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RUSSIA

Name: RUSSIA
Author: Philip Longworth
ISBN: 0-312-36041-X

THE ONCE AND FUTURE EMPIRE FROM PRE-HISTORY TO PUTIN

by Philip Longworth ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2006

Empire is a distant memory among younger Russians. But, as Longworth observes at the close of this useful survey, “nothing...

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Russia is down; losing an empire will do that to a country. But, counsels historian Longworth, it would be a mistake to count it out.

Most empires, Longworth argues, rise and fall, never to rise again. But Russia has seen four major empires in the past nine centuries, each rising from the ashes of the other. Even in pre-history, the nation saw uncommonly large populations in civilized centers, such as the 6,000-year-old Talyanky site, which was home to more than 10,000 people. The first true empire was the great mercantile power of Kievan Rus, which fell in the 1200s after forging trade bonds with far-flung nations throughout Asia and Europe; as Longworth writes, it might have endured longer but for a flawed system of succession by which families splintered into competing factions, all of which might have been solved, ironically, by a stronger centralized government. The second empire followed with the rise of Muscovy, which, “rather than striving for an imperial role…stumbled into one” following the collapse of Ottoman power in Europe. This second empire, like its successor, the Romanov dynasty, expanded in all directions, conquering and creating client states in Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and points east. By Longworth’s account, that eastward expansion, which created an immense colonial empire, was almost accidental; Russia’s rulers came to command it “innocently, without realizing the world significance of the fact.” That may be arguable, given the vast natural wealth of Siberia and Russia’s southern steppes, and certainly the command of the last empire, the Soviet, over the region was meant to be absolute; when communism was pressed on the native Chukchi people of the far north, they resisted, reasonably, saying that it would not increase the number of walruses.

Empire is a distant memory among younger Russians. But, as Longworth observes at the close of this useful survey, “nothing is immutable,” and if history is a guide, Russia’s empire will rise again.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-312-36041-X

Page Count: 416

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.