The 900 Days, The Siege of Leningrad  •  Harrison Salisbury HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 640 PAGES Salisbury's detailed account of the Nazi blockade of Leningrad (now St Petersburg). During the siege, the only open route to the city lay across Lake Ladoga, where supplies could be driven on an ice road to the starving city in the winter. Lake Ladoga is included on river voyages between Moscow and St. Petersburg. (RUS235, $27.00)
Alexander Pushkin, The Collected Stories  •  Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin LITERATURE •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 548 PAGES An expanded collection of Pushkin's tales, including The Captain's Daughter, The Queen of Spades, Tales of Belkin, and many shorter works. With a long introduction by John Bayley and chronology. Translated and presented by Paul Debreczeny. (RUS196, $21.00)
The Amber Room, The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure  •  Adrian Levy  •  Catherine Scott-Clark HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES Two investigative journalists on the trail of a roomful of amber from the days of Peter the Great, missing since the Siege of Leningrad in 1941. Scott-Clark and Levy have also written a book on the search for prized Burmese jade (The Stone of Heaven). (RUS244, $16.00)
Among the Russians  •  Colin Thubron TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES The marvelous account of a 10,000-mile journey by car from St. Petersburg and the Baltic States south to Georgia and Armenia in 1981. A gifted writer and intrepid traveler, Thubron grapples with the complex Russian identity in this lyrical book, first published as "Where Nights are Longest." Thubron combines his encounters with the interesting characters he meets with Russian history, politics and insightful commentary. Highly recommended. (RUS106, $14.00)
Anna Karenina  •  Leo Tolstoy  •  Larissa Volokhonsky  •  Richa Pevear LITERATURE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 838 PAGES Tolstoy's tragic love story of the beautiful, but married Anna, and her passionate affair with the dashing Count Vronsky. An adulterous relationship in late 19th Century Russia is not without its harsh consequences -- Anna loses her family and is ostracized by those around her in a social downfall. Interwoven with the story of Konstantin Levin and Princess Kitty Shcerbatsky, this epic work is a timeless novel of desire, weakness, and the search for love. (RUS81, $16.00)
Antler on the Sea, the Yup'ik and Chukchi of the Russian Far East  •  Anna Kerttula CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2000 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES A portrait of the daily life, culture and economy of a typical village along the Chukotka Peninsula. Yup'ik hunters of sea mammals, nomadic Chukchi reindeer herders, and Russian newcomers live and work side-by-side in the village of Sireneki, where the author, an anthropologist, lived for 18 months. Sireniki, like many villages in chukotka, was originally inhabited by the Yup'ik but today accommodates the Chucki that were settled in cooperative Reindeer farms along with the Russian teachers and administrators who came from outside the region, an instructive cultural mix. An insightful portrait of contemporary life for those lucky enough to travel to Provideniya and villages along the Bering Sea. (RUS100, $22.95)
The Art and Architecture of Russia  •  George Hamilton  •  Judith Gordon ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 482 PAGES An informed, engaging and comprehensive history of the art and architecture of Western Russia from the beginnings of Kievan Rus through the revolution and Russian empire, first published in 1954. It includes a splendid discussion of the development of St. Petersburg in the 18th and 19th centuries. Organized largely by geography, it's a good handbook for the traveler that goes beyond Moscow and St. Petersburg to include Kiev, Novgorod, Pskov and Vladimir-Suzdal. With 314 black-and-white illustrations. (RUS38, $32.00)
The Avengers, A Jewish War Story  •  Rich Cohen BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 262 PAGES Cohen conveys the passion, persistence and verve of three kids from the Jewish ghetto, who went from the streets of Vilna to fighting the Germans and, eventually, a Kibbutz north of Tel Aviv. Cohen, who first met Ruzka, Abba and Vitka on a family trip to Israel in 1977, has fashioned a suspenseful, riveting story from the tale of their remarkable lives. With sections on ghetto, forest, city and desert. Abba Kovner, who died in 1987, a poet, soldier and public figure in Israel, designed the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv. (BLT16, $14.95)
Balanchine, A Biography  •  Bernard Taper BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1996 •  PAPER  • 448 PAGES Taper sorts out the controversial legacy of the legendary choreographer in this study of his life. A newly added epilogue to this reprint of the original 1984 work examines how ballet been affected by Balanchine's death. (RUS193, $29.95)
Baltic States Map  •  Freytag & Berndt MAP A colorful map of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, at a scale of 1:600,000 with travel information and inset maps of Riga, Tallin and Vilnius on the reverse. The map extends south and east to Kaliningrad and Minsk. (BLT06, $12.95)
Baroque and Rococo Art  •  Germain Bazin ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1985 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES An excellent illustrated survey of Baroque and Rococo art and architecture, this volume in the acclaimed "World of Art" series is a good companion to the golden age of Middle Europe. (EUR53, $16.95)
Belorussia, Western Russia, Ukraine, North Map  •  GeoCenter MAP A map of Belarus, the northern Ukraine and Western Russia at a scale of 1:750,000. (RUS137, $11.95)
Berlitz Russian Phrase Book & Dictionary  •  Berlitz Pocket Guides LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  1998 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES A short introduction to common Russian words and phrases, designed for the traveler. Contains more than 1,000 phrases and more than 2,000 words. (RUS107, $8.95)
Birds of Europe  •  Killian Mullarney  •  Lars Svensson  •  Dan Zetterstrom  •  Peter J. Grant FIELD GUIDE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES • FAVORITE This Princeton Field Guide features 3,500 illustrations by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterstrom. Color plates depict every species -- and sometimes several different variants -- for 722 birds found from the Urals to the Atlantic, Scandinavia to the Middle East. (FG47, $29.95)
Black Earth, A Journey Through Russia After the Fall  •  Andrew Meier TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 511 PAGES Meier, a journalist who covered Russia for "Time" from 1996-2001, ventures far outside the Kremlin gates for this account of typical Russians since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He focuses his report on South, North, East and West: war-torn Chechnya; the industrial northern city of Norilisk; the forgotten island of forgotten Sakhalin; and progressive St. Petersburg. An insightful portrait much in the spirit of David Remnick's "Resurrection." (RUS213, $28.95)
