Editorial Review

Daniel Mendelsohn's Read more

Reviews (8)

A Letter To My Children
I am about to be 60 and am reading a book that fills me with regret, THE LOST, by Daniel Mendelsohn, the story of how he tracked down the final days of his grandfather's brother and that man's four beautiful daughters. I have finished the first fifth of the book and am convinced that it is the greatest literary work that I have read since my youthful exposure to Proust and the early novels of Saul Bellow. Mendelsohn combines a personal memoir of growing up in a "modern" Jewish family in America with historical detective work based on old photographs, recovered letters, interviews, trips, internet sites devoted to the little towns of Eastern Europe and Jewish genealogy, and couches it in the most beautiful and evocative and thoughtful sentences, often based on the style of Proust (to whom he has given the opening epigraph of the book), organizing his discussion around an analysis of the first book of the Torah (even mentioning my Haftorah passage, Lech lecha) and Homer's Iliad. He brings to life long lost people, places, philosophical issues, with drama and mystery. He has assembled a complete genealogy of his family and has testified to the power of memory, language (Yiddish, Hebrew, German), family love, pride and humor. He is unfailingly generous in his descriptions and conclusions. The book is illustrated with photographs taken by his younger brother. The parallels with our own family history, our life in New York and in Florida, the impact of parents on the intellectual growth of their children, the impact of religious stories and scholarship, the diaspora to America and Israel, are incredibly resonant and moving, and all this in the first 70 pages. I am writing to urge each of you to read this great book and learn how you came to be, how your own grandfather and I came to be, the people that we are. I am sorry that I never accomplished a similar work on the history of our own family. I can only hope that one or all of you will take on this important task and assemble a similarly amazing chronicle before the people who can help you are gone, the Magdas and Pop Pops, the grandma Lillys and "Uncles" from all the remaining branches of our living candelabra. On page 41 he lists the major sources by which he accomplished the feat and by which you, like Proust, can recapture the past and recapture Time.I will never have the time to do it, my life wrapped up in other kinds of scholarly pursuits and my nature so bent to the seductions of poetry. But you have a chance to do it, to accomplish something of great value for yourselves and for others. In the meantime you will have the consolation of reading sentences sculpted by a master and it will fill your hearts with unimaginable pleasure.
Wide-Ranging Journey, Brilliant Synthesis
Mendelsohn has brought together the disparate elements of his five year worldwide search for the fate of six family members in the Holocaust in a masterful act of synthesis and distillation. This book combines a detective's doggedness, a Biblical scholar's critical exegesis and a Yiddishist's love of an Eastern European shtetl whose remaining Jewish inhabitants are scattered over the globe, a "remainder of those who fled". That Mendelsohn pulls this off, combines his disparate goals into a moment of Biblical clarity and discovery, leaves me frankly, amazed. Because close to the end of the book, I had doubted he would be able to learn anything that could be counted on, and he would be forced to resort to a book about his search rather than real conclusions. But at that penultimate moment, Daniel found an ancient survivor who brought him to the very spot, the terrible moment, he had been searching for. The author obviously has a wonderful rapport with elderly people which made his many interviews possible. He is meticulous and brings order to a mass of material. An insistent humanity pervades his writing. While not a Biblical scholar himself, he has perception, essential insight into human nature, so his Biblical research finds fertile ground. While his realization that many people will present many different versions of the same story is not exactly news, the manner of his telling of the story beguiles and ultimately, inspires.

