Cliff's book clearly shows that Soviet Russia was not socialist. Workers there had no control over society or their own lives. What existed was a form of state capitalism. Cliff explains that only a new revolution could bring socialism.This book is vital to understand the way forward for the working class movement since the fall of so called Communism.It throws aside the pessimism of much of the left.It places workers self activity at the heart of socialism.

Tony Cliff's book "State Capitalism in Russia" first published in 1947.. When the stalinizm in "golden age" after the II. War... He shows why we must describe stalinst Russia as "state capitalist" country.. And also he shows the alternative: Socialism from below..

I was sad to hear of Nigel Tranter's passing just days into the new millenium. This great historical writer who had the unique gift of making us see, hear, and feel the heartbeat of times long past, of kings half forgotten whose reputations were laid to rest often as quickly as they were.

Robert the Bruce, hero of Bannockburn, was the grandfather of Robert II by his daughter Marjory, wife of Walter Stewart. The kings from this union came to be known as the Stewarts, and Robert II and his son Robert III were two of the weakest. Both, prematurely doddering and unwilling or unable to wield the power in the kingdom, yielded the real power to Robert Stewart, Earl of Fife and Menteith. This last Robert is a character of the type frequently found in Tranter novels: a stern, unyielding master of realpolitik. (See James Stewart in WARDEN OF THE QUEEN'S MARCH for a reincarnation.)

The action is seen through the eyes of the fictional Jamie Douglas, descendent of the famed "Black Douglas" of Robert the Bruce's day, who tries to help shore up the monarchy for David, Duke of Rothesay, oldest son of Robert III.

Scottish history can be incredibly murky and involved at times, and that's what makes it so fascinating. Tranter has a gift for breathing life into periperal characters and putting them into play across a wide landscape and over a long period of time.

My favorite subplot involves the notorious Wolf of Badenoch, who burns down the Cathedral of Elgin, the so-called Lantern of the North, because of a dispute with its bishop. The Wolf's son, Alexander , becomes a steadfast friend and ally of Jamie Douglas.

It was my great fortune to read this trilogy while criss-crossing Scotland. I would recommend someone new to Tranter starting with the Robert the Bruce trilogy, but after that, read THE STEWART TRILOGY.

In this tale you follow the bastard son of a Douglas lord who in his first battle is knighted on the field for protecting the slain body of the Earl of Douglas. His loyalty to the earls' wife, the House of Douglas and to Scotland draw this heroic figure in to the intrigue behind members of the House of Stuart's tragic betrayal of the Scottish Crown.

Nigel Tranter has a rare and amazing gift for word craft. His ability to draw you into a tale is second to none. At every turn of the page I found my self reaching for a sword to help the young Jimmy Douglas.

Somin clearly points out how easy it would have been for the West to overthrow the Bolsheviks by forcefully intervening themselves or providing sufficient support to the White armies to crush the Bolsheviks. Western leaders like Lloyd George and President Wilson didn't overthrow the Bolsheviks because they didn't want to. Winston Churchill was the only Western leader who understood the situation. In a letter to Lloyd George in March 1920 he wrote, "Since the armistice my policy would have been 'Peace with the German people, war on the Bolshevik Tyranny.' Willingly or unavoidably, you have followed something very near the reverse." The cost of the Bolshevik victory was horrific but avoidable. Somin does an excellent job of showing why.

This book is an unparalleled effort to bring the visceral experience of the oppressed Russian citizens to the lay person. Somin is a quick study, finding his true voice, and the voice of those he writes about throughout this work. I only wish the book was longer. How long will I have to wait for Somin's next book?

The Summer Day Is Done works so well on many levels--as a tale for explaining the downfall of Nicholas II, a portrait of a family, and a touching but never melodramatic or sappy romance. Stevens draws his characters with a loving but honest hand, and never gives into the temptation to destroy the book's integrity by incorporating traditional "happy ending"-type of events. I'm sure historians of the Russian Revolution might take exception to his habit of casting the Romanoff family and their actions in the best possible light (it was quite a shock to me when I read Nicholas and Alexandra, after reading this novel), but I rather like his decision to focus on N & A's positive qualities. We'll leave cold reality to the history texts.

And the romance is exquisitely written. It is a wonderful love story, which is rarely found despite the multitudes of books that claim to be romances. (To give you an idea of my taste, I think that Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres and Possession by A.S. Byatt fall into the category of intelligent and thoughtful love stories that eschew formulas.) Kirby and Olga never step out of character. Even though you know what really happened during the Russian Revolution, somehow the book manages to avoid predictability. You find yourself hoping desperately that somehow, events that are decades past can be averted.

This is a fabulous book. Read it if you can find a copy.

Since Amazon did not post an editorial review, here's the description from the back of the book to help you decide if this story is for you: "The haunting story of a forbidden love betweenthe agent of the British king and the daughter of the Imperial Czar .... From a window of the Imperial train a young girl looked out. Startled blue eyes met his. He was aware of a girl soft with colour and enchantment. The warm sunlight danced on the windows, was reflected in her eyes and made a shining cloud of her chestnut-blonde hair. He feld the strangest sense of indefinable communications as in shy, suspended animation she returned his gaze, the train bringing her to him, taking her away. The fleeting seconds stretched. He could not resist smiling. And at the very last moment before she vanished, she gave him the shyest of smiles in response. It was the first time John Kirby, British secret agent, saw Grand Duchess Olga. It was the beginning of a tender love that would blossom in the summer's sun while the storm of the Russian Revolution gathered. A perilous, precious love -- all the more beautiful becuase it was never meant to be."