Black Earth, A Journey Through Russia After the Fall  •  Andrew Meier CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  PAPER  • 516 PAGES Meier, a journalist who covered Russia for Time from 1996-2001, ventures outside the Kremlin for this portrait of Russia and of the lives of typical Russians since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He travels South, North, East and West to war-torn Chechnya, the industrial northern city of Norilisk, forgotten Sakhalin, and progressive St. Petersburg. An insightful portrait much in the spirit of David Remnick's Resurrection. (RUS236, $15.95)
Black Night White Snow, Russia's Revolutions 1905-1917  •  Harrison Salisbury HISTORY •  1977 •  PAPER  • 746 PAGES A correspondent for the "New York Times" and the author of several fine books on Russia, Salisbury surveys the poets, prophets and religious fanatics that peopled this momentous era of Russian history. The book is an evocative, moving account of one of the great political tragedies of the 20th century -- brought to life in colorful detail. It begins with the execution of Lenin's brother for the attempted assassination of Tsar Alexander III, and goes on to paint a vivid picture of the fatal crush of the crowds at Tsar Nicolas II's coronation, Bloody Sunday, the abdication of the tsar, the storming of the Winter Palace in the October Revolution, the Communist takeover, and the first days of the emerging Soviet Union. (RUS12, $16.95)
The Blue Flower  •  Penelope Fitzgerald LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 225 PAGES Set in the Age of Goethe, this exquisitely written short novel is a fictional account of the life of the Romantic poet Novalis (here called 'Fritz'). It's a spare, illuminating portrait of the daily drudgeries, petty formalities, and especially the romantic frustrations of a man who's ahead of his time. It also paints a vivid picture of German intellectual and mercantile life in the late 1700s. (GER21, $13.00)
Bradt City Guide Tallinn  •  Neil Taylor GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES A pocket guide in the authoritative Bradt series by the author of the Bradt Guide to Estonia. With practical information, annotated suggestions of where to eat, sleep and shop, suggested walking tours and two color maps. (BLT18, $12.99)
Bradt Guide Latvia  •  Chris Baister  •  Chris Patrick GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A comprehensive guide for the traveler from the popular and informative British series. (BLT20, $23.99)
Bradt Guide Lithuania  •  Gordon McLachlan GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A practical guide in the popular Bradt series, featuring information on Lithuanian art, history and culture, as well as good travel information. (BLT21, $20.95)
The Bronze Horseman  •  Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin LITERATURE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 80 PAGES Pushkin's epic poem was based on actual events, the flooding of his beloved St. Petersburg. (RUS281, $14.50)
The Brothers Karamazov  •  Fyodor Dostoevsky  •  Larissa Volokhonsky  •  Richard Pevear LITERATURE •  1991 •  PAPER  • 832 PAGES Dostoyevsky's final masterpiece, the introspective, philosophical novel of four very different brothers dealing with the murder of their father. This edition is an acclaimed recent translation. (RUS108, $18.00)
Buddenbrooks, the Decline of a Family  •  Thomas Mann LITERATURE •  1994 •  HARD COVER  • 784 PAGES Banned and burned by Hitler, this is Mann's masterpiece about the decline of a German family at the end of the 19th century. A chronicle of middle-class life, it is the story of a family subverting its own traditions for the sake of modernity. The Nobel Prize-winning author wrote this first, and perhaps his greatest, novel when he was only 25. Mann was raised in a prosperous merchant family in Lubeck. (GER22, $25.00)
The Burgermeister's Daughter, Scandal in a Sixteenth-Century German Town  •  Steven Ozment HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Meticulously researched and absorbing, this narrative by a Harvard historian traces the legal battle of the daughter of a well-to-do family who was thrown out of her home and disinherited in 1525. It's a true story expertly drawn from letters and court records, rich in details of life in a 16th-century German town. (GER25, $13.00)
Burning Lights  •  Bella Chagall  •  Marc Chagall  •  Norbert Guterman BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1988 •  PAPER  • 268 PAGES A memoir of growing up in the city of Vitebsk, Belarus in the beginning of the 20th century. Illustrated by the author's husband (famous artist Marc Chagall), this is a woman's story of life in traditional Belorussian society. (RUS122, $19.00)
C.I.S. and the Baltic States Map  •  Hildebrand MAP A reasonably detailed map of Western Russia and the Baltics (at a scale of 1:3.5 million) with a general all the states of the former USSR on the reverse at a scale of 1:15.7 million. The more detailed map includes not only the western portion of Russia, but much of Central Asia, right up to the Chinese border. (RUS22, $14.95)
Carmen and Other Stories  •  Prosper Merimee  •  Nicholas Jotcham LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 361 PAGES A sophisticated Parisian, Merimee preferred tales of high drama, banditry, outlaws and outcasts set in exotic locales, preferably in the past. This collection of nine stories includes: Carmen, the source for the opera; Columba, set in Corsica; the Etruscan Vase, one of his Parisian tales; The Storming of the Redoubt, involving Napoleon's 1812 Russian campaign; and Lokis, set in the forests of Medieval Lithuania. (FRN201, $13.95)
Catherine the Great  •  Henri Troyat BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1994 •  PAPER  • 377 PAGES One of the world's most notable biographers creates a grand portrait of a great monarch. This Russian-born French biographer of Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, and Gogol weaves a rich tapestry of history that reads like a novel. Seizing power from her husband and second cousin Peter III, Catherine fights and beats the Turks, defeats rebellion, partitions Poland, raises the prestige of Russia in Europe by corresponding with French philosophers and buying western art, and brings vast new lands under her 34-year reign. (RUS10, $18.00)
Catherine the Great, A Short History  •  Isabel De Madariaga BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES A brief, balanced biography of Catherine the Great, covering her life, influence and times. Written by a noted scholar of Russian history, the book offers an excellent overview of the political and social climate of 18th-century Russia. De Madariaga begins the book with a short, vigorous chapter: Catherine seizes power. The woman who ruled from 1762 until her death in 1796 had no claim to the throne. For serious students, Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great, also by De Madariaga, offers more detail. A Yale Note Bene paperback. (RUS105, $14.95)
Central Europe, Enemies, Neighbors, Friends  •  Lonnie Johnson HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 351 PAGES An academic survey of the social, political, and economic past of Central Europe, and the conflicts that stir modern-day European politics. From medieval to modern times, the formative historical events of Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia, are all introduced. Johnson is especially successful in analyzing the struggle of small nations in the face of imperial powers and how these experiences have created a diverse European heritage. With maps. Awarded an Outstanding Academic Book of 1997 by Choice. (EUR69, $39.95)