I couldn't put it down
An amazing journey into the past of Daniel Mendelsohn's perished family members - the family of Shmiel Jager, Mr. Mendelsohn's great-uncle.Mr. Jager's siblings (one of whom is Daniel's grandfather), fled Poland before the Holocaust and had no clear idea of how Shmiel's family died, only that they did die. All that they have are tiny, often conflicting, pieces of the story about what happend to the Shmiel Jagers. Daniel begins a 5+ year journey to talk to the few Jewish survivors who lived in the same small Polish town in which the Jagers lived and died. The survivors were now living all over the world, and Daniel travels extensively to meet and interview them, to try to find out, not only how the Jagers died, but how they *lived* and who they were. As the years continue in the search, you feel Daniel's angst at having so little time to track down and speak to the few survivors from that town. They are all in their 80s and 90s and some of them would prefer to not think about that time at all. And yet, an amazing story emerges, a story of strength and sorrow. A story of wanting to know "what happened?". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Biography    3. Bolekhiv    4. General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Holocaust    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    11. Jews    12. Personal Memoirs    13. Ukraine    14. United States    15. History / General   

Reviews (18)

Outstanding Eastern Front Battle Archive
This book provided me with hours of enjoyable reading and study. Its the rare photo prints and maps that make the battle of the Cherkassy 'kessel' much more realistic.A must read for any Eastern Front enthusiast!

Your single source for the Battle of Cherkassy
In 1981, I attempted to recreate the entire Battle of Cherkassy for a massive Squad Leader scenario. It was a huge undertaking back in those days as there were not 20 different Squad Leader boards. And there was virtually no information on Cherkassy beyond what could be found in Time-Life's The Soviet Juggernaut, which gave tantalizing accounts of this fascinating battle. In later years, Leon Degrelle's, Campaign in Russia provided still more insight into the fights at Novo Buda and Shanderovka.
one of the best history books ever written
Expertly well written and researched -I am very very impressed.Find one and buy it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Campaigns    2. Cherkassy Pocket, Battle of th    3. Cherkassy Pocket, Battle of the, Ukraine, 1944    4. History    5. History - Military / War    6. Military    7. Military - General    8. Soviet Union    9. World War, 1939-1945    10. Battles & campaigns    11. Europe    12. European history: Second World War    13. History / Military / World War II   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Colonies    3. Europe - Germany    4. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    5. Germany    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History - Military / War    9. History: World    10. Holocaust    11. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    12. Military - World War II    13. Ukraine    14. World War, 1939-1945    15. ZìHytomyrs§ka oblast§    16. History / Holocaust    17. Second World War, 1939-1945    18. The Holocaust    19. holocaust; Nazism; colonialism; World War II; Hitler; Himmler; empire; imperialism; genocide; Jews; slave labor; Third Reich; Germany; Soviet Union; nationalism; Eastern Europe; occupation; Vinnytsia; Zhytomyr; Berdychiv   

Reviews (1)

Excellent photos but beware of publishing error
A fantastic book showing excellent pictures of various Icons, along with detailed blow-ups and historical explanations.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. History - General    5. Christianity    6. Religious subjects depicted in art   

Reviews (7)

Title Says It All
The title does indeed say it all. An excellent book you won't put down "To The bitter End". This really is a superb addition to the literature in English about these battles, and all credit to the translator!

Maybe it's poorly translated
On the first page the author claims that the withdrawal of the SS Pz Korps upon the termination of Citadel left a gaping hole in the German front that the Soviets promptly poured through, leading to the collapse east of the Dneiper. He goes on to say that, in one action or another, many Soviet tanks were knocked out by Stukas, some at close range. What is close range for a stuka?

Rare information on overlooked battles
Considering how little is published English on this phase of the war, the publishers really should be congratulated for doing a superb job!There is loads of detail covering these rare battles, and it really is nitpicking from another reviewer to give the book only two stars for not including personal accounts.Personal accounts on these battles are not easy to come by at all, and I understand the author died some years ago, so the publishers were unable to revise this English edition.As it stands, it provides a lot of information completely unavailable elsewhere, and is recommended to those who are interested in researching some of the less well-known aspects of the War on the Eastern Front in World War II. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Campaigns    2. Eastern Front    3. Germany.    4. Heer    5. History    6. History - Military / War    7. Military    8. Military - Strategy    9. Military - World War II    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. Battles & campaigns    12. Europe    13. European history: Second World War    14. History / Military / World War II   

Reviews (114)

Should be rated 10 - it's over the top!
Several years ago the author came to visit our school. Our 5th-6th graders were totally silent and amazed as she spoke of her life and survival during WWII Poland. She lived and experienced more by the time she was 16 than 5 people combined. The story will rip your heart out and create a new understanding of what it took to survive the camps and countryside of Poland. Watching her family killed, helping other children to survive in the countryside, and leading others to freedom. If you thought The Diary of Anne Frank was great, you will be changed by this one.

