Chegem is an idyllic, Muslim, peasant town in Abkhazia, an autonomous republic on the north coast of the Black Sea. Sandro of Chegem is a tamada (or captain of table) and renowned adventurer and storyteller. Through Sandro's adventures and the doings of the people of Chegem, Iskander spins a series of interwoven tales which wryly, wittily, and satirically compare the incongruities of Soviet life with the simpler values of peasant life. The result is subversive and poignant. The writing is superbly graceful, in the tradition of Middle Eastern storytellers. Iskander has a deep understanding of human nature and a satirist's ability to bring humor from human foibles.

The book is a collection of essays by individuals who were deeply involved in the process that resulted in the resettlemnt of over 1 million Soviet Jews in israel, the U.S. and elsewhere. The Soviet Jewry movement also changed the face of Jewish activism in the U.S. and brought to light the many different approaches to a controversial and tragic situation. The contributors to this collection range from Israeli government represntatives who advised caution and behind the scenes approach, to Jewish groups who propagated open resistance, mass protests and in some cases physical actiona against what they saw as Soviet antisemitism. Eventually, the many points of view, working sometinmes together and sometimes at cross purposes, achieved the apparently impossible - they defeated the Soviet superpower and forced it to change its monolithic policy which had kept its borders closed for five decades. This is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the multifaceted aspects of U.S. Jewry and the lessons in political activism that won this victory. I recommend it highly even though I quite disagree with some of the views expressed by those whom I opposed during my own deep involvement in this struggle.

This book provides a clear and untold perspective of the Communist movement, the Labor movement, and a man who, at the expense of family and comfort, sacrificed himself for the betterment of the working class. The story of Al Lannon places a very human face on Communism which, for decades has only been vilified by society under Capitalist control. The class struggles chronicled in Second String Red should be regarded as important to World History as any other war, for without the efforts of people like Lannon, the rights of the working man would not have the recognition that exists today.

Peter Deriabin's autobiography is a microcosm of the best and worst of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Deriabin was born into a system which educated, designed,and shaped him. He rose from an unknown provincial status as a bright Komsomol (Communist Party Youth--equivalent of the Boy Scouts), fighting heroically in WWII, to being wounded and assigned to Stalin's personal bodyguard unit. Later, he worked for the KGB in espionage while stationed in Austria. Ultimately, Deriabin became a defector to the West because even this priviledged life was simply too dangerous and arbitrary to survive in. For example, he compares the battle to be the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to that of Sir James Frazer's sacred kings constanty prowling the hold woods in search of their future murderer, killing everybody he encounters until his age and wits fail, and he is himself murdered and replaced by the next sacred king. The detail of the way that the Soviet Union functioned socially is terrifying for any normal man or woman from the free world. For example, it was perfectly acceptable to beat and murder your wife and be accepted back into society after a brief jail term whereas if you exchanged currency, you could be shuttled into a gulag and forgotten, living a life of torture and starvation. This is not chauvanism from an occidental anti-Communist; it is the memoirs of a man whose whole life was designed to protect Stalin's variety of Communism. If you have ever wondered why the Cold War was fought, Deriabin's life serves as a prime example

This is an excellent selection of Dostoevsky's letters that show how great a writer and man he was. The compassion that developed in him and the faith in his abilities despite the terrible suffering he endured is a lesson in forebearance and inspiration to all. More than anything it shows the creative process involved which is so vital a part of being an artist: a human being interacting with the world for better or worse. Something those obsessed with all forms of literay theory should note and absorb as a tonic to get them out of their stupor.

Je veux acheter ce livre. Comment je peux le commander depuis la France

Grin loved the sea, and his stories reflect that love, mixed with a romanticism born out of an era that was the complete opposite of the world he created in his books. He writes with a lyricism that is as addictive as it is painfully beautiful.

Lord Shore's superb new book explains how Britain has had different interests and aims from those of our European neighbours ever since 1945. He brilliantly demolishes the political and economic cases for Britain's joining the euro, and exposes the single currency's key role as the motor of EU state building. He sums up: "the economic case for the single currency is feeble and unconvincing, the political and constitutional consequences of EMU and the euro are utterly unacceptable."

He notes that the Labour Government's entire economic policy obeys Decisions by the European Council of Ministers. He also refutes the case for a single EU foreign and defence policy and for a single European Army.

He points out the problems of enlarging the EU. Its commitment to the free movement of labour, if extended to the twelve proposed new members, would result in vast immigration flows into the present EU members. Extending the Common Agricultural Policy to Eastern Europe would probably bankrupt the entire EU. So the price of enlargement could be a two-tier EU.

He warns that many will undemocratically interfere in any future referendum on euro entry, as the CIA did in the 1975 Referendum, and as President Mitterand interfered in German and Italian elections, illegally funding Kohl and Craxi. Also, the European Court of Justice says that European companies trading with Britain are not foreign, allowing them to promote the euro.

What should Britain do? Lord Shore argues against integration, and makes good arguments for leaving the EU: if we left, the EU's external tariff against our goods would be only 3-4%, and that we could again buy cheaper better food from the rest of the world. He argues that being in the second tier of a two-tier Europe would suit us. However, this would not be in our interests; we would still be constantly pressed to join the first tier. We would still be subordinate to the EU's unelected and supranational institutions, with their built-in, growing democratic deficit. We should stay out of the single currency, and then go on to leave the EU.

This is such a cool book. It goes well into the murky depths of using sex for spying. Absolutely fascinating stuff.