Read this book and you'll learn about the life of a heroic woman, but also about the bitter struggles working people fought in the US a hundred years ago. You won't get this history on the History Channel!
Pathfinder Press is dedicated to, among other things, publishing the speeches and writings of revolutionary figures like Mother Jones. So, in this book, you won't read some professor's interpretation of her, you'll read her own words. And what words she spoke! Her speeches and letters spring from the page full of passion and courage.
She went to where the miners were fighting and dying and stood up to the cops and the goons who tried to intimidate her. She was braver and bolder than most (male) labor leaders of her time, and in every way a superior human being to those who claim to "lead" the labor unions today.

Coal miners and retirees are still dying of Black Lung disease without proper medical care or compensation, and Black Lung widows are once again marching on Washington. These are good reasons to read this inspiring volume, which captures the historic voice of the coal miners-Mother Jones. A woman of the working class, she took part in almost every major battle by coal miners from the 1890s through the 1920s. She declared her solidarity with all victims of class rule from New England to Japan and left the world with many famous dictums of the struggle: "Don't mourn, organize!" or "I'm not here to beg , I want to fight and take what belongs to us!" She joined social struggles like the fight against child labor. When the newspapers refused to cover a strike involving child textile workers because the mill owners held stock in the newspapers, Mother Jones declared: "Well, I've got stock in these little children and I'll arrange a little publicity." And she did. While the U.S. was waging war on Mexico, Mother Jones was meeting with Pancho Villa to promote working class solidarity. We are also reminded that the task she described is still our task today: "Never before in human history were men and women called upon to link hands in the mighty battle for the emancipation of the working class from the robbing class." Mother Jones proves that you can't count yourself or any one else out-Mother Jones didn't become an activist until she was in her fifties. This is the total book by and about Mother Jones, with valuable background material by Philip Foner, the noted historian.

A wonderful collection: nearly 40 speeches by Mother Jones, the tireless champion of workers in struggle at the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th. Also includes articles by Jones written for labor and socialist papers of the time, press reports about her activities, and dozens of letters she wrote to other labor and socialist leaders.

Mother Jones traveled incessantly, giving speeches and organizing coal miners and copper miners, textile workers, construction workers. She exposed and decried the abuses of the capitalist system. She stood up to the richest employers, their cops, courts, the National Guard, the U.S. Congress and presidents. She championed workers framed-up and victimized in the course of many struggles-- including insurgent fighter from Mexico during its 1910 revolution.

Her courage, honesty and perseverance should be a better-known example for workers, farmers and young people today. She has lots of short, snappy observations I find useful to raise at work, to help get others thinking a bit. And I found her letters, which reflect her striving to promote the most uncompromising, militant and class-conscious wing of unions and the Socialist Party, especially interesting.

Kramer's works are visionary paintings similar to Blake's etchings, providing an array of colorful oil works which are eye-catching. Modern spiritual art at its best.

When I received my copy of Moments of Union, I thought I would glance through it and save it for a rainy day. But no, once I opened it, I could not lay it down. Every painting had a gift of vivid colors and patterns. Gradually, my mind surrendered to something within that was far deeper. Hours later when I closed the book, I felt whole, as if all the parts of my being had joined together in this extraordinary shower of colors dancing freely across the pages. Next, I went through each page a second time to intellectually grasp why these paintings are so fulfilling and how Kramer's use of colors could stimulate such a sense of joy! Instead, I selected 15 favorites, the ones I would love to frame if I ever have the temerity to cut them out. I highly recommend evenings with this book to bring back an inner balance of heart, mind, and soul.

During the Great Depression, Hal Kramer sold one at a time out of an old metal suitcase. He has worked ship-board at sea, learned the trade of lithography, started his own successful publishing company, sold it, and retired. Then, at 70 years of age, he began a new, phenomenally-successful publishing company, H J Kramer.

Now 86 years old, Hal Kramer is reborn once again as a gifted visionary artist. He paints not things, but energy, and his book, Moments of Union, is radiant.

The Introduction, and inspiring story of Hal's career -- from industriousness to success to art to spiritual expressionism -- is worth the price of the book. But it is only the beginning.

I found it impossible to decide which paintings are my favorites, because each page I turn brings a new epiphany. Moments of Union is a book one can keep for many years and never grow tired of revisiting its pages.

Each of his paintings is like an oracle, in which we see our own inspiration, our own hopes and dreams.