A wonderfully written memoir of the Holocaust
Even though the Holocaust is a very painful part of humanity's history, Alicia manages to tell her story in a very realistic, yet beautiful way. It is very painful for the reader to learn how every single member of Alicia's family was murdered, and the way she describes every different occasion made me immerse myself more and more into the story, making it very hard to put down. Alicia shows how a great young leader was able to save hundreds of lives risking her own. It was very interesting for me to read a Holocaust memoir that did not take place in a concentration camp, which also shows how the people who were in hiding were in a similar situation of hardship as those who were confined to a forced labor camp.
THIS BOOK CHANGED MY LIFE
Alicia is such a gifted writer, she stamps unforgettable word pictures in your mind. Reading this book is as close to living through the holocaust as we can get. It is an amazing story of survival and courage as well as desparation and ignorance. Undeniably the best book I have ever read. I couldn't put it down and read and re-read it several times--sometimes picking up certain sections over and over again. You feel the sweat. You feel the chill. You hear the babies crying and guns firing to silence them. It is beautiful that there are survivors of such horror. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Buchach    4. Historical - Holocaust    5. Holocaust    6. Holocaust survivors    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jews    9. Persecutions    10. Personal narratives    11. Ukraine    12. Women    13. History / Holocaust   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. General    4. Historical - Holocaust    5. History    6. History: World    7. Holocaust    8. Holocaust survivors    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. Jews    11. Mukacheve    12. Personal narratives    13. Ukraine    14. United States    15. Biography: general    16. Europe    17. The Holocaust    18. USA   

Reviews (9)

Outstanding Photo History
Rare is the book that provides pictures that are actually related to the text provided. Even rarer still are pictures that capture in sequence the entire event. Such is the case with this volume. From start to finish the reader is presented with a sequence of photographs that literally document aspects of the complete campaign for Kharkov in the winter of 1943.
Great Photo Book
Fabulous photos for students of the Eastern Front, Waffen-SS and modelers.What I found most interesting were the amounts of obsolete equipment (ie: Mk III tanks) used by this elite division.This certainly puts into question the acceptedtheory that the Waffen-SS received the latest equipment in quanity at the expense of the Heer (army).If this is the case, then it supports the notion that the men of the Waffen-SS were indeed superior soldiers.

Great Book
This is one of the best books on the subject, with many wonderfull pictures.I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in this division, or the SS in general. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Campaigns    2. Germany    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Kharkov, Battle of, Kharkiv, Ukraine, 1943    6. Military    7. Military - General    8. Military - World War II    9. Pictorial works    10. Regimental histories    11. SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandar    12. Soviet Union    13. Waffen-SS    14. World War, 1939-1945    15. European history: Second World War    16. Photographic reportage    17. Second World War, 1939-1945   

Reviews (7)

Good Facts, Bad Premise
This book covers the history of "Ukraine" from time immemorial until the late 20th century, laying out all the important dates andleaders. It is without doubt the most extensive and lucid English-language account of the development of regions and peoples which constitute today's Ukraine.
For anyone who wants to learn about this fascinating land
First published in 1988, Orest Subtelny's Ukraine: A History has again been newly updated in a third edition. This 736 page volume spans from the earliest times to the modern day, covering everything from ancient Greek colonization to the recent Ukraine diaspora. Orest Subtelny (Professor of History and Political Science at York University) goes into extreme depth and detail with a text that is significantly enhanced with maps, tables, and the occasional black-and-white photograph. Highly recommended for its lucidity, meticulous attention to detail, and scholarly precision, Ukraine: A History is a "must" for anyone who wants to learn about this fascinating land and its people.