A Century of Ambivalence, The Jews of Russia and the Soviet Union, 1881 to the Present  •  Zvi Y. Gitelman HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 321 PAGES A strikingly illustrated history of Jewish life in Russia, originally published in 1988 and expanded for this second edition. With two new chapters on the fate of Jews and Judaism in the former Soviet Union, 200 black-and-white photographs from YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and three maps. Zvi Gitelman is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan. (RUS172, $24.95)
The Christening  •  Denise Neuhaus LITERATURE •  2004 •  PAPER This accomplished novel, set against a backdrop of the last says of the Soviet Union, follows three Estonian women in Tallinn and Stockholm. (BLT25, $16.95)
Clara's Grand Tour, Travels With a Rhinoceros in Eighteenth-century Europe  •  Glynis Ridley HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES The entertaining history of a most unusual eighteenth-century European celebrity. Clara the Indian rhinoceros was brought to Europe in 1741 by the Dutch sea captain Douwemout Van der Meer, and toured for seventeen years, to the delight of heads of state such as Louis XV and Frederick the Great. A marvelous and unique look at the introduction of Eastern wildlife into the Western world. (FRN536, $12.00)
The Coming Anarchy, Shattering the Dreams of the Post Cold War  •  Robert D. Kaplan TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES Topical essays by the prolific Robert Kaplan. (WLD51, $13.95)
Commonwealth of Independent States Map  •  Freytag & Berndt MAP A double-sided map of the entire CIS, divided into Western Russia (at a scale of 1:2,000,000 and eastern Russia (1:8,000,000). The map of Western Russia is the same plate as that for Eastern Europe (Item EUR36). (RUS133, $12.95)
The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales  •  Hans Christian Andersen LITERATURE •  1993 •  HARD COVER  • 804 PAGES How could we resist? It's hard to contemplate a visit to Copenhagen without revisiting these classic tales by its most famous citizen. This illustrated edition includes 159 greats, including "The Ugly Duckling" and, of course, "The Little Mermaid." (DMK01, $14.99)
A Concise History of Germany  •  Mary Fulbrook HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 277 PAGES This essential short history of Germany -- a whirlwind survey in less than 300 pages -- explores the relationships between social, political and cultural factors in this land located in the center of Europe. It covers the Middle Ages, Reformation and Counter Reformation, the Thirty-Years War, the Peace of Westphalia, the rise of Prussia, the unification of Germany under Bismarck, imperial Germany, the Weimar Republic and its collapse, Hitler and the Holocaust, divided and reunited Germany. (GER13, $23.99)
A Concise History of the Russian Revolution  •  Peter Dimock  •  Richard Pipes HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 431 PAGES A scholarly analysis of the Russian revolution by Harvard Scholar Richard Pipes, from the events that catalyzed the revolution, to its conclusion and aftermath. Includes glossary, chronology, and photographs of important players of the Revolution. (RUS98, $17.00)
Confessions of a Fallen Standard-Bearer  •  Andrei Makine LITERATURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES The celebrated contemporary Russian author follows two ideologically fervent boys, Arkady and Alyosha, as they come of age in post-Stalin Soviet Union. (RUS136, $21.95)
The Corrections  •  Jonathan Franzen LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 592 PAGES It's really that good -- a dazzling novel of life and love and family and holidays that follows the peregrinations of the Lamberts -- father, mother and offspring -- from New York to Philadelphia to Vilnius (Lithuania). A big, heart wrenching, comic book (and pretty dead on about Eastern European politics). (EUR122, $15.00)
The Cossacks  •  Leo Tolstoy  •  Peter Constantine  •  Cynthia Ozick LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES A fresh translation of Tolstoy's 1863 semi-autobiographical novel about a young Muscovite and his military adventures in the rough and ready Caucasus. The book is, in part, a portrait of the Cossacks -- and an account of falling in love. (RUS241, $11.95)
The Cossacks, An Illustrated History  •  John Ure HISTORY •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 288 PAGES In this lively, beautifully illustrated overview, a career diplomat (and frequent visitor to the region) explores the history of the Cossacks in Southern Russia and central Asia and their role in world affairs. With 105 color and 30 black and white illustrations. Interestingly, Ure challenges the notion that the Cossacks are no longer influential (or evident), detailing their involvement in Chechnya, Bosnia and other places. (RUS135, $45.00)
Coup de Grace  •  Marguerite Yourcenar LITERATURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 151 PAGES A novel set against the backdrop of the Latvian War of Independence in the aftermath of WWI. (BLT26, $16.00)
Cracks in the Iron Closet, Travels in Gay and Lesbian Russia  •  David Tuller TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 344 PAGES A soul-searching reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle out and about in 1990s Russia. Tuller mixes travelogue with history, social analysis, and lots of comentary on his circle of friends and aquaintances (including the lesbian he fell for). It's an intimate, slightly surreal portrait of an emerging gay subculture in modern Russia. (RUS149, $15.00)
Crime and Punishment  •  Fyodor Dostoevsky  •  David McDuff LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 647 PAGES The greatest detective story ever told and an inspiration to Freud in developing his psychoanalytic theory, this thriller of murder and redemption, set in St. Petersburg and redolent of its atmosphere, details the tragic, personal consequences of isolation, alienation, cynicism, and nihilism and sets the stage for the great social tragedy to come in the 20th century. (RUS18, $14.00)
The Crown Jewels, The British Secrets at the Heart of the KGB's Archives  •  Nigel West  •  Oleg Tsarev HISTORY •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 384 PAGES A lively account of Soviet intelligence activity in Britain from the end of World War I to the late 1950s. West is a prolific British military historian specializing in espionage. (SPY21, $50.00)
Days of Defeat and Victory  •  Yegor Gaidar HISTORY •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 342 PAGES Gaidar, an architect of Yeltsin reforms, offers his lively, candid views on the dramatic events of the 1990s in this eyewitness account and memoir. (RUS231, $30.00)
The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Empire: Forty Years that Shook the World, from Stalin to Yeltsin  •  Fred Coleman HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES Having spent three years in Russia as a correspondent for the Associate Press, Coleman provides an insightful account of post-Stalin Russia. Coleman's main argument is that the disintegration of communism was inevitable with the death of Stalin. He also argues that the US overestimated Soviet power and Western influences could have facilitated the fall of the Soviet Union, prior to 1990. (RUS97, $19.95)