Because beauty is in the beholder's eye, I urge you to open its pages and delight in your own moments of union.

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.

Remnick's frank, insightful analysis of the Soviet Union's final days filled me with inspiration and sadness. I'm inspired by the inhuman perseverance of the Russian and Soviet bloc people and saddened by the intense and lethal persecution of millions at the hands of their so-called leaders. Remnick shows a society led by decades of fear - citizens who feared persecution and leaders who feared the loss of power. The author flows easily from dissecting the Communist party and power brokers of Soviet society to eating cabbage with Siberian miners who don't expect to live past 35 to intense discussions with the Russian intelligentsia who fought the system quietly and desperately. It is a long book and at times I found myself needing a Russian history reference guide. But Remnick is not writing a history filled with facts and statistics. It is all about the people. Lenin's Tomb should be read by any journalist who feels the urge to go beyond 8 graphs. Truly wonderful.

It's hard to imagine there was any dissention from the Pulitzer committee over "Lenin's Tomb". This book excellently combines top-notch journalism and fine, precise, descriptive writing for an increbidly enjoyable and informative read. Considering how most such "good for you" books are long slogs about as exciting as bran, "Lenin's Tomb" was a surprising pleasure.

I came to this book with minimal knowledge of Russia in general, let alone the Soviet transition, and disliking what I had encountered of Russia's culture and people. "Lenin's Tomb" manages to explain the basics to ignorant laypeople like myself without condescending or dragging through too much history. What you need to understand what was happening, Remnick provides, no more and no less.

"Lenin's Tomb" proved an eye opener about the Soviet experience, but it also reflects on the larger ramifications of Communist autocracy. So many of the explorations of the Soviet erosion of society and culture gave me a sense of Deja Vu compared with China, only China has perhaps been less scathed by the shorter span of its bureaucratic red terror. Also, while "Lenin's Tomb" did not make me like Russia or Russians any more, it did present the context of how and why people can be a certain way, so that I now hold it against them less.

"Lenin's Tomb" is almost novelesque in its readability, a page-turner and easily beach or plane fare. I doff my hat to Remnick's ability to carve dense political stuff into an involving, compelling narrative. Perhaps Russia scholars would find points to criticize, but from a journalistic perspective, "Lenin's Tomb" is the book all of us wish we could write.

David Remnick in "Lenin's Tomb" writes a fascinating book on the demise of the Soviet Union. Remnick manages to convey the views of the liberals who want to democratize the country and the neo-Stalinist conservatives who want to turn the clock back to the repression of life under Stalin.

The author has little sympathy for Mikhail Gorbachev who once he launched "perestroika" could not make the final commitment to democracy and republicanism and remained trapped in the dying and corrupt Communist Party. Yet, Gorbachev's half-hearted attempts at reform nearly ended in a disasterous rigt-wing coup. Only, the incompetence of the plotters and will of the people not to turn back to a corrupt failed system prevented the USSR in falling back into despotism.

Because of "glasnost and perestroika" Remnick was able to obtain candid views from everyone he interviewed during his stay in the Soviet Union. Miners, dissident and even communist party apparatchiks spoke freely about the good and bad of Russia. Nearly, 50 years after his death, Stalin's shadow still hovered over everything and everyone in the nation. Liberals such as Andrei Sakharov wanted the government and the party to fully acknowledge the heinous attrocities of mass murder and imprisonments committed during Stalin's reign, Khrukhschev made a tentative start at 20th party congress in denouncing Stalin but failed to follow through with real reform. During the Brezhnev years the country lurched backwards thast by the time Gorbachev came to power the Soviet Union was totally morally, politically and economically bankrupt.

Remnick also does a fine job showing the first hesitant steps toward capitalism yet evenn today 10 years after the Soviet Union collapsed Russia still refuses to make the fundamental changes to bring a market economy fully to fruition. Under the Communists there was "equity in poverty" today in Russia you see the extremes of rich and poor. This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the demise of the Soviet Union, but it needs an update to encompass the last decade.

Peter the Great:His Life and World is an magnificient biography, I wish they all were like this. Impeccably researched and written, Massie reveals life in the Russian Royal Court in the time of Peter the Great. Massie's writing style is generally easy reading, but it will still take many evenings to complete this book.