Best Source for Ukrainian History
Mr. Subtelny's "Ukraine: A History" rates a notch above Mr. Magosci's. Well-written and very readable. This is the volume one reaches for when facts on the Ukrainian history are required. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - General    2. Europe - Former Soviet Republics    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Ukraine    8. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    9. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    10. History / Europe / Eastern    11. World history   

Reviews (28)

long live the memory of comrade Stalin!!!
The whole plenary hall arises. There are applause, prolonged applause. Shouts are heard. Long live comrade Stalin! Long live the great Stalin! Long live the esteemed and beloved Stalin! Long live Generalissimus Stalin!
Incentives matter
This book shows just how bad things can get when the realities of economics are ignored.When people have no incentive to produce, they will not produce.This is a message that I wish were better understood by those who persist in thinking that we can solve poverty by giving out handouts.

Informative, but a bit too academic
A very thorough account of the collectivization of farms in Ukraine and the resulting starvation of the families who grew the food that got shipped elsewhere by order of the communist authorities. It's a more heady and academic read than I would like, but certainly worthwhile as a history of that time and place. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Agriculture - General    2. Christianity - Theology - General    3. Collectivization of agricultur    4. Collectivization of agriculture    5. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    6. Famines    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: American    10. Religion    11. Soviet Union    12. Ukraine    13. European history: from c 1900 -    14. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    15. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)    16. History, World | Russia & Former Soviet Union   

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Civilization    3. Eastern Europe - General    4. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    5. History - General History    6. Lviv (Ukraine)    7. L§viv (Ukraine)    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    11. History / Europe / Eastern    12. Ukraine   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Comic books, strips, etc    7. Fine Arts    8. General    9. Historical - Holocaust    10. Holocaust    11. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    12. Jewish - General    13. Jews    14. Personal Memoirs    15. Personal narratives    16. Social conditions    17. Ukraine    18. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (11)

Topic best done by an outsider
Wilson covers a lot of ground and gives a good sense of the historical background and issues surrounding "what is a Ukrainian" without taking sides - something tough for a Russian, Ukrainian, or Pole to do.
Recent Historical Perspective
Although the book spans a long period of time, it provides the most useful detail on the post independence period that has had the most impact on the US and the world post Soviet Union.
Only one flaw, but an important one
This book is remarkable in that it avoided taking sides in the great nationalistic battle between Ukrainians, Russians, and Poles.It presents all the different theories about who the Ukrainians might be, whether they are or are not a typc of Russian, and whether their national aspirations are credible or not.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - General    2. Europe - Former Soviet Republics    3. General    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Colonization & independence    8. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    9. History / General    10. Ukraine   

Reviews (3)

interesting but incomplete
unfortunately, this book, with all of its very useful info, tells only the story of russian offesnsive in the south during winter 42/43 and of the rumyantsev operation in the summer of 43. It lacks the info about the southern and southwestern fronts offensive during summer 43, not mentioning the northern part of the theather. also missed the averall race to the dneper. Not an exhausting book. And the price is too high.

A balance of detail and readability unsurpassed
Glantz draws extensively, but not exclusively on Soviet sources, and gives detailed strategic and operational overview of the fighting in the Don area after Stalingrad. What I appreciated most was the detail in the perspective of situations facing the Germans and Russians, and where their planning differed in both time scale and flexibility. How Manstein managed to achieve a counteroffensive move whilst STAVKA still interpreted the moves as a withdrawl to the Dnepr is instructive. A very good and detailed account of Russian Front operations
"From the Don to the Dnepr" is a very detailed operational account, primarily from the Russian point of view, of offensive Soviet operations on the Southern Front in the period after the encirclement ofStalingrad to the post-Kursk offensive to retake Kharkov. Read more

