Book Description
Bit by bit, the ravages of age are eroding Marina's grip on the everyday. An elderly Russian woman now living in America, she cannot hold on to fresh memories—the details of her grown children's lives, the approaching wedding of her grandchild—yet her distant past is miraculously preserved in her mind's eye.
Vivid images of her youth in war-torn Leningrad arise unbidden, carrying her back to the terrible fall of 1941, when she was a tour guide at the Hermitage Museum and the German army's approach signaled the beginning of what would be a long, torturous siege on the city. As the people braved starvation, bitter cold, and a relentless German onslaught, Marina joined other staff members in removing the museum's priceless masterpieces for safekeeping, leaving the frames hanging empty on the walls to symbolize the artworks' eventual return. As the Luftwaffe's bombs pounded the proud, stricken city, Marina built a personal Hermitage in her mind—a refuge that would stay buried deep within her, until she needed it once more. . . .
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One of the most talked about books of the year . . . Bit by bit, the ravages of age are eroding Marina's grip on the everyday. And while the elderly Russian woman cannot hold on to fresh memories -- the details of her grown children's lives, the approaching wedding of her grandchild -- her distant past is preserved: vivid images that rise unbidden of her youth in war-torn Leningrad.
In the fall of 1941, the German army approached the outskirts of Leningrad, signaling the beginning of what would become a long and torturous siege. During the ensuing months, the city's inhabitants would brave starvation and the bitter cold, all while fending off the constant German onslaught. Marina, then a tour guide at the Hermitage Museum, along with other staff members, was instructed to take down the museum's priceless masterpieces for safekeeping, yet leave the frames hanging empty on the walls -- a symbol of the artworks' eventual return. To hold on to sanity when the Luftwaffe's bombs began to fall, she burned to memory, brushstroke by brushstroke, these exquisite artworks: the nude figures of women, the angels, the serene Madonnas that had so shortly before gazed down upon her. She used them to furnish a ""memory palace,"" a personal Hermitage in her mind to which she retreated to escape terror, hunger, and encroaching death. A refuge that would stay buried deep within her, until she needed it once more. . . .
Seamlessly moving back and forth in time between the Soviet Union and contemporary America, The Madonnas of Leningrad is a searing portrait of war and remembrance, of the power of love, memory, and art to offer beauty, grace, and hope in the face of overwhelming despair. Gripping, touching, and heartbreaking, it marks the debut of Debra Dean, a bold new voice in American fiction.
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Customer Reviews:
A Docent's Take.......2007-10-09
I work as a docent at two museums, so this book had a particularly strong impact on me. As a devoted lover of fine art and literature, and never having realized my lifelong dream of visiting the Hermitage, I found this book satisfying and moving on so many levels. A beautifully written tale of human courage and sacrifice, of beauty and horror intertwined, The Madonnas of Leningrad is a touching, aching testament to the human spirit. I'm now looking forward even more eagerly to my own next opportunities to bring the beauty of art and the human drama it represents to the visitors on my own tours!
Loved it! And the madonnas were not only in the paintings........2007-09-09
Someone may already have pointed this out, but isn't part of the point of the shifting timescape the fact that this is what happens in Alzheimer's? One minute you're there, and the next, you're not? Or you're somewhere else? I found the author's use of time-shifting extremely effective. In addition, I thought her blending of Marina's lives (for lack of a better word) was handled with delicacy and skill. The way she came back, at the end, to Marina's sweet attempt to "show her rescuer the world" was, in my mind, exquisitely done and very poignant. Marina had several worlds--some real, some imagined--all along. I am fortunate to have some knowledge of Russian history and the siege of Leningrad, but that certainly is not a requirement for enjoying the narrative. I thought this book was terrific--my favorite summer read. Highly recommended.
disappointment.......2007-09-09
I totally agree with Electra Wilson's review. The book was definitely not what I had expected. I know St. Petersburg quite well and bought the book because I was intrigued by its title. What I had hoped for was a typically Russian story but unfortunately I could not find the Russian soul in it anywhere. It should have been entitled "the war-time experience of an Alzheimer's patient." War is horrific in any setting, and Debra Dean made it Leningrad by mentioning a few monuments and streets and by choosing Russian names for her characters. But which authentically Russian "babushka" would worship a foreign painting, even in times of extreme hardship? She would perhaps have a time-worn picture of an ikon folded up in her pocket that she would take out and look at once in a while when times got hard. Marina's reunion with Dmitri after the war is also extremely far-fetched. What are the odds she would accidentally run into him on the street in another country? And what ultimately happened to the children Mikhail and Tatiana? There is no tying up loose ends and the story becomes totally unsatisfactory. If you love Russia, and especially St. Petersburg, like I do, skip the book.