The Diary of a Young Girl, The Definitive Edition  •  Anne Frank BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1995 •  PAPER  • 340 PAGES The classic story of an adolescent Jewish girl's life and thoughts while in hiding with her family in Nazi-occupied Holland. Anne's simple wisdom and optimism, juxtaposed against the horrid realities of the world outside and her inevitable fate, make this a very powerful book, considerably enhanced by newly restored material. (NTH05, $12.95)
Doctor Zhivago  •  Boris Pasternak  •  Max Hayward  •  Manya Harari LITERATURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 592 PAGES This epic story of life and love -- set against the backdrop of the first half of the 20th century -- takes in both World Wars and the Revolution. Banned in Russia upon publication in the 1950s, it was later made into the classic film by David Lean. (RUS222, $15.95)
Dreams of My Russian Summers, A Novel  •  Andrei Makine LITERATURE •  2008 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES In this widely praised first novel, Makine writes evocatively of the coming of age of a young boy in the Soviet Union of the 1960's and 70's. (RUS266, $13.99)
East of the Sun & West of the Moon, Old Tales from the North  •  George Webbe Dasent LITERATURE •  2008 •  HARD COVER  • 208 PAGES • FAMILY • COMING IN OCTOBER The Norse equivalent and counterpart to the German collection by the brothers Grimm, this anthology of 15 illustrated folk tales contains the famous title story along with "Why the Sea Is Salt" and "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." The original Norwegian text was published in Christiania in 1843; George Webbe Dasent's translation first appeared in England in 1858. Delightful, fanciful reading for the entire family. (SCN06, $30.00)
The Eastern Front, 1914-1917  •  Norman Stone HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES A classic study of Russia's contribution to the First World War. First published in 1975, before Soviet archives were opened, this work details the Russian defeat and how it affected the 1917 revolution. (WAR76, $16.95)
The Empress & the Architect, British Architecture and Gardens at the Court of Catherine the Great  •  Dmitri Shvidkovsky ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1996 •  HARD COVER  • 273 PAGES A gorgeous oversize survey of the 18th-century palaces, towns, parks and gardens in Russia designed by Charles Cameron, the Scottish architect to the court of Catherine the Great. With 190 black-and-white and 100 color illustrations, including architectural drawings and engravings, watercolors and modern color photographs. Shvidkovsky is a leading historian of Russian architecture. Appropriate attention is devoted to Catherine's Palace at Pushkin (Tsarkoye Selo) and Pavlovsk. (RUS259, $80.00)
The End of Eurasia, Russia on the Border Between Geopolitics and Globalization  •  Dmitri Trenin HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 345 PAGES A thought provoking analysis of Russia's foreign policy by the deputy director of the Carnegie Moscow Center (and a retired Russian army officer). Trenin -- who argues for a Euro-centered Russia and integration with the West -- looks at Russia's western face, its southern borders with the Islamic republics of Central Asia and the far east, increasingly dominated by China. (RUS163, $24.95)
Estonia and the Estonians  •  Toivo U. Raun HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES A scholarly, comprehensive history of Estonia from prehistory to the 1990s in the Hoover Institution's "Studies of Nationalities" series. (BLT07, $24.95)
Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse  •  James E. Falen  •  Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES A master work by one of Russia's most respected poets. Set in early 19th-century Russia, Pushkin's verse novel tells the tale of three men and three women, interwoven with a variety of literal philosophical and autobiographical tangents. (RUS101, $9.95)
Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse  •  Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin  •  Vladimir Nabokov LITERATURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 362 PAGES In this translation of Pushkin's epic poem set in 19th-century Russia, the great novelist Nabokov brings the spark of Pushkin's original words to life. (RUS290, $22.95)
Eyewitness Guide Amsterdam  •  Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 312 PAGES A wonderful guide to Amsterdam, filled with detailed drawings, photographs and thumbnail sketches. The highly visual format covers a wide range of information and is very well indexed, with color-coded pages for easy use. Slim and attractive, it also includes detailed maps and cutaway drawings of landmarks. (NTH01, $23.00)
Eyewitness Guide Moscow  •  Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 263 PAGES An outstanding guide to Moscow, its culture, history and attractions, with excellent local maps, site plans and hundreds of color photographs. It includes a select, annotated listing of recommended hotels, restaurants, cafes and shops. (RUS164, $23.00)
Faberge in the Royal Collection  •  Caroline De Guitaut ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 240 PAGES A handsome study of Faberge art and the British Royal Family. Includes essays on the history of the collection, royal collectors, and Faberge's enduring influence. With 220 illustrations, 200 in color. (RUS215, $50.00)
The Face of Russia: Anguish, Aspiration and Achievement in Russian Culture  •  James H. Billington ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 296 PAGES A companion volume to the PBS television series, this is a well informed, entertaining guide to key figures in the history of Russian art and culture. The book is divided into three parts: The Monks, Aristocrats and Masses. Billington covers icon painting, literature of Gogol, Musogsky's music and Eisentstein's ground-breaking films. (RUS54, $16.00)
Fathers and Sons  •  Ivan Turgenev LITERATURE •  1975 •  PAPER  • 295 PAGES This book is the original exploration of the generation gap, where the progressive, atheistic and scientific nihilism of the radical Bazarov clashes with the traditional values of his elders. The most accessible of the great Russian novelists, Turgenev was the first to create the modern revolutionary, the outsider, and the first to structure his story around the psychology of his characters instead of plot. More accurately translated than other Turgenev classics (RUS19, $12.00)
The First Circle  •  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn  •  Thomas Whitney LITERATURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 580 PAGES Set in Moscow, Solzhenitsyn's The First Circle follows the fate of Gleb Nerzhin, his scientist colleagues and fellow prisoners and how they negotiate the horrors of Soviet Russia in the years following WWII. Like his protagonist, the author was a mathematician forced to work in a Stalinist-era prison run as a research institute. Solzhenitsyn was the winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature. (RUS260, $16.95)
First Person, An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President  •  Vladimir Putin HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES A book-length series of interviews with Russia's leader, organized chronologically. The question and answer sessions cover the man, his politics and rise to power. Translated by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. (RUS161, $16.00)