Personalities abound throughout the telling of one of the greatest of all Tsars. What really stands out about this particular book, is that while the book is really about Peter, Massie allows the flow of the book to follow personalties of the time as they enter and exit Peter's world. So as well as learning about Peter, I learnt of Charles' rivalry with the Russian leader, and the battles they fought; Tolstoy, the ambassador to the Ottoman empire, and his constant diplomatic battles with the leaders of Turkey. The Sun King of France. These are just a few examples that litter the book.

Furthermore, social and political issues of the time are discussed, some in great depth. I never realised the stuggles involved with the construction of St. Petersburg, the workers dealing with both the [danger] of the Swedish Army and Navy, as well as the marshes on which the city was built. That the establishment of the Russian Navy was initiated by Peter, was another surprise. I would have thought that a major empire such as the Russian would have already had a navy. The political intrigues between the Royal houses of Europe was another eyeopener for me.

There are always faults with any book; Peter the Great is no exception. Some details would be repeated, some to the point of numbness. How many times do we have to hear about Peter's fondness for the sea? Or the sciences? Still, many people like myself will overlook these and instead, look at the book for what it is; a stunning and comprehensive look into not only the life of Peter the Great, but the world of Eastern and Middle Europe. I began reading the book to learn the story of Peter the Great. That I got a history lesson about Europe in the 18th century is a real bonus.

Peter the Great was a larger than life figure and Massie does a fabulous job describing him and his world in this book. Massie, who is one of the most readable historians I've ever come across, incorporates incredible research and a flair for storytelling to make this both academic and exciting. I began reading the book hoping to learn more about Russia and Peter the Great, but Massie is much more ambitious than that and describes the socio-political climate throughout Europe during Peter's era. It provides a wonderful history lesson and is certainly as thorough as most semester long European history classes. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone interested in history or enjoys exciting stories about heroic emperors, wars, politics, and foreign cultures. Do not let the length scare you off, this will be one of the best historical books you ever read.

My introduction to Robert Massie came when I first picked up a copy of Nicholas and Alexandra last Spring. Frankly I was expecting a serious history book-- In other words I expected it to be dry, dry, dry! What a great surprise to find I could not put it down. Having that great experience made it a no-brainer to read Peter the Great as well-- it was even better.

Massie's gift is in his ability to write history in a narrative style, identifying the nuances of each setting and character as well as the heros and antagonists, all while maintaining historical accuracy. No wonder we find that Massie's works have been converted into both film and mini-series.

His account of the succession of Peter to Regent Sophia's intrigues is heart stopping. You see directly into the private and public life of this unique Tsar who attempted to drag Russia into the modern era- The good the bad and the ugly. It is simply great stuff!

If you are interested in Russia, start out with Peter the Great and go on to Nicholas and Alexandra. These are both excellent books!

This book is not a novel. It is an unusually constructed history in three volumes, written by a word-class writer. It is a heavy read. In this volume, Solzhenitsyn describes arrests, interrogations, tortures, trials, prisons, and methods of transporatation from the prisons to the labour camps. He gives a brief history of the genesis of Gulag, its principles and its expansion, in the chapter "A Brief History of Our Sewage Disposal System." Solzhenitysn marshalls an impressive range of facts and first hand anecdotes in addition to his own experiences, usually relating them in a straightforward manner, sometimes with bitter, vicious sarcasm, sometimes with passionate anger. The book is an astounding achievement, especially when one considers that he wrote it in sections, hiding each as it was completed; he was never able to refer back to what he had previously written, yet I noticed no repetitions. The book is an astounding achievement, immensely powerful, but very depressing, sometimes heart-breaking. Nonetheless, anyone who wishes to be well-informed in general, or about history in particular, must read it.

Gulag provided for me a powerful and shocking history lesson I had never been taught in high school or college. So much has been taught on Hitler, but barely anything of substance on Soviet Communism. After reading this book, you'll understand the reasons for the so-called paranoia of McCarthyism. Ronald Reagan had it right when he called the Soviet Union an "evil empire." I found this book so compelling, though heart wrenching, that I went on to read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" as well as a recent biography on Solzhenitsyn by D. M. Thomas called "Alexander Solzhenitsyn: A Century in His Life." I have come to the conclusion that nobody but a man like Solzhenitsyn could ever have written Gulag.

This is probably as significant a book as has been published in the 20th century. Not because it changed the course of history or influenced a huge number of people. It did neither of these things. The history it deals with was already long passed and its size and severity kept it from being read by a mass audience. Still, it is significant because it tells a story that otherwise could not have been told. The full extent of what happened during the half century of Soviet rule to millions of Soviet citizens is the focus of this book and Solzhenitsyn's narrative, often numbing in the regularity of repeated cycles of arrests, 'trials', and imprisonment, seems to be his effort at repaying those who perished - at insuring that they are remembered and that those who subjected them to lives of torture are remembered for what they did.