Beautiful and thought-provoking.......2007-09-05
It is rare to find a book so carefully crafted and so hauntingly beautiful.
If you're looking for a book that you will think about as you go about your daily life, this is it. [And I must confess that I spent my share of time googling the paintings Marina describes.]
"joy or grief, eventually they are inseparable".......2007-09-01
_The Madonnas of Leningrad_ shows us the world through the eyes of a survivor of the seige of Leningrad, both as it was happening to Marina in 1941, and as it was remembered by an 82 year-old Marina suffering from Alzheimer's. It is a heart-breakingly beautiful story, as Dean vividly describes not only the magnificence of the Hermitage (and its artwork), but also the struggles Marina faces as both a young woman and a crone.
I was particularly struck by the way Dean allowed me to see through the eyes of a woman with Alzheimer's - what Marina's husband, daughter, or construction workers saw as nonsensical, was, in fact, logical to what was going on in Marina's mind. The ebb and flow between time and place, the gradual loss of ones self, and the child-like wonder of someone suffering from dementia were humanely portrayed. Recommended.
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- Brilliant
- Floating Cities
- A savant at work!
- The Wrong Description
- The Wrong Description
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Floating Cities: Venice, Amsterdam, Leningrad-And Moscow
Stephen Wiltshire
Manufacturer: Summit Books
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Binding: Hardcover
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Customer Reviews:
Brilliant.......2002-08-09
Stephen Wiltshire's pen and ink drawings are fantastic. He captures each subject perfectly and in incredible detail...sometimes having only seen the subject for a few minutes. Incredible drawings made even more incredible by the fact that Stephen is autistic.
Floating Cities.......2001-11-30
Reading this book was an inspiration.The intricate detail and elegance of each drawing is breath-taking.
As an autistic individual he is able to capture the beauty an essence that a normal person with their eye would not see.
His work seems effortless, and takes him no time to do at all, but yet he is a perfectionist, right down to the last detail.
I am not an art critic, but certainly now I do appreciate the architecture that surrounds me and realize how beautiful it really is, and although Autism is not really understood and how it is actually caused.
Stephen, no matter what level of autism he seems to possess, he has truly mastered and captured the gracefullness of each buillding that he draws.
In a word he is an "Artistic, Autistic Genius."
A savant at work!.......2001-05-06
This man's pictures have to be seen to be believed. Stephen Wiltshire actually is Autistic,operating on a six year old level for most of his adult life. He has a very rare talent of being able to visually process all that he sees and reproduce these images on paper. I have seen him on a TV show being flown around London on a helicopter and reproducing a image of 4 square miles, including 11 London landmarks and over 600 buildings with perfect perspective and scale in less than three hours.
This book has to be appreciated for what it is, a work of a genius!
The Wrong Description.......2000-06-24
I agree that this is not the correct description of the book. Floating cities is actually a series of drawings done by a young english autistic boy. They are absolutely fantastic renditions of famous buildings, made more incredible by the fact that Stephen himself has this overwhelming disability, and many of them were done by memory. This book will make you realise that disabilities are by no means disabling, and can open up worlds unaccessable to the rest of society.
The Wrong Description.......2000-06-24
I agree that this is not the correct description of the book. Floating cities is actually a series of drawings done by a young english autistic boy. They are absolutely fantastic renditions of famous buildings, made more incredible by the fact that Stephen himself has this overwhelming disability, and many of them were done by memory. This book will make you realise that disabilities are by no means disabling, and can open up worlds unaccessable to the rest of society.