Five Plays  •  Anton Chekhov  •  Ronald Hingley LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 294 PAGES A comprehensive collection of Chekhov's major plays, including "Ivanov," "The Seagull," "Uncle Vanya," "Three Sisters," and "The Cherry Orchard." (RUS88, $8.95)
The Fixer  •  Bernard Malamud LITERATURE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES Set in Tsarist Russia, this well-known novel by Malamud tells the story of a young Jewish boy from Kiev wrongly accused of murder. Based on true events, the book confronts anti-semitism in Russia during the first decades of the 20th century. This classic novel (first published in 1966) was the first book ever to win both a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. (RUS271, $15.00)
Fodor's Amsterdam's 25 Best  •  Fodor's GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 128 PAGES A shirt-pocket guide to Amsterdam, this slim book includes a separate excellent map of the center of the city and a 96-page shirt-pocket guide with essential information on its highlights, including restaurant recommendations and sightseeing. (NTH16, $11.95)
Fodor's London's 25 Best  •  Fodor's GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 128 PAGES This slim guide to London includes a separate map of the city's center and a 96-page pocket book with essential information on its highlights, including restaurant recommendations and sightseeing. (GBR08, $11.95)
Fodor's Moscow and St. Petersburg  •  Christopher and Melanie Rice GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 275 PAGES This comprehensive guide in the Fodor's Gold series features solid practical information on sights, excursions, restaurants, hotels and nightlife. With a chapter on the cities of the Golden Ring. Fifth edition. (RUS03, $19.95)
Food in Russian History and Culture  •  Joyce Toomre  •  Musya Glants FOOD •  1997 •  PAPER Food is the chosen lens for the 14 cultural historians who contributed essays to this scholarly, wide-ranging book. Topics range from Tolstoy's vegetarianism to starvation under Stalin to Soviet restaurants. (RUS143, $19.95)
From Karamzin to Bunin: An Anthology of Russian Short Stories  •  Carl Proffer ANTHOLOGY •  1969 •  PAPER  • 468 PAGES This anthology stands out by including a broad selection of literary masterpieces from the earliest Russian prose to the years before the revolution, the best short works by each of the authors, and reliable translations of such masterpieces as Pushkin's "The Queen of Spades," Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych," Gogol's "The Overcoat," and several of Chekhov's best-loved stories. (RUS08, $22.95)
From Nyet to Da: Understanding the Russians  •  Yale Richmond CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2003 •  PAPER  • 219 PAGES A cultural portrait of the Russians for the traveler, covering Russia's geography and culture, character, state and society. With chapters on "Personal Encounters" and "Negotiating with Russians." Richmond is a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer who spent 20 years in Russia. (RUS96, $23.95)
The German Way  •  Hyde Flippo CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1997 •  PAPER  • 138 PAGES A slim volume on the German-speaking cultural psyche, this highly readable, often humorous account of the cultural quirks and social etiquette of the German-speaking nations is a great resource for anyone seeking insight into why the Germans do what they do. Separate chapters, arranged alphabetically by topic, make for a quick study on the complexities of Teutonic customs. (GER12, $15.95)
The Germans  •  Gordon A. Craig CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1991 •  PAPER  • 361 PAGES Informative and fascinating, this book by German historian Gordon A. Craig provides valuable insights into the nature of the German character. Craig explores the complex paradoxes of German identity -- romantic and conservative, idealistic and practical, proud and insecure -- through chapters on religion, money, Jews, women, literature and society, Berlin and language. (GER10, $18.00)
Germany Map  •  Freytag & Berndt 2005 •  MAP A sturdy map of Germany (including the region east to Prague) at a scale of 1:700,000 with good topographic relief, roads, waterways and index. (GER07, $15.95)
Gorbachev and Yeltsin As Leaders  •  George Breslauer HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 3831 PAGES An astute, balanced political analysis. Breslauer -- a professor at Berkeley -- has also published Khrushchev and Brezhnev as Leaders: Building Authority in Soviet Politics (1982). (RUS156, $27.99)
The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral  •  Robert A. Scott ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 307 PAGES Scott, whose interest in the history of cathedrals began when he first saw the magnificent Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salisbury, England, takes his reader on a historical, architectural and sociological tour of the magnificent spires and stained-glass windows that dot the landscape of Europe. It's an accessible, personable overview. (EUR190, $17.95)
The Great Railway Bazaar, By Train through Asia  •  Paul Theroux TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES Theroux's vintage 1970s journeys across Asia by Train, displaying all his talent for portraiture, ego and the dismissive aside. It's great fun. He takes every two-bit train he can find from London across Europe, Turkey and the Middle East, India, Japan and China, returning home via the Trans-Siberian Express. (ASA40, $14.95)
The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: Vol. I  •  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn  •  Thomas Whitney LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 672 PAGES A masterpiece of literature and history, this novel documents the horrors of Russia's prison system under communism. Based on Solzhenitsyn's first-hand experiences, it is a powerful and unforgettable work of suffering and redemption. This is the first volume in "The Gulag Archipelago" trilogy. (RUS113, $21.95)
The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: Vol. III  •  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn  •  Thomas Whitney LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 570 PAGES A masterpiece of literature and history, this novel documents the horrors of Russia's prison system under communism. Based on Solzhenitsyn's first-hand experiences, it is a powerful and unforgettable work of suffering and redemption. This is the third volume in "The Gulag Archipelago" trilogy. (RUS114, $21.95)
Hadji Murad  •  Leo Tolstoy  •  Aylmer Maude LITERATURE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES A short novel set in the 19th-century Caucasus, concerning -- in part -- conflicts between the occupying Russians and Muslim groups in the region. Tolstoy, who spent four years in the Russian army in the Caucasus, based his story on a real-life mountain warrior. Originally published posthumously in 1923, this edition includes an introduction by John Burt Foster that puts the novel in its historical context. (CCS18, $11.95)
Hans Christian Andersen, The Life of a Storyteller  •  Jackie Wullschlager BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  PAPER  • 496 PAGES The acclaimed biography of Copenhagen's most famous denizen, who rose from his lot as a washerwoman's son to dine with princes and literary lions -- yet who died alone and unhappy. Wullschlager, an arts critic at the Financial Times, has written a thorough, and thoroughly grown-up, treatment of Andersen. (DMK13, $19.00)