Solzhenitsyn is a true hero of the 20th century. A military officer of the Soviet Union during WWII, he was imprisoned for writing a letter that included a joke about Stalin. During his time in prison he met numerous others who had been in different camps - different places and different types - and started piecing together in his mind the full scale of the vast Gulag enterprise which eventually consumed more of his contrymen than the total count of those of all countries who died in WWII. That the size and scope of this mass internment was kept virtually a secret to most of the world (and to most Russians)for so long is only part of the horror to which Solzhenitzyn is responding.

From his first book, A Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovitch, a small volumn about a single day in the life of a typical Gulag prisoner - smuggled out of Russia and published in the West - he has devoted his life to various tellings of his country's recent history. Most of it to do with the Gulag. This isn't pleasant stuff. It isn't tight fiction like Darkness At Noon. This is the real stuff with no prettifying. He feels that someone had to tell the truth. We owe it to him to listen.

Vladislav Tamarov is barely nineteen when he is drafted into the Soviet army and sent to Afghanistan. His immersion in Soviet propaganda does not prepare him for what he will find there. His training has little to do with his assignment as a mine-sweeper. He serves his two years, somehow survives, and returns home to Leningrad. His life becomes chaotic. Somehow his Afghan experiences seem more real than the life he is living. Later he emigrates to the United States where he lives now, thirty-eight years old. But really, he never comes home from Afghanistan. In his spirit, he is still trapped in that war.

As luck would have it, Vlad (as he likes to be called) is a talented photographer and writer. Somehow he manages to keep a journal and take pictures during his entire tour of duty. Now he shares the pictures with us. Plain pictures of grim, haunted young men. Men who will never go home. Men who will die within hours of being photographed. Men resting briefly before the next battle or ambush. The book is built around these photographs, with accompanying text that is simple and spare.

Vlad serves his time, but really, he never comes home. In his spare, simple writing, his consciousness wanders back and forth between "home" and Afghanistan, never at peace. For him, only the war experience is real. The only people he can really feel at home with are Afghan veterans, and--interestingly--veterans of Viet Nam.

Afghanistan is not a sentimental book. It is a simple, plain-spoken account of a very bad time. It is a powerful statement about war, all war, yet it does not lecture the reader. It is not a book you enjoy, but it will make a deep impression on you. It is exquisite photo-journalism. I recommend it highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber

This is the extremely poignant story of a young Russian from Leningrad by the name of Vladislav Tamarov who at the age of nineteen was conscripted into the Soviet Army knowing full well his destination upon completing his basic and airborne training, Afghanistan. Rarely if ever have I read a story such as this, told with the full depth of emotions over what someone has seen and been forced to participate in.

After his conscription, Vladislav went to basic and airborne training, where by his description the training was wholeheartedly inadequate to the task at hand. But then, armies can train basic trainees in the very basics of soldiering but they can never fully prepare them for the realities that lay ahead when facing actual combat. Of note is the fact that he and his fellow trainees spent a lot of time on the airborne training only to never use it in Afghanistan.

Armed with this most minimal of training, Vladislav and his fellow basic training graduates headed off for Afghanistan. Landing in Kabul he saw the first of many dichotomies where the people of Afghanistan attempted to continue to live their lives the best they could despite rocket attacks and a constant shifting between the Afghanistan government's forces and the Mujahadeen. To add to his already cumbersome load of trying to learn how to survive in combat, he was also immediately picked out to be a minesweeper, the job that few soldiers of any army wants to have.

Vladislav goes on to tell us of the many strife's and hardships that both he and his fellow soldiers endured and some which who did not survive. I found the style in which he told his story to be quite compelling as he tells it with a great depth of emotion to include areas where he seems to almost be in a dream/nightmare state where in one paragraph he's home, he's made it and in the next paragraph he's still in Afghanistan running for his life or attempting to save a friends life.

Of interest is how for quite some time at the beginning of this war the Soviet people were not told what was happening and why young soldiers were coming home in zinc coffins. To us, as Americans, it would seem unthinkable for our government to commit so many assets to a combat action without telling the general populace. To think that the USSR attempted to do is almost inconceivable.