Book Description
This is the remarkable story of a German soldier who fought throughout World War II, rising from conscript private to captain of a heavy weapons company on the Eastern Front. William Lubbeck, age 19, was drafted into the Wehrmacht in August 1939. As a member of the 58th Infantry Division, he received his baptism of fire during the 1940 invasion of France. The following spring his division served on the left flank of Army Group North in Operation Barbarossa. After grueling marches admidst countless Russian bodies, burnt-out vehicles, and a great number of cheering Baltic civilians, Lubbeck's unit entered the outskirts of Leningrad, making the deepest penetration of any German formation. The Germans suffered brutal hardships the following winter as they fought both Russian counterattacks and the brutal cold. The 58th Division was thrown back and forth across the front of Army Group North, from Novgorod to Demyansk, at one point fighting back Russian attacks on the ice of Lake Ilmen. Returning to the outskirts of Leningrad, the 58th was placed in support of the Spanish "Blue" Division. Relations between the allied formations soured at one point when the Spaniards used a Russian bath house for target practice, not realizing that Germans were relaxing inside. A soldier who preferred to be close to the action, Lubbeck served as forward observer for his company, dueling with Russian snipers, partisans and full-scale assaults alike. His worries were not confined to his own safety, however, as news arrived of disasters in Germany, including the destruction of Hamburg where his girlfriend served as an Army nurse. In September 1943, Lubbeck earned the Iron Cross First Class and was assigned to officers' training school in Dresden. By the time he returned to Russia, Army Group North was in full-scale retreat. Now commanding his former heavy weapons company, Lubbeck alternated sharp counterattacks with inexorable withdrawal, from Riga to Memel on the Baltic. In April 1945 Lubbeck's company became stalled in a traffic jam and was nearly obliterated by a Russian barrage followed by air attacks. In the last chaotic scramble from East Prussia, Lubbeck was able to evacuate on a newly minted German destroyer. He recounts how the ship arrived in the British zone off Denmark with all guns blazing against pursuing Russians. The following morning, May 8, 1945, he learned that the war was over. After his release from British captivity, Lubbeck married his sweetheart, Anneliese, and in 1949 immigrated to the United States where he raised a successful family. With the assistance of David B. Hurt, he has drawn on his wartime notes and letters, Soldatbuch, regimental history and personal memories to recount his four years of frontline experience. Containing rare firsthand accounts of both triumph and disaster, At Leningrad's Gates provides a fascinating glimpse into the reality of combat on the Eastern Front. REVIEWS "... first person account is by William Lubbeck who was drafted in August 1939 and then served through the end of the war in 1945 in the regular German Army. .... detail abounds the book....The combat descriptions give you a taste of Eastern Front warfare.Lubbeck of the 154th Infantry Regiment / 58th Division gives you a shell-hole eye view of events as he works his way up the ranks and goes from victory to victory and then from defeat to defeat....I give Lubbeck credit for touching on the subject of atrocities from the viewpoint of the front line soldier.." Russ Lockwood MagWeb.com (Magazine Web)
Customer Reviews:
A very personal story.......2007-07-04
Lubbeck tells his personal story of war and survival throughout his stint in Army Group North. Many personal anecdotes are set forth in this story, together with more general recollections of combat and military operations. His story of post-war survival and eventual emigration to the US is moderately interesting and fits into the overall theme of this book. The reader comes to know Lubbeck and his family and friends in a way that is somewhat unique in books of this genre. An easy and good read.
About much more then the war........2007-07-01
This book is not just about William Lubbecks experiences in the German army but about his family life before and after the war. He goes in depth about the hardships his family endured before during and after the Nazi's took power. After the read you really do feel like you know the man and his family. His experiences in the German army take you from the invasion of France on into the out skirts of Leningrad. His battle field descriptions are well written but do not expect them to be action packed like a lot of other books. I really enjoyed how he made it more then just a book about the war but about hardships before and after the it. He speaks a lot about Germany after the war and the horrible life many of the people were forced into behind iron curtain. A great book written by a great man.
Mother of all reviews........2007-06-26
The prevailing sentimentality here may be expected from the "specialty" reader. You won't drive 50 miles to meet a Treblinka survivor or a Russian who was almost starved to death in Leningrad. They are not cool. Congratulations on finding your hero.
Excellent read on the Eastern Front Experience.......2007-06-22
I'm only a little over half way through this book but have found it to be one of the best I have read so far on the subject matter. The very frank and personal viewpoint is a nice departure from other books that focus primarily on unit movements, high level strategies, and the viscera of combat.
Occasionally i do wish for more details. the book feels like it could have been longer without suffering loss of readability, but that is no real distraction. The text is very well written and flows easily, you really get the sense you're getting to know the author.
I too was very surprised to find out i live in the same area as Mr Lubbeck. Actually had the chance to speak with him the other day. He was very cordial and forgiving of my somewhat broken attempts at German.