Subjects:  1. Campaigns    2. Don River Region    3. Donets Basin (Ukraine and Russ    4. Donets Basin (Ukraine and Russia)    5. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    6. History    7. History - Military / War    8. History: World    9. Military - General    10. Military - World War II    11. Russia (Federation)    12. World War, 1939-1945    13. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    14. Political Science / International Security    15. Second World War, 1939-1945    16. War & defence operations    17. World history: Second World War   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Donets Basin (Ukraine and Russia)--History--19th century    6. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    7. European history: from c 1900 -    8. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)    9. Ukraine    10. World history   

Reviews (19)

First Hand Account
Excellent first hand account of the attempts of collectivization under Stalin; attempts that met with little or no success.I earned and received a Bachelor of Arts in History and this subject was never covered as well as it should have been.The "less hidden" Holocaust always seems to take center stage in this society.I became interested in the subject due to the flight of my paternal grandparents from the affected area prior to the full onslaught being felt.

A Personal Account of a Nationwide Murder
This book is a record of what some daily life was like in the Ukrainian villages during the Great Famine.
the holocaust that Hollywood will never acknowledge
When Hitler was asked about the possible negative consequences of the "final solution" in gassing all the remaining Jews in the world, he is reported to have responded by asking the question of "Who remembers the Armenians" who were killed by the "young Turks" at the end of the Ottoman Empire. While the numbers are in dispute, the reality is that over a million were killed outright or died of hunger during the campaign to exterminate the Armenians. But the real hidden holocaust took place over a decade later, when the Communist jackals running the "Evil Empire" in Moscow set about to eliminate the Ukrainians by systematic starvation, in far greater numbers than Hitler was able to accomplish with his ovens in concentration camps all over Europe.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Collectivization of agriculture    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. Famines    5. General    6. History - General History    7. Ukraine    8. Victims of famine    9. Dietetics & nutrition    10. Europe    11. European history: Second World War    12. Famine   

Reviews (3)

An introduction to Ukraine & the Orange Revolution
'Ukraine's Orange Revolution' was one of the first books written on the much publicized events of late 2004. Wilson does a wonderful job providing a brief history of Ukraine as well as setting the context for the inspiring events.
Taking the first steps toward true democracy
You'll be lucky if you can keep all the names straight, and the author provides plenty of them, but it's a good look behind the scenes of a modern, peaceful revolution. It can be a bit dry at times and the author's writing style and word usage sometimes left me curious as to exactly what he meant but push through it and you'll finish the book with a reasonable understanding of the challenges faced and overcome by people who wanted a new, responsive government. They've still got a lot of work ahead of them but let's hope they succeed.

Orange Revolution
Excellent analysis, must read to see the chaos that is now democracy in Ukraine ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Former Soviet Republics    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Political History    6. Demonstrations & protest movements    7. European history: from c 1900 -    8. History / General    9. Ukraine   

Reviews (3)

Well Told
A very well told memoir.Heartrending and yet uplifting.Certainly a different tale from many and adds more detail to this awful period.Very worthwhile reading.

A Miraculous Story of Survival
It's hard to imagine that a society could tolerate the killing of 6 million Jews.It's even harder to imagine how this happened only six decades ago.I have studied and read many Holocaust books, but I can not remember one that affected as deeply as Michael Jackson's memoir and story of survival in Head of the Line: A Holocaust Survivor's Memoir.Mr. Jackson not only recounts a personal tale, but he tells the story of European Jews prior to World War Two. His use of Yiddish reminded me of a language past that my grandparents spoke about.Mr. Jackson gives a first-hand account of growing up as a Jew in the Carpathian Mountain region of pre-World War II Czechoslovakia.He proudly recounts his days growing up surrounded by a large extended family that treasured life, religion and freedom.His memoir traces his journey through the Holocaust as he bore witness to the atrocities of the war and the destruction of his family.He tells his story of survival in detail, from his deportation from his home, to forced labor marches and slavery to Dachau and eventually America.It is through acts of unexplained miracles, courage and a strong will to survive that Mr. Jackson is able to share his story.In just a few years time, we will rely on books like Mr. Jackson's to teach and explain the Holocaust.It is from this memoir that I will teach my children and my children's children about the Holocaust. It is for that reason that I recommend this book. Mr. Jackson's memoir will forever remain on my bookshelf.