Overall this is a story in pictures and words that is very telling of the experiences young men go through in war and the author deserves high praise for bringing it to print and those of us fortunate to have read it! I myself am in the Army and I found that I learned a great deal from this person that today I call a friend but back in my early days in the Army I was told he and his fellow soldiers were my enemy, thank God that's a war that never happened. I hope for him today that the demons of this war do not still haunt him for he and his fellow Afghansti have seen enough demons!

I highly recommend this book to any and all for it will certainly enrich your knowledge of the Soviet Afghan war and bring you in touch with the author who a truly honorable man who when he was but a mere teenager was forced to grow old before his time. {ssintrepid}

Vladislaw Tamarov, the author of "Afghanistan: A Russian Soldier's Story" was a mere 19 years old when he was drafted to Afghanistan. Once there, Tamarov was 'selected' to be a minesweeper, and he served almost two years before returning home to Leningrad. Tamarov was one of the lucky ones; he returned to tell the story of his time through photographs and journal entries.

Tamarov describes the history--official and unofficial--behind the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, training prior to deployment, and the four types of military action that took place there. Weapons are also described, and there are also photographs of unexploded mines, minesweepers at work, and many photographs of the other young men who served with Tamarov.

The one thing that struck me over and over again as I read this book was the word "WASTE." The photographs of the young soldiers who never returned home stand as a monument to the utter ridiculous waste that occurred under the name "Afghanistan War." What difference did it make to the world or humankind? Has anything changed as a result? Did the world improve immeasurably or even measurably for that matter? The answer to those questions is a single, loud resounding 'NO'. And the only message that can be drawn from this book is the utter futility and madness of war. I would like to commend the author for creating a memorial through his marvellous photographs for the men who seem to be destined just to become empty statistics. The young men memorialized in Tamorov's photographs did not belong in Afghanistan, and neither did they deserve to die. I am glad that someone was there to record their short lives before they were stolen away forever--displacedhuman

"Hostile Waters", by Peter Huchthausen, Igor Kurdin and R. Alan White. Thorndike Press, Thorndike, Maine, Large type edition, 1997.

An excellent book, dealing with the loss of the K-219, a Soviet Nuclear submarine, off the east coast of the United States. This book is non-fiction but it reads like a fast moving, modern day thrill novel, thanks, probably, to the efforts of author R. Alan White. The book also reads like a "you are there!" recitation of the events of the sinking, undoubtedly due to the efforts of Igor Kurdin, of the Russian Navy. Finally, there are some pointed comments about higher-level actions and reactions, probably due to the efforts of Captain Peter Huchthausen, USN, Retired. It is impressive that three different writers from such disparate backgrounds could produce a book that is such a well-written story of the events in the sinking of the K-219. It all comes together in such an interesting fashion that it was difficult to put the book down.

As we watch the world react to the aftermath of September 11 2001, we wonder why the CIA and the FBI did not have better communications with each other agency. The provincialism and secrecy of the USN submarine service is well documented in this book. In some ways, this is a theme of this book; rivalry between service branches and within each service hinders cooperation and communications. On page 225, for example, you can find: the U.S. Navy's "... number one enemy: the United Sates Air Force". Personally, I can recall working as reliability engineer on a small Navy project in 1987, and I referenced an Air Force document as substantiation for my calculations. I was told, "Wrong color blue". Navy Blue versus Air Force blue.

Through my work as Exec. Asst. to the Exec. Dir. of the Navy League of the U.S., I met member Peter Huchthausen when he introduced Igor Kurdin to the NLUS as an associate member. I became their liaison. Through this I have worked with young hero Sergei Preminin's high-school teacher, who created a small museum to his heroism. Then on 8/4/97 at a dinner in his honor at the Officers Club of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, I was privileged to be seated at the head table with and to meet the brave Russian sub commander, Igor Britanov, who saved our East Coast from a Chernobyl, and probably thus headed off WWIII. I was honored to be made a member of the St. Petersburg Club of Sailors and Submariners that evening. Peter Huchthausen did painstaking research, as did his coauthor Igor Kurdin to create this book. It is riveting, utterly compelling, heart-wrenching, and true. Although I have read it three times and highlighted much, plus viewing the HBO slightly-altered and less grippingly true rendition, I still weep for these brave men. This is the sign of a well-written book! It captures vividly the heart and soul of these men, and what they courageously endured. To read of them and meet them in person is to love them for their bravery and decency. I have never seen a face radiate more goodness than Captain Britanov's. I highly recommend this book to everyone I engage in conversation on the subject. I only wish that it had received much more publicity, in hard and soft cover.