This book is a good reminder that there are two sides to every conflict, and to fully understand historical events, we need to examine and consider both of them.
The Best Eastern Front Memoir Thus Far..........2007-03-28
Of the many accounts of German soldiers' experiences of combat on the Eastern Front published in recent years, "At Leningrad's Gates" is by far the best to date. Not only is this an extremely interesting and well written memoir of combat experience with Army Group North in the campaigns around Leningrad and the retreat back into Germany, "At Leningrad's Gates" also details the difficulties Lubbecke's family faced living in Nazi Germany and after the war under Soviet domination in East Germany. Wilhelm Lubbecke emigrated with his wife and young son first to Canada and then to the United States after the war. Because of this his memoir is unique in that it not only views World War II from the perspective of a German citizen and soldier, but also from the point of view of an American who spent half of his life living, working and raising his children here in America.
Customer Reviews:
Words of old..........2004-01-16
The Leningrad Codex (so named because it was housed in a museum in Leningrad, when it was Leningrad) is the oldest complete codex of the Hebrew Bible -- a codex being a book form, as opposed to scrolls; the other existing ancient codex, the Aleppo Codex, has a few sections missing; it may be older, but the incomplete nature (especially as it is missing part of the Torah) make its use limited. The same is not true for the Leningrad Codex -- for a thousand year old book, it is remarkably complete. Comparison of modern Hebrew Bibles to this text helps to highlight textual transmission validity and authenticity; other texts of the Hebrew Bible through the first millennium of the common era are incomplete or in fragments; the Dead Sea Scrolls, apart from being scrolls and not in codex or book form, date from pre-canonical times.
The Leningrad Codex is a big book, meant for public use. It is ornamented, with thick white parchment pages, and unusually has the wording of the text vocalised (Hebrew is generally written without vowel or vocalisation marks). In addition to the text of the Hebrew Bible, it includes an introductory section that dates the manuscript (to roughly 1008 to 1010), and places it as originating in Cairo, a city which at that point still had a significant Jewish and Christian community. The conclusion has Masoretic lists and a few poems, one by Moshe ben-Asher, and one by the scribe of this text, Shemu'el ben-Ya'aqob.
This is a photo-plate edition of the entire text, largely in black-and-white high resolution plates, with additional full-colour plates of carpet pages and a few text pages to give a sense of the natural colouration of the regular parchment pages. This edition was filmed in 1990 by a team from the University of Southern California, experts in the task of ancient document photography. The importance of preservation of this document cannot be overstated; given insecurities in all parts of the world, but particularly the former Soviet lands, rare and valuable items are vulnerable. This is a standard document against which later Hebrew Bibles are measured; it is an important milestone in the path of development of the texts.
There are nearly 1000 picture plates in this text, which include the front cover and backpiece of the book. The photography is so clear that the fading of one page onto the next or the bleed-through from the backside can clearly be seen; the photographs are not retouched for this purpose. All are in Hebrew. As this is a photographic reproduction, there are no textual notes, footnotes or other inserted text as a guide -- what you see is what you get.
This is not a book for the average Bible reader. Even more advanced biblical scholars will likely not need or come across this text. However, for those whose study requires comparison of texts, study of transmission and integrity of the text, this is a very worthwhile text. It is one that would make a fine gift to the libraries of churches, synagogues, seminaries and religious schools. It is a massive book, one that would look good on a lectern or on display in a museum or library. Even the facsimile copy is a work of art.
A Stunning Book for anyone in Theological Studies should own.......2003-05-08
This book is truly Cherished. When I was doing my undergrad studies alol my professors got jealous of my owning this book. This is the Oldest Full connon of the Tenach, The Hebrew Bible. There are fantastic folio pages of rich colour. Whether you are a Jew, Muslim, or Christian this is an important text in terms of Biblical Scholarship. The only warning that I would give is learn Hebrew before obtaining or else you will be frustrated as 99 44/100% of the book is written in Hebrew. Every Synagogue and Church Library would be greatly enhanced in adding this very important text. Even Sunday School teachers would be blessed owning this book. I am in Seminary now and find that I use this book on a regular basis. I know that this book is rather on the pricey side, but it is a truly once in a lifetime purchase. This is a book to be used, loved, and adored. I hope that this review has been Helpful. Baruch HaShem Yeshua HaMashiach
The most important text in hundreds of years.......2000-06-26
As a theological student I was overwhelmed the first time I saw this book. Now that I own my own copy, I have come to appreciate it even more -- especially since I can actually READ it now rather than simply look at it.