Here Is Where We Meet  •  John Berger LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. "The dead don't stay where they are buried," the protagonist's mother tells him, and this becomes the mantra for this most unusual journey through Europe's history and people. (EUR189, $14.00)
Hippocrene Language and Travel Guide to Ukraine  •  Linda Hodges  •  George Chumak GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 387 PAGES • COMING IN NOVEMBER An insightful, personal travel guide to the region with chapters on Kiev, Crimea and Odessa, as well as an overview of the history of Ukraine. It opens with a chapter entitled "Developing a Ukrainian Perspective" and includes key phrases and language instruction throughout the book. This is the guide to getting the most out of an extended visit. Fourth edition. (RUS52, $18.95)
The History of Russia  •  John Lawrence HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES A concise popular history of Russia from its pagan roots through the Tsarist period, revolution and post-Soviet realities. Seventh edition. (RUS289, $17.00)
A History of Russia  •  George Vernadsky HISTORY •  1986 •  PAPER  • 520 PAGES A popular college text. (RUS174, $30.00)
A History of Russia  •  Nicholas Riasanovsky HISTORY •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 776 PAGES First published nearly 40 years ago, this comprehensive history of Russia -- now in its sixth edition -- remains a popular survey for students and travelers with a serious interest in history. It's a scholarly, balanced survey from Russia's Kievan origins through Imperial and Soviet Russia to Yeltsin and the new Russian Federation. (RUS130, $56.00)
A History of Russian Music, From Kamarinskaya to Babi Yar  •  Francis Maes  •  Arnold Pomerans MUSIC •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 440 PAGES A scholarly social history of Russian music and the influence of notable Russian composers starting in the early 19th century with Mikhail Glinka and covering up through the 1970s with the works of Shostakovich. (RUS223, $60.00)
A History of Twentieth-Century Russia  •  Robert Service HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 651 PAGES A lively, comprehensive history of modern Russia and particularly the Soviet period, which draws on recent archival material. Perhaps daunting in size, Service skillfully combines scholarship (including much Russian scholarship and primary sources), anecdotes, facts, personality and analysis into a big but thoroughly readable narrative history. With a few maps and drawings, notes and index. (RUS131, $20.95)
House of the Dead  •  Fyodor Dostoevsky  •  David McDuff LITERATURE •  1986 •  PAPER  • 362 PAGES Dostoyevsky's semi-autobiographical novel of a man forced to endure ten years in a Siberian prison for the murder of his wife. Accused as a political subversive, Dostoyevsky himself spent four years in a prison camp. (RUS261, $12.00)
How Russia Shaped the Modern World: From Art to Anti-Semitism, Ballet to Bolshevism  •  Steven G. Marks HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 408 PAGES This wide-ranging book focuses on Russian contributions to art, literature, politics and ideas of 19th- and 20th-century Europe and America. Marks considers artists and thinkers including Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Diaghilev, Stanislavsky, Kandinsky, and Malevich. (RUS245, $25.95)
I, Maya Plisetskayar  •  Maya Plisetskaya  •  Antonia W. Bouis BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 448 PAGES A memoir of dance set against a backdrop of political turmoil. Plisetskaya, a prominent Russian ballerina, bitterly describes the persecution of her family and her struggles as an artist under the Soviet Regime. (RUS254, $48.00)
The Icon and the Axe, An Interpretive History of Russian Culture  •  James H. Billington HISTORY •  1970 •  PAPER  • 786 PAGES From Kievan beginnings through 600 years to the Soviet era, this book presents the intellectual currents that have shaped Russia and her traditions. It's a cultural and artistic history, written by the Librarian of Congress: a comprehensive, intellectual investigation of the spiritual and ideological forces that led to the development of Russia. (RUS09, $23.00)
Igor Stravinsky, An Autobiography  •  Igor Stravinsky BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1998 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES A brief account of the life and work of Stravinsky (1882-1971), by the conductor himself, covering the first 50 years of his life in St. Petersburg, France and Switzerland. Originally published in 1956. (MUS18, $14.95)
Images of Space, St. Petersburg in the Visual and Verbal Arts  •  Grigory Kaganov  •  Sidney Monas ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 238 PAGES A slim, academic study, featuring 75 black-and-white engravings, paintings and illustrations. This is not an architectural guide to St. Petersburg in the traditional sense. Instead of studying the buildings, parks, and bridges of the historic city, Kaganov delves into changing ideas about spatial representation, looking at the way St. Petersburg's urban spaces -- and the depiction of them in art and literature-- have changed over the centuries. (RUS42, $57.95)
Insight City Guide St. Petersburg  •  Brian Bell GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES This eyecatching guidebook features beautiful full-color photographs, illuminating area maps, a street atlas and information about transport and accommodations. With a pullout restaurant map guide. (RUS274, $15.95)
Insight Guide Poland  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 314 PAGES A handsomely illustrated introduction to Poland, this guidebook features essays on history, culture and economy, as well as practical information for the traveler. With 15 helpful maps and numerous color photographs. (PLD14, $23.95)
Insight Guide Russia  •  Anna Benn GUIDEBOOK •  2002 •  PAPER  • 383 PAGES An engaging guide to the country and its major regions and cities with short, handsomely illustrated essays on Russian history, life, art, literature and music. The guide includes excellent full-color maps and hundreds of photographs. (RUS37, $22.95)
Ivan the Terrible  •  Henri Troyat BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES The author of biographies of Catherine the Great and Tolstoy, Henri Troyat illuminates the life and fear-inspiring reign of Russia's first czar, the aptly named Ivan the Terrible. (RUS220, $21.95)
The Kalevala  •  Keith Bosley LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 679 PAGES This national epic of Finland, based on ancient heroic poetry, was a rallying flag for national aspirations as Finland struggled to break away from Russia in the 19th century. So important is this great literary monument that Finland celebrates February 28 as Kalevala day. Incorporating incantation and humor and including a role for magic, this classic informs some of Sibelius' greatest music. 1999 marks the 150th anniversary of the first edition of the poem. (SCN14, $15.95)
Khrushchev, The Man and His Era  •  William Taubman BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  PAPER  • 908 PAGES A definitive, Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the life of Nikita Khrushchev, which also serves a detailed portrait of Soviet Russia and the legacy of Stalin. Taubman is professor of political science at Amherst (RUS257, $17.95)