A Miraculous Story of Survival
It's hard to imagine that a society could tolerate the killing of 6 million Jews.It's even harder to imagine how this happened only six decades ago.I have studied and read many Holocaust books, but I can not remember one that affected as deeply as Michael Jackson's memoir and story of survival in Head of the Line: A Holocaust Survivor's Memoir.Mr. Jackson not only recounts a personal tale, but he tells the story of European Jews prior to World War Two. His use of Yiddish reminded me of a language past that my grandparents spoke about.Mr. Jackson gives a first-hand account of growing up as a Jew in the Carpathian Mountain region of pre-World War II Czechoslovakia.He proudly recounts his days growing up surrounded by a large extended family that treasured life, religion and freedom.His memoir traces his journey through the Holocaust as he bore witness to the atrocities of the war and the destruction of his family.He tells his story of survival in detail, from his deportation from his home, to forced labor marches and slavery to Dachau and eventually America.It is through acts of unexplained miracles, courage and a strong will to survive that Mr. Jackson is able to share his story.In just a few years time, we will rely on books like Mr. Jackson's to teach and explain the Holocaust.It is from this memoir that I will teach my children and my children's children about the Holocaust. It is for that reason that I recommend this book. Mr. Jackson's memoir will forever remain on my bookshelf. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography & Autobiography / Historical    4. Historical    5. Historical - Holocaust    6. History    7. Holocaust    8. Holocaust survivors    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1933-1945)    10. Jackson, Michael    11. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    12. Personal narratives    13. Religious    14. World War, 1939-1945    15. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    16. Jews    17. Torunʹ    18. Torunʹ (Ukraine)   

Reviews (4)

An Author With An Ax to Grind
In this work, Comrade Bogatyrev purports many times to relate the superstitions of Carpatho-Rusyns, yet most of his identified sources are Gypsies!He even insinuates that two child abusing customs are performed by Rusyns, yet the reference books he gives in the footnotes as sources for these practices reveal that the practices are from "Wedding Rites in Novgorod and Archangelsk," places where Rusyns do not live!He quotes Rusyn words asking God's blessing, and calls it "magic."He thinks that dressing a corpse for burial indicates belief that the deceased will use his clothing in the afterlife.He quotes a Rusyn as saying that nonsensical customs are just games and nonsense, then he claims that the peasant was "just saying that to appear progressive to a stranger."When peasants bring in sheaves of wheat for a Christmas decoration, and explain, "The gentry decorate a tree; we poor bring in wheat," Bogatyrev claims they do so to stimulate the wheat harvest by sympathetic magic.His disgusting portrayal of Rusyns as mindless primitives seems designed to set the stage for the Soviet genocide of the Rusyns in the 1940's, about 20 yrs. after this work first was published.