Access is a must for serious biblical scholars. After all, why do we learn biblical Hebrew -- in order to read the Bible in its original language. Though the Biblia Herbrica is a faithful text, why should we rely on anything but the oldest available complete text?
The introductory historical notes and additional notations are invaluable as well. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK IN MY LIBRARY and probably will continue to be for many years.
Not as overwhelmed by margins as I said :)).......2000-04-03
I wish to apologize about my bluffingly account about the margins of this book.
In the previous review I wished to rate this book 4.5 stars, which i couldn't, and now I rate it 5 stars so that it averages to 4.5 stars.
You'll find the margins are not as wide as I said in the criticism below. Actually the whole margin area is barely the same as the text area. Margin of the original codex + a little margin of the photography + margin around the photo adds up to as wide as the area occupied by the text.
The reason that the black-and-white photo gets darker than the color plates might be that the photo films are less sensitive to yellow than to blue. Since the parchment leaves are somewhat tinted in light yellow, the photocopy couldn't help appearing darker than it actually is.
If I could make touch with the publishers, I would like to advise them to use special film more sensitive to yellow light when they make the revision.
At least good for decoration of your book-shelf :).......2000-02-11
I'm quite cynical the most time, so you could regard the book better than what I describe. This twice as heavy as is necessary photo-copy of a millenium-old manuscript on parchment pages, with the signature of the proof-reader, is at least good for the decoration of your book-shelf. It's beautiful! The good points of this book are mentioned by other readers so I'm going to point out the bad ones.
The text pages are photographed in black-and-white, which diminishes the readability - compared with the color plates of the masoretic rules. The photo itself seems not to be taken in the optimal ambient light. Yes, you can distinguish every corner of the characters from the parchment background. But the contrast is quite week at many of the pages.
And the area of each page is three- or four times as wide than the area occupied by the text itself. This makes the book at least twice as heavy as it would be necessary - be careful not to crush your toes or fingers! But it might be regarded to be good if you have a lot to write in on the margins. Or the margins could be regarded as good protection of the text; This facsimile edition could last another millenium.
Customer Reviews:
Informative, Readable, Superb.......2007-02-26
This gripping narrative looks at the horrific siege of Leningrad from 1941-1944. Author Harrison Salisbury opens by examining Soviet Russia on the eve of the June, 1941 invasion - when commanders that suspected a German attack dared not prepare and risk the wrath of Stalin. Then the author describes the invasion, the approach of Nazi tank columns, and the surrounding of Leningrad's 2.5 million residents (and 500,000 defenders) at the end of August, 1941. Readers learn of the city's leadership, its battered but defiant defenders, and Stalin's machinations. The author devotes many chapters to the horrific winter of 1941-1942, when the besieged city ran out of food and coal. Imagine trying to survive on daily food rations of a few ounces of bread, in a frozen city with no heat or electricity, and with German bombs and shells falling daily. Dogs, cats, and birds disappeared into frying pans, and brave truckers brought in some supplies over a frozen Lake Lagoda, but over 250,000 civilians died of starvation during that first winter. After describing that horrific first winter, the author bascially fast forwards to the massive Russian offensive in January of 1944 that ended the siege. Then he concludes with a brief post-war epilogue that mentions survivors, rebuilding, and Stalin's brutal purge of the city's leadership.
Journalist Harrison Salisbury (1908-1993) wrote readable prose that almost makes us feel as if we're inside Leningrad during the siege. His book does need better maps - even with a handy atlas I couldn't locate every town and river mentioned. Still this is gripping history, considered by some as definitive, and well worth your time. Readers might also enjoy many of the author's other works on Russia, China, etc.
the 900 days; .......2006-11-14
Having made 2 trips to
St. Petersburg in the past 3 years, both guides highly recommended this book. It is incredibly well written, both the background leading up to the atack as well as the hardships over the next 2+ years. The fortitude and heroism portrayed give a much better understanding of the Russian people and what they endured.