I read this book for a school book report, and it turned out to be so interesting that I coulnd't put it down. The characters of Zev and Aaron are easy to identify with and amazingly realistic. The events are very exciting and it keeps you in suspense. It also teaches you about some of the horrible things that Jews have had to go through. You should definitely read this book!

I am a Jewish person, and reading this book has even taught ME more about my faith's tragic history, and it's triumphs as well. I was forced to read this book as part of a report due tommorrow (3/20/1998) and once I started, I was hooked. I had the honor of meeting the author, but had never realized the greatness of her works. I know that I will soon seek out more of her works, and I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, or Jewish history.

This Part 2 is an absolute MUST as a companion to Part 1, this is possibly one one the most complete rosters of the Union and Confederate Armies of Tennessee, and includes soldiers from other states who either joined or the units were combined with the Tennessee Armies. Is a must have for any type research on the Civil War, which no Civil War buff or genealogy researcher should be without.. I highly recommend both volumns.

This is an awsome account of the Military Histories of the Union and Confederate Armies in Tennessee and also includes information on other State's Armies,both USA ans CSA, as they were combined for different encounters.. This has got to be a MUST for anyone researching anything concerning the Civil War, as so much history of the War includes the Armies of Tennessee, which fought in battles and encounters in other States and includes soldiers enlisted from other states.. and see Part 2 as well.

This is a wonderful piece of writing. It is is written in clear and sparkling prose, testimony to the way in which Ms. Kozhina carries on the great Russian literary tradition of such writers as Gorky, Chekov, and Turgenev. The book, in its simplicity, yet power, reminds me of that great French movie, "Forbidden Games", about children orphaned during World War II. Time after time, as I read through the book, I would stop and look at the picture of the author; in a way I was unable to believe that one could go through such terrible times as she describes, and yet still survive with such great depths of humanity. This is literature at its very best!

Elena Kozhina's Through the Burning Steppe: A Wartime Memoir is so much more than a highly compelling narrative of the horrors and heroism experienced by a young Russian girl and her mother during World War II. It is also a revealing glimpse into the realities of life in the Soviet Union, not just during the war, but from its earliest years to its final decade. It is a chronicle of a young person's growing literary, artistic and cultural awareness. And it is, ultimately, a timeless story - not simply of good and evil, or of simple joys amid enormous tragedy, but also of human frailties and strengths, of ruthlessness and compassion, of islands of clarity in a sea of complexity. This gem of a book packs volumes of interest - and of insight - into its fewer than 200 beautifully written pages. I recommend it highly.

There's never too much of a good thing ...or ,is it? If we, proverbially, let by-gones be by-gones , we we will keep on repeating the mistakes of the past.Extremelly well -researched book,very stylish,thorough and readable.As long as we will need the Humint which is not online , which is not free and which is not in English , we will need them- " all time greats , illegals".P.S. Arnold Deutsch has recruited not seventeen , but thirty nine agents . And , yes, some of them have not to this day been identified.But that's another story.

Will by-gones ever be by-gones ? I don't think so . Golden era of illegals has been thrown into a temporary disarray by all the recent global changes and developments . The structure of that type of intelligence service will have to be upgraded , but the concept itself will remain the same . There is never too much of a good thing . Or...is it ?

Ever since John Sweeney declared that organizing is labor's top priority, numerous books have appeared that describe union strategies in organizing including mobilizing the rank-and-file. But the authors in this book would find that the top-down and staff directed nature of those efforts only minimally overlap with rank-and-file democracy. They feel that actual rank-and-file empowerment within union processes is the only way for the labor movement to regain its former stature. But many questions do arise. None of the authors clearly differentiate between worker democracy within local unions and democracy over workplace affairs. The NLRA restriction to bargaining over wages and conditions has proven to be disastrous to working people. But labor activists and these authors seem to accept this limited role for unions. But that is hiring-hall unionism where jobs may last only a few weeks and larger company strategies are mostly irrelevant. Most working people are firm-located and need to have input to company plans regarding investment, marketing, products, plant closings and locations, etc. If that is company unionism, so be it. Also, the authors point to a nebulous concept of social unionism as a desired path for unions. The fact of the matter is that in the past larger community support for unions was because working people at one time lived in highly localized ethnic, urban communities or small company oriented towns. Many of those communites no longer exist. The authors have confused unions with a political party that is devoted to the social interests of the entire working class. National unions in the U.S. are really very narrowly focused businesses: they collect dues, actively try to increase membership, and provide bargaining and contract administrative services. And are very concerned with survival for their own sake. Since the authors have made rank-and-file democracy their central concern, it is a shortcoming of the book that no comparative analysis of the industrial relations system of a northern European country where workers have legislated co-determination rights was included . The bottom line for this book is that it is well worth reading. It is not a rubber stamp of Sweeney policy. But this book leaves plenty of room for considering what the structure and policies of unions should be for the coming century that will enhance and protect the economic lives of working people.

It's about time a book is out that provides a view from the wokers themselves. It was refreshing to hear from the "rank-and-file" that unionism is the way American must go if there is going to be a working-class view of America. But most important was the underlying view that the American Labor Movement needs internal democracy if is going to survive in the future. I recommend this book to any union member that has felt alientated by the union leadership. It's time that the leaders think of the memberhsip and not themselves.

Yikes! What were the Boys in Brussels thinking?!

Bravo, Mr. Middleton!

NIck Middleton as usual delivers the goods. He carries on where he left off delivering a humorous account of the current EEC. His political and economic insight to the region is witty and informative, but as usual he writes with a subtle sarcasm, never shying away from providing the reader with an informative view of the European continent. I would also thoroughly recommend trying to get hold of his earlier work "Last Disco in Outer Mongolia".