This is a superb and forceful presentation of the various reasons why the atheism and materialism that emerged with the scientific spirit is so completely inadequate for describing the fullness of human flourishing...including our moral judgments, our aesthetic experiences, our religious perceptions, and even for our scientific pursuits! This book suggests a new and coherent worldview wherein theologians and scientists are no longer suspicious enemies of one another, but fellow contributors to a more integrated understanding of human existence. Moreover, the book's portrait of a God without miracles, while not for everyone, is presented persuasively, so that even a detractor must appreciate the relevancy, adequacy, and coherence of this more liberal religious perspective. Finally, anyone interested in the philosophy of Whitehead will find that this book is not only a glorious and thorough introduction to process philosophy, but that it contributes significantly to the resolution of some of the mysteries and inconsistencies of Whitehead's own thought and that of his interpreters. This is Griffin at his best!

This is an amazing book. I could not put it down. If you are going to read only one book on trading Blocs....make it this one. Well written with a unique prose style and an easy to read font, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry, but most it will touch you in a way that few economics books can. It truly is an enjoyable read, and will make you an expert on the subject at hand. Get it, read it, and use the knowledge wisely. It makes a great gift for those avid readers in the family, don't let the title fool you, this is a great book.

An unflinching look at how the labor movement, such as it is, came to be how it is today. Howell takes an x-ray to the historical, economic and political influences that have shaped our world and controls the people who built it.

One of Howell's greatest strengths is focusing on the specific without ignoring the greater context. Reading this book will give you a strong foundation on the state of labor today and a perspective of the world it exists in. It also happens to be lucidly written and a compelling read.

When I was in college, I was required to read this book. I was struck then by the insights that Tismaneanu had. This text gave me the greatest understanding of why Bulgaria kept the communists while the Czech Republic has put its arms around a market economy. Recently, I went back a re-read this book, and was struck at how timely the analysis still is. I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone looking to understand what has and will occur in Eastern Europe.

After one reads Rimsky's autobiography _My Musical Life_, there isn't much left in English translation for those who want to know more about one of the greatest Russian composers. Thank God for Yatrebtsev. Yastrebtsev's biography provides a wealth of information Rimsky did not remember (since he wrote his autobiography years after the events happened), remembered incorrectly, or chose to omit.

_Reminiscences of Rimsky-Korsakov_ may well be unique in that it is a day by day record of Rimsky's words and deeds. I enjoyed the refreshing immediacy of Yastrebtsev's first-hand accounts of his visits with Rimsky not only for the candid comments, but also for an intimate look into the composer's daily habits. Their conversations help the student of Rimsky to put his works in context, for Rimsky and Yastrebtsev discussed others' works along with his own. It is a must-have for the student of Rimsky-Korsakov or of late 19th century Russian music in general.

If you want to pay a visit to old St. Petersburg - do it in the company of Alexandre Benois and you will be amply rewarded. He evokes the refinement and culture of the city as it was then. The turn of the century city has little to do with today`s sprawling giant - one notes that with a twinge of nostalgia. A truly artistic family, the Benois, even to this day - his niece Nadia Benois was the mother of actor-writer-director Peter Ustinov. Benois tells of his collaboration with all the great names in ballet - Nijinsky - Diaghileff - Bakst. Benois was a theater designer of great importance and his influence was tremendous - he was responsible for the design of Giselle, Les Sylphides, La Valse, Graduation Ball etc. A truly fine volume, illustrations are both photos and drawings by the author. Benois has also written "Memoirs" (London 1960).oo

This is an engaging book at a number of levels. Grenier takes the ward figure (dependent, marginal and female) and discovers a fascinating "plot" in the various uses of this figure in Russian literature, starting with Pushkin's "Queen of Spades." Pushkin's text generates a whole series of responses by later authors, who respond to him and to each other by endowing this character with a greater or lesser degree of subjectivity. Grenier asks: does the author treat the ward as an object to be manipulated in order to prove some ideological point, to serve as background or victim to the main event? Or does the author treat her as a subject, allowing her to have a voice in her own fate, a voice equal to the author's own? One of Grenier's most interesting discoveries is the extent to which Russian literature is embedded in intertextuality. Tolstoy learns from Dostoevsky and Anna Karenina is more polyphonic than War and Peace. Dostoevsky reads a (bad) translation of Jane Eyre and transforms and recombines themes and actual speeches and distributes them amongst a number of characters in Demons (The Possessed), whereas in Bronte's book only Jane, not Blanche or Bertha, has a voice. But the book is not just literary criticism of a very high order. Lots of books use Bakhtin, and by this time one may nod one's head knowingly whenever someone says "dialogue" or "polyphony" or "carnival" or "unfinalizability." Grenier takes Bakhtin back to his roots in Russian philosophy, and here is where the "personalism" of the subtitle comes in. The human being, any human being, even the most grotesque, is a subject in a world of subjects. What we think and say to ourselves and others is saturated in what those others think and say. And yet my voice is my own. The person is "unfinalizable" not in the postmodern sense that I am an amorphous blob that takes on any shape that society or language or I myself, at various times, impose on it. I am unfinalizable because no one else can say a final word about me, no one can usurp my voice and put me in the third person--"oh, she's a ward/a woman/a murderer/a fool, and therefore..." Grenier liberates Bakhtin from the straitjacket he seems to have fallen into lately--as does Olga Meerson in her book on Dostoevsky's Taboos. Very highly recommended.

THIS BOOK ANSWERS MANY QUESTIONS. IT WILL ALSO CAUSE YOU TO ASK MANY MORE. THE AUTHOR PROVIDES SUBSTANTIAL PROOF THAT HAS BEEN THERE AND OVERLOOKED BY SO MANY BEFORE! HOW COULD WE ALLOW OURSELVES TO BELIEVE THE LIES WE HAVE BEEN TOLD OVER THE LAST 18 YEARS. THE PILOTS TOLD US WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON THE BLACK BOX, WHY DIDN'T WE LISTEN. THERE ARE SURVIVORS; ALL INVOLVED KNOW THIS. YET FOR SOME REASON, ALL THE POWERS THAT BE WANT TO FORGIVE AND FORGET. IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE TOLD THE TRUTH - GUESS AGAIN. READ THE BOOK

I highly recommend this brilliant book on Dostoevsky, which examines his work from a religious perspective. The writing is superb, the insights fascinating and momentous, and the interplay between biography and literature judicious. The life may not illuminate the works, but the works certainly illuminate the life: Girard reads Dostoevsky's career as a struggle to conquer pride, a struggle that ended in the serene victory that is The Brothers Karamazov. Easily the best essay on Dostoevsky I have ever read.

This book could be a parallel to Immanuel Goldstein's secret book in 1984. See the Soviet Union from a critical yet unbiased viewpoint for the first time and ideologically stick it to the powers that be.