Kiev: A Portrait, 1800-1917  •  Michael F. Hamm HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES From medieval center to important city in Imperial Russia, this scholarly book is a wonderfully informative cultural history of the city and especially its 19th-century legacy. (RUS56, $37.50)
Kosmos, A Portrait of the Russian Space Age  •  Svetlana Boym  •  Adam Bartos CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 176 PAGES A portfolio of 100 photographs of the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with an accompanying essay by Harvard professor Svetlana Boym. The somber photographs were taken between 1995 and 1997 in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. (RUS184, $40.00)
The Latvians, A Short History  •  Andrejs Plakans HISTORY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 257 PAGES A scholarly history of Latvia beginning in medieval times, which concentrates on the growth of Latvian nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Heavy-going for the casual visitor, it's an in-depth analysis of the country and its role in the world. The book includes a discussion of Latvia's "national awakening" in the early 1800s, loss of independence to the Soviet Union during World War II, and concludes with a discussion of modern Latvia and its position as an independent European nation. (BLT08, $24.95)
Legacies of Twentieth-Century Dance  •  Lynn Garafola CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  PAPER  • 468 PAGES A marvelously illustrated and scholarly collection of essays on the evolution of dance in the 20th century. The four sections of the book focus on the Ballet Ruses, female dancers, New York as the dance capital of the world and questions of memory and reconstruction. (RUS256, $29.95)
Lenin, A New Biography  •  Dmitri Volkogonov BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1994 •  HARD COVER  • 529 PAGES A well regarded biography. (RUS250, $69.00)
Letters from Russia  •  Marquis De Custine  •  Anka Muhlstein TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 654 PAGES An authoritative edition of Astolphe de Custine's scathing, insightful -- and observant -- account of the people, culture and politics of St. Petersburg and Moscow circa 1839. George Kennan called this book the best thing ever written about Russia, no doubt in part because of de Custine's trenchant observations on Russian despotism (the Soviets also banned the book). This is the 1843 translation, edited, revised and with an introduction by de Custine's biographer, Anka Muhlstein. (RUS166, $22.95)
Life and Fate  •  Vasily Grossman LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 896 PAGES Modeled on Tolstoy's War and Peace, this novel gives a sweeping account of Soviet life during World War II. (RUS299, $22.95)
Literary Russia, A Guide  •  Anna Benn  •  Rosamund Bartlett GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 528 PAGES Back in print! Organized geographically, this guide and literary companion includes the homes, museums and literary landmarks of Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Nabokov and other Russian masters. (RUS45, $37.50)
Lonely Planet Baltic Phrasebook  •  Paul Jokubaitis  •  Jana Teteris  •  Lisa Trei LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2001 •  PAPER  • 284 PAGES A handy phrasebook for the basics of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian.This pocket guide focuses on pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (BLT10, $8.99)
Lonely Planet Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES In its hallmark style, this practical guide to the Baltic nations by Lonely Planet features maps, a good overview of culture, history and language, and much nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. With color photographs and excellent travel information. (BLT05, $25.99)
Lonely Planet Russian Phrasebook  •  James Jenkin  •  Inna Zaitseva LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2006 •  PAPER  • 316 PAGES A handy shirtpocket phrasebook for Russian basics focusing on pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (RUS111, $8.99)
Lonely Planet Scandinavian Europe  •  Glenda Bendure  •  Ned Friary GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 508 PAGES An excellent practical guide to Scandinavian countries, as well as St. Petersburg and Tallinn, featuring a good overview of culture, history and nature, and plenty of information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. (SCN01, $24.99)
Lonely Planet St. Petersburg  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 250 PAGES In its hallmark style, this practical guide to St Petersburg by Lonely Planet features maps, a good overview of culture, history and art, and a great deal of information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. Most of the book focuses on what to see, do, buy and eat in the city. With color photographs and excellent travel information. (RUS280, $21.99)
Lost Opportunity: What has Made Economic Reform in Russia so Difficult?  •  Marshall Goldman HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 308 PAGES An astute commentator, the author looks at Yeltsin's economic reforms and the changes wrought on the complex Russian economy since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Associate Director of the Davis Center for Russian Studies at Harvard, the author is none too optimistic about the prospects for genuine reform. (RUS64, $13.95)
Making Sense of War, the Second World War and the Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution  •  Amir Weiner HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 432 PAGES A consideration of WWII and its impact on Russia. (RUS251, $32.95)
Mammals of Europe  •  Priscilla Barrett  •  David W. MacDonald FIELD GUIDE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES Published by Princeton, this is a field guide to land and marine mammals throughout Europe, both endemic and introduced. With more than 600 color illustrations of over 200 mammals, it's a comprehensive handbook, with detailed descriptions, range maps and commentary on behavior. (FG61, $34.95)
The Master and Margarita  •  Mikhail Bulgakov  •  Mirra Ginsberg LITERATURE •  1987 •  PAPER  • 402 PAGES Hailed as "one of the greatest novels to ever come out of the Soviet Union" by the "New York Times," this book is impossible to categorize. It is part satire, part fairytale, part fable, part slapstick. It was written in the 1930s, the most repressive period of Stalin's reign, as an elaborate allegory to convey Michail Bulgakov's anti-Stalinist message, complete with a main character named Satan who is accompanied by his talking black cat. (RUS44, $11.95)
The Master of Petersburg  •  J.M. Coetzee LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 250 PAGES Celebrated author Fyodor Dostoyevski becomes a literary character in Coetzee's novel of 19th-century Russia. Dostoyevski is summoned to St. Petersburg to investigate the suicide of his stepson. The mystery he soon becomes ensnared in illuminates the underworld of pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg. (RUS200, $15.00)
The Memoirs of Catherine the Great  •  Catherine the Great  •  Mark Cruse  •  Hilde Hoogenboom BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 352 PAGES Catherine The Great's rule lasted from 1762 until her death in 1796; this collection of her memoirs begins some years before, upon her arrival in Russia as a German princess in 1744. An intimate insight into the life of the world-renowned ruler and her often uneasy adjustment to the world of Russian royalty. (RUS277, $26.95)