"Down three thousand fathoms deep, Deaths of millions in her keep; With her, in eternal sleep -- Sergei Preminin." With these words begins Russell Hoban's poem immortalizing an extraordinary deed of an ordinary Russian submariner. "Hostile Waters" also recounts Seaman Preminin's selfless sacrifice, which saved the lives of countless unsuspecting Americans. But this is only one of the riveting episodes of desperation and courage chronicled in this true story about a doomed nuclear submarine. Authors USN-AWS Capt. (ret.) Huchthausen and Soviet Capt. 1st. Rank Kurdin were participants in the ongoing Cold War events which led to the tragedy of K-219. Written with the assistance of accomplished novelist Robin A. White ("Siberian Light", "Ice Curtain"), their book reads like a spellbinding adventure of disaster and heroism on the sea. In 1986, the Soviet Navy, in its futile attempts to match its superior American counterpart, was sending its fleet of obsolete boomers to patrol the eastern coast of the US. Capt. Igor Britanov knew that his noisy, decrepit boat was being tracked from the moment she left her home port, and that once in American waters, he was being shadowed by a state-of-the-art hunter-killer. Following an unintentional collision by the USS Augusta, K-219 sustained severe damage which left her flooding and burning, with an open missile-hatch, on the surface. In a cascading chain of catastrophe, her nuclear reactor began to overheat. As the US military went on DEFCON alert, K-219 foundered in her desperate and dangerous death-throes. You, the reader, will intimately experience the Soviet crew's minute-by-minute struggle for survival. You will bond with the Russian Captain, whose fatherly affection for his men inspired their loyalty and dedication to the point of personal sacrifice. You will be astonished by the attrocious actions of the American Captain, which alienated his own crew and ultimately cost him his career. You will be disgusted by the competative uncooperativeness between the American armed forces, and the open hostility between individual branches of the Navy. You will be dismayed by the utter callousness of the US and Soviet governments whose disregard for human life imperilled the world. And you will never forget Sergei Preminin, who voluntarily entered the hot reactor and manually cranked down the stuck baffle-plates, thus preventing a meltdown mere miles off the American coast. For an eye-opening and disturbing view of US Cold War politics, and an even-handed and compassionate portrayal of the Opposition, read this "ten-star" story!

Romanov.... that is a very powerful name... and yet, it is just a name, you were either born with it or you weren't... but for the simple fact of bearing this name, many people had to die... and yet it is just a name. It is a name that says POWER, LOVE, INTRIGUE, MYSTERY, ESCAPE, TRAGEDY.... but it is also a name that for Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei meant FAMILY, and as a family they stuck together, through illness, war, infamy, and even death.
This book tells an incredible love story, that could beat any novel out there, and proves that life is always more mysterious, magical but also more cruel than fiction. It portrays the Romanovs as a family, and gives you an insight on their lives, their thoughts, their letters, their friends and their sufferings. It also lets you take a peek at Tsarist Russia, its power, its magic, its fancies, its relations with other empires, and many other things.
Robert Massie is an expert on this subject, and you can see that a lot of research went into creating this book.
I gave it 4 stars and not 5 because it is a bit outdated when it comes to the finding and retreaval of the bodies, but this is covered in a latter book by the same author.
Highly recommended, especially is you like history.

This is generally considered to be the definitive biography of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra. Massie's expert storytelling is well-suited to the compelling story of the last Russian tsar and his consort. The history of Russia was no doubt changed by the deliberate myopia and general inadquacies of these two people. Nevertheless, Massie manages to uncover a more sympathetic side to the ill-fated duo. Massie's writing is as good as that of any acclaimed novelist - there's a fascinating and fastpaced plot, finely nuanced lead characters, an intriguing supporting cast, all against a beautiful background of a majestic bygone era.

This book was researched and written before the fall of the Soviet empire when the state archives were opened and new information about the Romanovs was revealed. Consequently, this book is necessarily incomplete, especially as concerns the execution of the royal family. Massie has since written another text called "The Romanovs: The Last Chapter" which devels deeply into the newly available data and the forensic studies that followed. Consider it an essential volume II to "Nicholas and Alexandra".

