ukraine" often takes a second billing to Mr. Subtelny's "Ukraine: A History" - and I think, unfairly. Both have a lot to offer, and frankly, no passionate student of Ukrainain history should choose one over the other. He or she should get both. A wealth of information, and first rate scholarship are impressive. Mr. Magocsi has done a first rate job. Mychajlo Hrushevsky would approve of both, and we should too.

I originally picked this book up for the Akhmatova translations, but I found the interviews highly informative. Though I am not a published poet (in spite of describing myself as the most spaced out poet on the planet in a few reviews), I have been to Ann Arbor, Michigan and New Hampshire, and I was surprised with how similar some of our experiences have been. I have been to a writing workshop, so it was possible for me to follow the process by which she has shared and refined poems before attempting to have them published. I have also been to church and taken part in discussions in that context, and was not surprised that Jane Kenyon never found the courage to submit the final poem in the book, "Woman, Why Are You Weeping?" to that process. People don't usually talk about `apathy and bafflement' while "waiting/ for the bread and wine of Holy Communion" after having been to India. (pp. 205-09).

It would be awful for me to joke about the contents of this book, but I think I found a joke by Jane Kenyon in the article, "Poetry and the Mail," originally published in "The Concord Monitor," 16 August 1993. "All poets share one thing, however--a daily dependence on the mail. `It is joy, and it is pain,' as the great Russian poet Anna Akhmatova once said, though not about the mail." (p. 128). The poem itself, "Like a white stone in a deep well," (p. 16) is included in this book. Memory is mentioned in the second line, and in the final line of the poem, and must be what Anna Akhmatova was thinking about, or about "how the gods turned people/ into things, not killing their consciousness." (p. 16)

Most of the poems by Kenyon in this book show up in the Interview with Bill Moyers (1993). What I find most modern is the open discussion of depression, crept up on with a question about the melancholy of winter in the poem, "February: Thinking of Flowers." (p. 151). In a poem, "Having it Out with Melancholy," the second part starts with a list of pills that takes up three lines, and I would bet that none of them ever appeared in any book that Freud read. I like the poem "Otherwise" on pages 168-69. The last one in the Moyers interview was "Let Evening Come." (pp. 170-71). I suspect that most of the readers of this book will be serious poets. It is difficult to imagine another group who would be eager to contemplate an article like "The Physics of Long Sticks." The last paragraph of that article is devoted to the question, "Why can't people be more like dogs?" (p. 103).

Jane Kenyon's poetry reawakened my muse and my love of poetry at a time in my life when I sorely needed it. I have read everything of hers I can get my hands on, and when I found this book I was thrilled. It is like sitting down in the living room with her. I always felt so close to her, like she was my friend, and this book almost makes that impossibility possible.

Jane Kenyon is sorely missed; her volumes of published poetry are cherished members of my library. How wonderful to have now a collection of her translations and her occasional prose pieces. She was as observant and trenchant in essays about gardening or hiking as she was in her best verse; this collection is another chance to hear her voice once again. For all her fans, this volume is a must. For those who don't know her work, it might be a good introduction, and it will surely lead them to her published collections which, thankfully, remain in print. A warm tribute to a much-loved writer.

INTIMACY WITH GOD by Father Thomas Keating is one of the best books I have ever read about prayer. First and foremost Father Keatings book provided me with a safe haven to feel issues that I have felt since I was an orphan as a young boy. This book gave me affirmation and insight to my feelings about not only who God is but what it means to have a personal relationship with God in a hectic world. As I read this book the little boy in me felt God's loving arms and presence surround me and I felt an inner peace and excitement in what I was reading. As a Protestant Pastor I would strongly recommend this book by Father Keating to anyone who I may meet for a brother in Christ has written a very sensitive, loving book. If one desires to have a more intimate realtionship with God and not the world then read this book. The worse thing that may happen is you may stop and think about your priorities. By the end of the book you may also be thinking about what has been missing in my life that I need? The best thing is you may feel God's loving arms and presence in your life as you read and reflect. Reflect on where is God in my life? Maybe its time to take the step and find out! God be with you.