When Is a Title Not a Title?
I'm going to have to confess that I bought this book because of its title.I like to read and review vampire books, and believe that having some background knowledge can add some interest to a review.So I pulled the book down from the shelf, turned to one of the few pages in the book that actually contained the word vampire, and bought it.It was only when I started to reed it at home that I discovered that its real title is 'Magical Acts, Rites and Beliefs in Subcarpathian Rus.' The current title is an invention of either the translator's or the publisher.So, starting right out, the book loses a star for pretending it is what it is not. Rites and beliefs but NOT vampires
This book was originally published in French in 1929 with a title that translates as: Magical Acts, Rites, and Beliefs in Subcarpathian Rus'. The title Vampires in the Carpathians was added for this 1998 Englishtranslation and is really misleading. The last two chapters: "Funerals" and"Apparitions and Supernatural Beings" do make passing references tovampires, but focus mostly on other spirits. So if you are looking for abook on vampires, look elsewhere. What little is said about vampires willbe only of interest to the serious scholar who needs to know every possiblereference in the literature.The original title, which is the currentsubtitle, is a much more accurate description of what this book is about.However, Bogatyrev spends over 35 pages talking about his researchmethodology which he calls the synchronic method. Unless this is what youreally want to learn about, I advise you skip the Introduction andConclusion.His methodology is that he tells us what the ritual means tothe people performing it at that time. He does not try to draw inferencesback in time or determine origins. He just "tells it like it is" or, inthiscase, as it was back in the 1920's. What results is veryunsatisfying. He tells you a ritual and what it means in village X, thentells you that in village Y they do the same thing, but have no idea why.Then, he relates that in village Z they don't do this at all. He goesthrough the whole religious calendar relating quaint old customs attachedto each religious holiday, then does the same for rituals attached tobirths, weddings and funerals. We owe this author a debt of gratitude fordocumenting this snapshot of Carpathian village life. English-speakingfolklore scholars will be glad to have access to this work and Americans ofRusyn descent may finally understand what crazy rituals and customs drovetheir grandparents to leave this rustic corner of Central Europe for theUSA and Canada. On the plus side, this is an excellent translation and thebiography of Bogatyrev is engaging. Not for any but the most dedicatedreaders. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - General    2. Festivals    3. Folklore & Mythology    4. General    5. History - General History    6. Holidays (non religious)    7. Rites and ceremonies    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. Superstition    11. Ukraine    12. Zakarpats§ka oblast§    13. Anthropology    14. Customs    15. Folklore    16. Hungary   

Reviews (8)

We didn't know that death could be so beautiful...
says an evacuee in Voices of Chernobyl, an absolutely riveting collection of oral histories ofpeople from all walks of life, affected for eternity by the nuclear accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor on April 26, 1986."A Solitary Human Voice," the prologue, recounted by a woman whose husband was one of the first on the scene as a firefighter, will lure you in and, once there, you'll feel compelled to continue to the end, painful as it may be.She's pregnant, newly married and very much in love when she hears the news.The doctors and nurses and try to no avail to keep her away from her husband once he's done his duty at the plant and then sent to a special hospital in Moscow for victims of radiation poisoning, along with six other firemen. Her baby dies.Her husband dies, horribly, the last of the seven of his crew.
Insight To Nuclear Power Disaster on Real Lives of Byelorussians
This is a must read for all those who keep hearing our president say nuclear power is "safe and clean."The liquidator, one of about 700,000 who came to "clean up" Chernobyl, who burned all his clothes and gave his little son the hat he had worn -- and his son developed a brain tumor; all the disbelief about the danger of radioactivity, that the people could not see or taste; the forest that turned orange from the reactor fire at Chernobyl; all the secrecy about the area and the secret reports; 200,000 abortions in Byeloruss in just 1993 alone, as claimed [not mentioned whether/how many were spontaneous and how many were medical procedures -- nevertheless, no one wants a deformed child, and the area is contaminated for at least 300-600 years because of the cesium to start with, cesium having a "half life" of 30 years, and a "hazardous life" of 300-600 years) by one teacher; the physicist who wrote everything down, the belief that nuclear power could make something out of nothing, nuclear engineers the elite of scientists with the most perks and pay; all of this coming down with the apocalyptic Chernobyl accident of April 26, 1986.Premature deaths and cancers probably running into the hundreds of thousands.Read this book.Just about each vignette/voice is very personal, touching, informative, and very important.Especially to the power hungry who care not for the truth, and what can happen with ANY nuclear power plant.
EXCELLENT
This is a must read for anyone and everyone.It brings to life the realities of a horrible disaster.It shows us that the rest of world has bigger problems than we do.Yet, it shows that the rest of the world has the same souls as we do.they love, they hurt, they cry, they live their lives and just try to get by.GET THIS BOOK. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Belarus    2. Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chornobyl§, Ukraine, 1986    3. Environmental aspects    4. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    5. General    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Modern - 20th Century/Nuclear Age    10. Personal narratives, Belarusian    11. Politics / Current Events    12. Social aspects    13. World - General    14. Biography: general    15. Environmental impact of radiation    16. Social history    17. Social impact of environmental issues    18. Ukraine    19. c 1980 to c 1990