Superb example of how history should be written.......2006-10-17
Salisbury gave us a monumental work of history: not just in scope, but in depth. This is a book which entwines the epic story with the human story, basing both on the kind of scholarship too few writers are dedicated enough to accomplish. I wrote a well-received history on the early satellites (The First Space Race, Texas A&M, 2004) which I was proud of, but I can't resist the feeling that Salisbury did as much research for every chapter as I did for an entire book.
As always with a well-written history, there are lessons which are important for our own times. The most striking example comes at the beginning of the book, where the reader learns the German invasion of Russia was anything but the complete surprise Russan leaders claimed it was. The German preperations were too large to hide, and all kinds of intelligence, even exact dates, made it into the briefings given to the Russian leadership. But Stalin had his own view of the way things were, and anything to the contrary was ignored or disparaged. The Russians were also victimized by a system in which initiative was dangerous: military and civilian officials who read the tea leaves and tried to take some preparatory action on their own were slapped down. Salisbury shows us, in sometimes-agonizing detail, how these factors resulted in what may have been the most brutal, dehumanizing, and costly battle in history. I agree with some other reviewers that more maps and photographs would be useful, but that's a minor quibble.
This book is a breathtaking achivement.
Surviving the Deadliest Battle in Human History.......2006-09-02
If "war is hell," as General Sherman said, then at the innermost circle of hell you'll find the 900-day siege of Leningrad (now renamed St. Petersburg). It was, by all accounts, the deadliest battle in human history. More than 300,000 Soviet soldiers perished, plus uncounted thousands of Germans. Inside the blockade zone, an estimated 1.2 million civilians slowly starved to death as Hitler and Stalin used the city like a giant chess piece on the Eastern Front.
The late Harrison Salisbury captured this epic struggle better than anyone else in "The 900 Days," a book every student of 20th century history should read at least once. He begins the story with Leningrad at peace during the balmy "white nights" of June 1941. Culture is flourishing throughout the city. Composers, writers, musicians and artists are busy at work. Families are vacationing on the Baltic coast. Meanwhile, Stalin and his minions are in a massive state of denial about the coming Nazi assault, despite dozens of warnings and signs.
After the first few fascinating chapters, "The 900 Days" can be slow going as Salisbury details the military intrigue and paranoia that decimated the Soviet leadership in the years leading up to the siege, which yielded tragic consequences for Russian defenses in 1941 and 1942. If you're primarily interested in the human side of the story, skip to Part IV on page 393.
The emotional core of this book is the immense civilian catastrophe that took place during the 2.5 year siege. Despite heroic attempts by local citizens and Young Communist brigades, the city became a slow-motion killing zone without nearly enough food, fuel or even fresh water to sustain the population. People resorted to the most desperate and barbaric measures to stay alive. (Warning: Not for children or the squeamish.) Compassion and brutality roamed the streets simultaneously.
Ultimately, the siege was broken in January 1944, but not before Leningrad was largely destroyed. Stalin gets much of the blame for failing to evacuate more civilians earlier on. But the real lesson of "The 900 Days" is that human suffering has no limit in times of war. Let's not forget that before we start another one.
Final note: This book is relatively short on maps, photos and diagrams. Some courageous publisher should republish the book with a complete set of photos from the period, many of which are available at the St. Petersburg library.
Good, but something missing.......2006-02-21
The first part of the book is fantastic in its description of the time leading up to Barbarossa, the simple shock the Soviets had and the almost refusal to believe by Stalin.
The first half of the book I would give 5 stars. The detail is almost overwhelming. If one is not familiar with cyrilic and has at least a rough grasp of the Russian language, it is very difficult to keep all the names of generals, party officials, and city administrators separated. A few more maps would have been better, to help the reader get a better grasp of the situation described. I constantly found myslef going back to the maps at the beginning, trying to figure out specifics, and giving up because many of the places mentioned in the text were not on the map. However, the portrayal of the Soviet military structure is vivid and gives one a good image of what happened. The description of the Tallinn disaster was exceptionally good. The first half resembles the 25 years he spent researching the events.
The second half of the book is lacking. The description of the starvation is very gruesome and disturbing, which is accurate historically. The timeline, which is fairly orderly at the beginning, takes a nose dive about half way through. Here, it seems that Salisbary was finding new information as he wrote the book, and including it. Therefore, events are presented in random order. Then the book just stops, and says that the city was still in blockade and then the war was over.
Some of the other reviewers have accurately described the over emphasis on the plight of writers, poets, and playwrights. The ordinary citizen is not represented, nor is the average soldier given adequate attention.