Keating talks about a love relationship with God. What is important is your INTENTION. As one who has desired union with God more than anything else all my life, this is a welcome book. For those of you who have plunged into divers religions searching for God this is the direction to go. Keating though fails to mention the preamble to union with God, namely justification with God through Faith in Christ. It is assumed you have found an initial peace with God, and this is the GROWTH of that peace to envelope your whole being and merge you in God. For those in christainity who have had a lot of high experiences but no steady relationship this book is for you. DO it!!! as keating says, and it will do you!! Enough cannot be said about the book, an excellent combination of psychology, philosophy, christainity, and sociology. An introduction to the practice of forsaking all to be with your sweetheart, living in you.....God

If you are familiar with Fr. Keating's OPEN MIND, OPEN HEART, you know his advice on the PRACTICE of centering prayer. INTIMACY WITH GOD offers a clear statement of his views on the theory behind this form of prayer. The two books together provide an in-depth introduction to centering prayer, a form of Christian meditation that can lead to the kind of prayer called "contemplative prayer" and can transform your life.

James Cannon reveals himself as a scrapper from the old school - equipped with a sense of humour, great finesse and lots of courage. In the pages of this book, he recounts the beginning of his political life. It's the story of thousands of men and women in the United States who were inspired by the Russian revolution in 1917, a revolution that was the creation of workers and farmers just like them, but who became disoriented by Stalin's crimes. Despite all the setbacks, a lot of these people still sought a path to victory over the injustices meted out by the bosses, the KKK and the warmongers preparing World War II. Cannon regales the reader with tales of debates and actions by communists who plunged into the huge union strike battles of the 1930s, who organized to gain a hearing from the new generation - and who exhibited incredible tactical agility and political imagination! A very readable book - a good present for a young person. Makes you want to follow in the footsteps of Cannon and his cohorts, and dare to build something better than the future offered us by Chrétien, Bush, Blair and company.

« Le trotskysme n'est pas un nouveau mouvement, une nouvelle doctrine, mais la restauration, la renaissance du marxisme véritable tel qu'il a été exposé et appliqué au cours de la révolution russe et des premiers jours de l'Internationale communiste. »

C'est avec ces mots que commence cette histoire magnifique du mouvement ouvrière révolutionnaire dans les Etats-unis entre 1920 y 1940. C'est un livre qu'on peut lire comme un romain, mais qui exige la lecture attentive pour pouvoir obtenir toutes ces richesses. Un livre qui doit être dans la bibliothèque de chaque travailleur militant.

James P. Cannon était un jeune militant des Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), membre fondateur y dirigeant de Parti Communiste aux Etats-unis dans les années 1920, dirigeant des militants que ont lutté contre la dégénération staliniste du mouvement communiste et secrétaire national du Parti Socialiste des Travailleurs. L'histoire raconté dans cette livre présent des exemples importants de direction ouvrière, questions de théorie et programme dans le développement d'un parti prolétarienne, du travail de masses, el la vie interne du parti. Il analyse les événements mondiales les plus importantes -- la victoire de la révolution russe, la crise économique y el auge de lutte ouvrière des années 1930, le fascisme, le stalinisme, la guerre civile en Espagne ... Toutes pour aider une nouvelle génération de militants de connaître su histoire et préparer mieux les luttes ouvrières aujourd'hui.

Cannon never explains numbers here. Yet, this is the history of a group of revolutionists who went from two or three leaders of the Communist party who learned of Trotsky's critique of Stalin, to a group of a few dozens--The Generals without an Army they were called. They went from only a few to merging and mixingwith new currents of workers who came forward as the CIO Upsurge came forward. Their principles helped spark the organization of revolutionary workers in the great strikes in Minneapolis in 1934 and aftewrards, and then to influence workers in the sit down strikes in Flint and Dearborn and Detroit, and to lead demonstrations of tens of thousands against American Nazis. Then to find thousands of young workers, intellectuals, and student youth in the Socialist party and battle the reformists there, to build Found the Socialist Workers party, founded with thousands of members before World War II. But this is not about those numbers. Through most of history, real revolutionists real communists have been forced to fight in small organizations like the movement Cannon built. What this is about is the principles, the ideas, the lessons, the history, how to do things theoretically, how to do them practically, and how to do them right. Like all of Cannon's writing, there is so much humor, wit, and much wisdom about not only politics but life on this planet in general.