This is a wonderful introduction into the life of Stalin and the history of the Russian Revolution. The author explains the difficulties involved with writing about a person like Stalin. The prejudices of writers, both within and without the Soviet Union, Communists and Non-Communists, believers and non-believers make for an interesting biography. Many questions will be unanwered for years to come. Highly recommended.

New books are still being written about Stalin, of course, incorporating new and interesting material from the newly opened files of the old Soviet Union. But none that I know of can compare with Hingley's.

Significantly, Hingley's most important facts concerning the dictator are still basically correct, while his judgment remains absolutely sterling. By all means read Volkogonov's new book - it's excellent - but there's not much in the newly discovered facts which renders Hingley's opinions and verdict wrong or obsolete. Don't forget, some of the mysteries surrounding Stalin's career, like the question of who really killed Kirov - probably Stalin did - will always remain unsolved because Stalin had all those involved put to death in the nick of time, while what files we may still have are merely those he had not destroyed. With his clerk-like mania for files, and his vampire-like bloodthirstiness, Stalin was very thorough in eliminating ALL evidence, whether in the form of paper.......or flesh and blood. So there's a real limit to how much new we can ever know.

I have most of the most important books ever written on Stalin in the English language, and none I know has managed to be so detached and objective on the one hand, and so devastatingly, gut-splittingly funny on the other, as Hingley's. Stalin's life is a deadly serious story if there ever was one, and Hingley manages to be humorous and scholarly at the same time - no mean feat. This book is a gem.

I think the three important things to remember about the little (he was 5'3", shorter than Napoleon) Georgian-turned-Russian Bolshevik is that he rose (contrary to his own and everyone's expectations) from nothing to become THE most powerful person who EVER lived in ALL human history, by far; that this murderous TYRANT played a key role (unwillingly at first) in the destruction of HITLER and Nazi Germany; and that he assisted (without desiring it) in the resurgence of CHINA. Of course he also gave a bad, bad name to Marxism......not that anyone else could have done any better!!

This is one of the finest books I've ever read and possessed. Finding it was a great stroke of luck.

This is the original book by the young Samantha Smith and her father, Arthur Smith, about her family's trip to the Soviet Union on the invitiation of Yuri Andropov. Samantha, an 11 year old girl, wtote a letter in 1982 to the new Soviet Premier, expressing her desire for peace. He responded with a letter and invitation to visit. This is the only account of the trip written by Samantha.

"I found out about this book from a story about Samantha Smith in my language book when I was in sixth grade. The story mentioned Samantha's book and that's how I found out about it.

I teach a survey course on Russia to graduate-level business students. I have used a variety of texts on Russia's economic transformation, always seeking one with the ideal combination of currency, readability, and insights and perspectives attuned to the businessperson rather than the typical academic. Brady's book is it. Brady's experience with BusinessWeek and her illustrative interviews with Russian citizens resonate particularly strongly with my students, who run the gamut from straight-from-undergrad-school/can't-find-Russia-on-a-map, to individuals who have done business in Russia (successfully or un- ) and want to know more about a unique (and uniquely frustrating) environment for operations and investment. I plan to continue requiring this text for my students and hope Brady provides updated editions as needed.

This is an fabulous book on how Russia turned from state socialism into a fragile, but market-based economy. Being a Business Week correspondent in Moscow the author could witness all stages of Russia's economic transformation -- starting from supply shortages and chaos of late 1991 to the formation of financial & industrial comglomerates in 1997. This book is an exciting reading because it is easy written and combines stories on both complicated economic issues and on lives of ordinary Russians, struggling to adapt to the changes.

This book provides a detailed insight into how Soviet leaders used their internal intelligence agency as an instrument of ultimate oppression. Lots of well-documented detail. The present tense only gets in the way for a bit (remember it was published while this was still going on -- before the fall of the USSR) and does not alter the facts as they were under the Soviet system. There is no other book which gives one quite the depth and insight this one does. Definitely a MUST for anyone interested in how things really worked in the USSR. Its a lesson to all of us. You want this book.

The book reveals the unique qualifications and inside knowledge of the two authors. There is no better description of the systematic repression of a modern population. Its appearance just before the fall of the Soviet Union invalidated its present tense, nevertheless, for anyone interested in how Soviet power survived for 70 years, this is the definitive work. A must for students of this subject.

This book is a valuable addition to any Civil War library. Chronologically ordered, it recounts the deaths of Union officers and men from wounds received at Gettysburg.

The title is mildly misleading. Many of the soldiers referenced died of wounds in the month after the battle. This in no way minimizes their sacrifice, but these are not exclusively eyewitnesses accounts of soldiers immediately KIA.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the book is the presentation of letters to next of kin by commanding officers and fellow soldiers. Those letters reflect the ethos of the Civil War soldier, as well as the diction and eloquence of a more gracious age. Contrast the poignant sense of loss and appreciation reflected in those letters with the sterile form letter-notification of the 20th Century.

A companion piece from the Confederate side would be a valuable accompaniment to this scholarly work.