The Messiah of Stockholm, A Novel  •  Cynthia Ozick LITERATURE •  1988 •  PAPER  • 141 PAGES Set in the dark of Stockholm's winter, this atmospheric short novel follows the peregrinations of Lars Andemeing -- and his search for his father Bruno Schulz. (SWE11, $12.00)
Michelin Green Guide Scandinavia and Finland  •  Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 526 PAGES A survey of the cities, villages and sites of Scandinavia in the classic Michelin style, featuring brief descriptions of all the major attractions, and with excellent full-color city maps. Organized alphabetically for easy reference, (SCN10, $21.95)
Moscow, Governing the Socialist Metropolis  •  Timothy J. Colton HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 939 PAGES A scholarly, political history of Moscow from frontier town through Tsarist and Soviet transformations to the 1990s by a Harvard professor. It's a big book, nicely written, that will appeal to travelers with a serious interest in history. At almost 1,000 pages with the usual scholarly notes it's not for the feint of heart. (RUS157, $31.50)
Murder on the Leviathan  •  Boris Akunin  •  Andrew Bromfield MYSTERY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES Erast Fandorin, a young diplomat who moonlights as a detective and the hero of Akunin's novel "The Winter Queen" must match wits with the French police commissioner Gustave Gauche to determine which passenger aboard a ship destined for India murdered the Lord Littleby and his ten servants. Akunin pays homage to Agatha Christie with a bizarre and memorable cast of characters in this entertaining page-turner. (RUS225, $12.95)
Natasha's Dance, A Cultural History of Russia  •  Orlando Figes CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2003 •  PAPER  • 768 PAGES In this lively cultural history, Figes looks at both the great works by Russian masters and longstanding folk traditions. The title is drawn from a scene of Tolstoy's War and Peace in which a European-educated countess performs a peasant dance and the monumental work is dedicated to this tension between Asia and Europe, peasants and nobility. (RUS180, $20.00)
Nicholas and Alexandra  •  Robert Massie HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 613 PAGES This is a fairy tale of true love turned tragic as Tsar Nicholas II, the handsome ruler of one-sixth of the earth, carries on the royal Russian tradition of marrying a German princess, Alexandra of Hesse. Their union produces four daughters and a hemophiliac son, the tsarevitch Alexis, whose disease only the evil monk Rasputin can treat. The stage is set for the downfall of the Romanov dynasty and imperial Russia and the coming of Communism. This entertaining and well-researched history traces the royal relationship and explores how a disease determined the destiny of rulers, the disintegration of the empire, and the course of Russian history. (RUS69, $18.95)
No Fixed Points, Dance in the Twentieth Century  •  Malcolm McCormick  •  Nancy Reynolds CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 928 PAGES A comprehensive history of 20th century dance in Europe and America. It's a readable, illustrated reference that offers both biographies of major dancers and choreographers, and critical analysis. (RUS255, $60.00)
The Northern Wars: War, State and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558-1721  •  Robert I. Frost HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 401 PAGES An illuminating, scholarly history of the struggle over Estonia, Livonia and control of the Nordic-Baltic region by Sweden, Prussia, and Russia. Frost covers the heavily militarized period between the 16th-century takeover of the Baltic empires of the knights of the Teutonic order and the 18th century, when mighty Poland-Lithuania was devoured by its neighbors. Largely ignored today as a historical power, the flow of Polish-Lithuanian grain, timber, hemp and pitch through the Baltic provided vital raw materials for the European economy in the 16th and 17th centuries. (BLT15, $51.60)
Norwegian Folk Tales  •  Peter Asbjornsen ANTHOLOGY •  1982 •  PAPER  • 188 PAGES This rich collection of stories, interpreted by a leading scholar on ancient traditions and tales, will delight both adults and children. (NOR06, $14.95)
Notes from Underground  •  Fyodor Dostoevsky  •  Richard Pevear LITERATURE •  1994 •  PAPER  • 160 PAGES "I am a sick man... I am a wicked man." So begins Dostoevsky's darkly funny 1864 novel, an introspective psychological portrait of the Underground Man, one of Dostoevsky's most recognizable protagonists. A rich character study and an excellent glimpse of 19th-century St. Petersburg, "the most abstract and intentional city on the entire globe," written with the unforgettable wit and compassion of the master of Russian literature. (RUS230, $11.95)
Odyssey Guide Moscow, St. Petersburg & The Golden Ring  •  Masha Nordbye  •  Patricia Lanza GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 728 PAGES A comprehensive guide to the art, culture and history of these two great Russian cities, filled with maps and fine color photographs. It also includes a 50-page chapter on the ancient cities of the Golden Ring around Moscow. Third edition. (RUS78, $26.95)
The Oligarchs, Wealth & Power in the New Russia  •  David Hoffman HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 567 PAGES A scrupulously documented, fascinating account of six businessmen whose profiteering amid the near-anarchy and corruption that followed collapse of the Soviet Union skyrocketed them to positions of immense power in the New Russia. Written by the acclaimed former Moscow bureau chief for the Washington Post, it's an engrossing tale of capitalism born from chaos. (RUS159, $21.95)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich  •  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn  •  H. T. Willetts LITERATURE •  1989 •  PAPER  • 182 PAGES The poignant story of an inmate in one of Stalin's Siberian labor camps struggling to maintain his dignity under the oppression of a Communist prison. This short novel became an overnight classic, still resonant today as Russia buries the corpse of Stalinism that refuses to die. This is the unexpurgated translation, authorized by Solzhenitsyn after a relaxation of censorship. (RUS26, $13.00)
Passport to Russian  •  Charles Berlitz LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  1992 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES A basic Russian dictionary and phrasebook for the traveler (which, just in case, includes a section entitled Point to Answer). Organized thematically, common words and expressions are shown in English and Cyrillic with easy-to-decipher phonetic pronunciation. Charles Berlitz (grandson of the founder of the Berlitz Language Schools) is the author. (RUS224, $6.99)
Pavlovsk, The Life of a Russian Palace  •  Suzanne Massie CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1990 •  PAPER  • 393 PAGES A biography of the palace from its role in 18th-century Tsarist Russia to the revolution, public park, Nazi military headquarters and restoration. It's a great story, well told by Massie, who also wrote Land of the Firebird. With archival and modern color photographs. Among the books many pleasures is the story the coura