Most book lovers have a little list of super-favorites that they turn to year after year, and this classic by Robert Massie has been on my list for more than two decades. Massie brings the last years of the Russian Imperial court to astounding life, turning meticulously researched detail into a tapestry more compelling than fiction. You feel you've been there and met the Romanovs and the people around them, walked their halls, ridden in their trains, even faced their final terrors. Its as good as stepping into a time machine. How many times have I looked up from this paperback (I've gone through several copies over the years) and found that I've lost track of time. Recently, several lavishly illustrated books have come out with long-hidden photos of what NICHOLAS & ALEXANDRA describes -- gorgeous though those photo books are, they do not give you as powerful a sense of time and place as Massie's exceptionally readable prose. Details of Russian history, which could be ponderous for most readers, become lively and engrossing here. I love history, and no book in the genre pulls me back as often (or with as much satisfaction) as Massie's NICHOLAS & ALEXANDRA.

Dead Souls is Gogol's first and only full length novel, ironically written in Rome rather than the Russian countryside it was set in. Tragically he destroyed most of the second volume shortly before his death leaving only bits and pieces of chapters leaving only volume I whole.

A story of a swindler and a social satire on life in early 19th century Russia, Dead Souls is also a comment on class and hypocricsy. Small town Russian officials and landowners strive to keep up appearances, valuing them more importantly than susbtance. Even Chichikov knows this, in fact as the main character (anti-hero) he thrives on this.

Gogol's story is comic on its surface but reading it you get a glimpse of life just twenty years before Alexander II freeded the serfs from their landowners. Dead Souls is both comedy and satire.

One note the Peaver-Volokhonsky translation while newer is a bit "choppy" and the translators make the most awkward word selections from Russian to English. It makes reading this version a bit off-putting at times (The Guerney translation was the favorite of many Russian expat's). Dead Souls is worth the read.

Dead Souls is the finest Russian novel I have read. Its characters are vividly detailed and intensely amusing, yet Gogol spends the novel tempting the reader to peer behind the slapstick humor of the story and see something far more significant and sinister. I've bought the book for several friends and am reading it for the second time myself. The Pevear-Volokhonsky translation is best - it contains helpful, well written notes and uses words like 'snookums' to bring home the endearing hilarity of the original.

Gogol's "Dead Souls" is an amazing, if incomplete, novel. I would say it is about a fellow named Chichikov, but that would not be true. The novel is about Russia. In "Dead Souls" we see that Gogol loved Russia so much, it drove him mad trying to find a way to save it. The novel is entrancing, moving seamlessly between minute particularity to epic scope, as it takes all of Russia under its gaze. At times, the tone is satirical, angry, comic, even desperate - but always with a wistful fondness that should be apparent to the observant reader.

Chichikov, the hero of Gogol's epic poem, shows the influence of Laurence Sterne's "Tristram Shandy," a novel with which Gogol was familiar. Like Shandy, we know little about Chichikov until well into the novel. This narrative indirection allows us more insight into the other characters and the conditions of Russia after the Napoleonic wars. Chichikov is a minor gentleman, who, having served in various government positions, decides to pursue the life of a land-owner. His scheme is to traverse Russia, gathering the legal rights to serfs who have died on estates since the last census. By turning an accumulated list of these 'dead souls' over to the government, he plans to make a small fortune, which he will use to buy an estate.

While Chichikov may appear to be a morally questionable swindler, like Herman Melville's "Confidence-Man," he does have noble motivations, despite his methods. Chichikov seeks what each person seeks, according to Gogol - to have a family, to do honor to one's country. Although his plan can seem to be a ludicrous, last-ditch sort of effort at establishing himself, Chichikov is, throughout, extremely level-headed about it. Chichikov knows how to speak and carry himself so that he will be accepted by everyone he meets. From the noble, efficient land-owner Kostanjoglo to the wild, hilarious liar Nozdryov - Chichikov mingles with and exposes us to "the whirligig of men."

Gogol points out throughout the novel that the written text is inadequate to convey the actual experience - the air, the sights, the smells, the people of Russia. He tries, then, to give us "a living book" - a testament to a way of life that was soon to change. Like Melville's "Confidence-Man," which was published shortly before the American Civil War, Gogol's "Dead Souls" came out only a few years before Marx's "Communist Manifesto" which would change and determine the fate of Russia in the first decades of the 20th century.

Read the lyrical "Dead Souls" - if you like his short stories, like "The Nose" or "The Overcoat," - you will find a wonderfully complex and sophisticated, and deeply involved intellect at his best.