There are many books written on the American Civil War. They address the leaders, the battles, the statistics, the politics and the individual struggles. Until now, however, the personal accounts of those who witnesses the last moments of many a brave soldier has gone unpublished. Here, in these pages, are the tales and tragedies of many poor Americans who's personal efforts might have gone forgoten if not for the lasting impressions they left upon those who cared for them. Stories from nurses, best friends, commanders, all attest to the bravery and devotion these men possessed. Here are the stories of men who's lives where smashed by the minie ball, doused by the cannon's belch and torn by the lack of adequete medical knowledge. Here is a book that will vividly inform it's readers of the true finality of war.

This book accurately depicts adolescent participation in major Soviet historical turning points.

A lot of big words, I think the author is a pompous professor type, but it is a wonderful piece of work.

Ann Todd Baum provides an important insight into the role of the Communist youth organization and its part in shaping the early Soviet state, a period of history that has been largely neglected by historians and researchers alike until now. This book shows how the grass roots efforts of the Komsomol was an essential part of the implimentation of the First Five Year Plan and as a result the future course of the USSR. A very interesting read.

As one involved with NASA in the heady days of years past, I had heard talk that Princeton Architectural Press planned to bring out a book of Adam Bartos' photographs of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and I have been looking forward to Kosmos for some time.

Kosmos is a sad and poignant portrait--but, alas, an accurate one--of the decline of one of the great technological programs of human history. I don't believe that those who weren't alive at the time can appreciate the reaction of this nation to the launch of Sputnik and the other achievements of the Soviet space program nor can those outside of NASA appreciate the enthusiasm--and gravity--that characterized our efforts to catch the Soviets in the space race.

Frankly, the faded glory shines through in many of the photographs, and, in the eyes of those caught in the photographs, one still sees glimpses of the spirit, albeit wounded, that drove their space program to its glories. However, in the post-Cold War era, pathos will be the most common reaction of the reader.

The accompanying essay by Svetlana Boym of Harvard University, unlike those gratuitous essays in many photographic books, contributes to the Kosmos and brings some important insights to the reader unfamiliar with the Soviet program. It is beatifully written and is commended to the readers for their edification.

All in all, after much anticipation, Kosmos exceeded my expectations and stirred a wave of memories. Congratulations to PAP for their achievement!

Having been a Soviet/Russian space enthusiast since childhood, I was naturally excited to learn that Princeton Architectural Press was publishing a photonovel entitled "KOSMOS - A Portrait of the Russian Space Age". This is a finely bound collection of 100 photographs taken by renowned photographer, Adam Bartos between June 1995 and April 1999 at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

With great anticipation I opened the book, eager to see new images of Russian space hardware and launch sites. What I found between the covers was much, much more than I expected.

With his keen photographic skills, Adam Bartos is not only able to take us into areas of the cosmodrome rarely seen by western observers, but into the hearts and souls of some of the key personalities which helped to shape the current climate of what was once the worlds greatest space industry. Through the eyes of the photographer you see rooms well worn with age now silent and barren, and faces whose stares echo ghost of the former Soviet Union. Image after image paints a portrait of contrast between the glorious aspirations of the Soviet future past and the dismal realities of the present day russian space program.

Enhancing this somber collection of images is an essay written by Svetlana Boym, Professor of Slavic Languages at Harvard University, which poignantly illustrates the mood of the Russian people as radical political change made way to new realities.

I highly recommend this book, not only to all Russian space enthusiast but also to anyone who has even the slightest interest in the changing climate of the Russian people and how it has affected their once dear space program.

A good thriller with an eerie resemblance to the crash of TWA Flight 800. The author weaves many of the unresolved facts from the Flight 800 case into his story and makes the saying that "facts are some times stranger than fiction", much more believable.

Kuchma's Dictum is the mother of all conspiracy theories. A taut and compact thriller with a plot that lets the reader know the author really knows his stuff. Airplane buffs in particular will relish the accurate detail. The main character is well drawn, an ex-cop so down on his luck he is working as a security guard, who stumbles on to something big and who just won't let go until he finds out the truth. The plot is plausible and well worked out. It could be in the headines tomorrow.

Excellent referral source. Solid information with background information in clear concise format.

This text gives us an impossibly clear overview of labor laws from labor's perspective. The sections on organizing and the legality of different kinds of strikes are particularly helpful. A must-read for all BA's, Organizers and Union Officers. --Michael Murphy, Washington College of Law (formerly of Food and Beverage Workers Union, Local 32)

I have been reading the Livanova's book again and again since undergraduate to the present PhD studies. To my knowledge this is the more detailed book about the great physicist and teacher Lev Davidovitch Landau, the unmistakable ``Dau''.

You'll find in this book an impressive amount of details about Dau himself, about his world wide famous style as a physicist, his school on theoretical physics, the theoretical minimum, the relationship with his pupils, etc..

Above all, and the most important, you will find Dau own advice about what, when and how to study to become an eventual theoretical physicist in Landau's high professional tradition. It is a very nontrivial advice!

I have been reading the Livanova's book again and again since undergraduate to the present PhD studies. To my knowledge this is the more detailed book about the great physicist and teacher Lev Davidovitch Landau, the unmistakable ``Dau''. You'll find in this book an impressive amount of details about Dau himself, about his world wide famous style as a physicist, his school on theoretical physics, the theoretical minimum, the relationship with his pupils, etc.. Above all, and the most important, you will find Dau own advice about what, when and how to study to become an eventual theoretical physicist in Landau's high professional tradition. It is a very nontrivial advice!