Though no scientist, I had heard the name of Lysenko passed about for years. He seemed to have been a mad scientist, creating bizarre hybrids and ecological disasters that plague Russia to this very day. That one man could do so much damage intrigued me, so I sought to learn more about him.

In this book, Dr. Soyfer, a former Soviet scientist who had met Lysenko, documents the destruction of science and scientists under the influence of Lysenko. Contrary to numerous opinions, Lysenko was an poorly educated agronomist who happened to have been in the right place at the right time: In the '30s, "Pravda" wrote him up as a pioneering scientist. Recognizing that newspapers and popular support could fuel his rise to the top of Soviet society, he set about making a name for himself as a scientist in non-academic journals and periodicals. His peasant upbringing and miraculous findings--never empirically proven or duplicated--made him a star proletarian scientist, the kind needed to bring about true Communism.

Along his way to the top, he was assisted by many people who thought him a sincere, but ill preparted, scientist; he later had many of these people purged after gaining the almost total support of Stalin and Khrushchev. His grand claims of producing superior cattle and wheat, among other things, consistently failed, yet no one dared oppose or even question his policies. Whether to propel himself upward, bring down the academics he apparently detested, or protect himself and his "science", Lysenko nearly eliminated all serious work in genetics, agriculture, and biology from the '30s into the '60s. Numerous scientists were exiled, fired, or executed during his reign as the people's scientist; according to the author, the effects still linger in Russia.

An amazing story of how, when politics decrees what science is acceptable and how it is going to work in the political paradigm, the results can be tragic.

Madame Jeanne Guyon's guide to prayer is by far the most imortant book on the subject I've ever read. I could never recommend a more useful guide to prayer.

The book is short and sweet--to the point. And although it can be read in a single sitting, you'll definately want to slow down to digest each page. In fact, that's precisely what Madame Guyon recomnmends of her readers. She teaches one of the most significant principles of prayer: felloship with God through meditating on portions of His word (the Bible). She recommends sitting down in a quiet place with your Bible and reading it slowly and carefully. And when you happen upon a particularly moving passage, slow down and dwell on that passage in a prayerful, meditative fashion.

And there is so much more here, too. Too much to mention in a brief review. It's enough to say that this classic is an irreplaceable guide. Anyone will be made better at prayer by this book. It's definately one of those books one will return to year after year, ever refreshing their spirits with the simplicity of Madame Guyon's methods of prayer.

Lermontov was a hero of my teenage years. His poems, heavily influenced by Byronic romanticism are an example of expressiveness and melancholy of the Russian soul. Lermontov was one of the greatest Russia poets ever, whose life was tragically cut short in Pyatigorsk in the North Caucasus, when he was not yet 28.

James Cracraft has compiled and translated an excellent collection of essays from the top Russian historians. Beginning with the era of Peter the Great and covering the imperial history all the way up to Nicholas II's overthrough by the Bolsheviks.

Not the usual planning text at all - in fact, a planning thriller, as Faludi and Waterhout chart the twists and turns of how Europe struggles for something like a spatial policy. Arguably this book sees the issues more from a north European than a south European perspective: but it is full of rare insights, and moves with pace. A good read!

Ronald Suny presents the story of how the Georgia Republic became an independent nation. I worked for two years in Georgia and this book helped me understand Georgians, their pride in their culture and long history and their antipathy to Russia.

Suny writes well --the book reads like a novel even though it is carefully researched.

A thoroughly researched volume on how the Soviet readership was formed. The reader is shown how political decisions were made, and how Soviet libraries were organized. Evgeny Dobrenko comes to some unexpected conclusions (well-argued) concerning the much-discussed phenomenon of Socialist Realism. This scholarly study reads like a novel, offering a new perspective on some traditional topics.

Since I can't read Russian, I have to read Bulgakov's marvelous plays and novels ("Heart of a Dog", "The Master and Margarita", "Bliss") in translation. Nor did I experience, first-hand, the horrors of the Stalin purges.

I love the work of Bulgakov--he's a master of satire and imagination. This biography in letters and notes is really essential for the non-Russian reader to get a sense of his history, life and work in a way that can't be conveyed in translation. It put all that I had read by Bulgakov into a far more comprehensible light.

Ms. Chateauvert illuminates an all-too forgotten segment of American history. The relationships and connections she highlights are remarkable. I highly recommend this book.

Jonathan Edwards was "difficult" only because he was so single minded in his calling to be a preacher. Sarah Edwards was "uncommon" because to support him in his calling she took over the running of their home, their farm and the raising of their ten happy healthy children. Their union was tender and loving through good times and very bad times (for some years this founder of the first American Revival preached to Indians who didn't even understand him). I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a well researched, very readable history of Colonial times, Early American faith, or a beautiful and inspiring marriage.