The German side of the engagement is almost non-existant. Beevor's book on Stalingrad is much better at describing the events. But as for Leningrad, Salisbary's book is still the best I have read on the subject.
Average customer rating:
- Opening the past and the mind of Joseph Brodsky
- Through His Glasses, Face to Face
- Photographic masterpieces
- remarkable book
- Lemkhin's photography replies to Brodsky's verse.
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Joseph Brodsky, Leningrad: Fragments
Susan Sontag , and
Czeslaw Mitosz
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus Giroux
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Customer Reviews:
Opening the past and the mind of Joseph Brodsky.......2002-11-10
JOSEPH BRODSKY, LENINGRAD: FRAGMENTS succeeds on every level. For those not familiar with Brodsky's brilliant poetry I would recommend that you spend time with WATERMARKS, his tribute to the city of Venice, before coming to this book. Once the gentle subtleties of his poetry are in mind, then spending time perusing this pictorial essay of Brodsky's face and the scenes of Leningrad (the old name for St. Petersburg is used because that was the city's Soviet name used when Brodsky lived there) will form a complete picture of this amazing expatriate. Mikhail Lemkhin addresses not only the pictorial influences on the poet, but also adds some words of wisdom. The tribute at the end of the photographs, in some of Sunsan Sonntag's most eloquent writing, is a fitting closure to this very lovely book. Highly recommended.
Through His Glasses, Face to Face.......2000-06-20
If an appreciation of the personal perspective of the poet can deepen the experience of his words, then Lemkhin's photographic tribute to Brodsky's beloved home belongs on our bookshelves alongside the poetry books and essays of the Nobel laureate. Except for an intimate foreword by Milosz, a moving afterword by Sontag, and brief postnotes in which Lemkhin provides background details on several of the images, the message of this book is delivered entirely through black-and-white images. The voice of those visions comes through most clearly when one imagines viewig through the eyes of the poet himself, not only in the streets and the statues, the skies and the stories of Leningrad, but in the mirror of the close-up snapshots of Brodsky himself placed throughout the collection of pictures. Even the mediocre artistic quality of some of the individual snapshots can be forgiven as the soft footsteps of the poet can be heard stepping through his own lines in the movement of these deeply personal worlds of his own home.
Photographic masterpieces.......1999-08-10
I greatly enjoyed the two books by Mikhail Lemkhin: "Missing Frames" and "Fragments". I am especially moved by portraits. There is something about the portraits that make them very different from most others. The pictures are not posed, but don't seem to be too candid either. I get the impression that the subject is aware of the photographer, but is not posing for him, at least not physically. It is as if the subject is exposing his/her inner soul to the camera. The photographs work, in deeply satisfying way, very well. I know I will look at them again and again.
remarkable book.......1999-08-02
Mikhail Lemkhin's book is a book in the fullest sense: not an album of exquisite photo studies, but a composition which transcribes a train of thought. The pages roll like clouds across the sky: Look, this is what we cherished in our lives, this is what happens to people, to stone, to memory, thanks to a little acid rain, that most noiseless rain, they call it - `time`. This is an experience of the `literature of silence`. Like a telepathic séance. The Covetous Knight's soliloquy over a chest of devaluated bank notes. Poor Knight! Over a hundred shots taken at the speed of 1/100 - in all, why that's just around a second! Someone else's story, made up mostly of the same things or signs as mine or yours, only linked in a different way to yield a personal fate. In particular, or rather, most importantly, it included a City which inspired a dream about the meaning of existence, and a Contemporary who succeeded in rendering the tonality of that meaning. But the second has passed, having absorbed almost all that could be held dear. The light wanes. The sound is off. And a question arises: Out of that which man has lost forever, is there anything that he possesses for eternity? The gaze, seasoned with peppery essence of silver, shows irony, pain, and tenderness.
Samuil Lurie, Neva Magazine (St.Petersburg, Russia)
Lemkhin's photography replies to Brodsky's verse........1998-11-25
Photography informs the poetics of Joseph Brodsky, photographer's son and himself no novice to the camera. Mikhail Lemkhin's double homage to the recently deceased poet and the city of his -- and Lemkhin's -- birth should be thought of as photography's own reply to Brodsky. Lemkhin calls his _Joseph Brodsky, Leningrad_ a photo-poem; to this one might only add that it is a particularly Brodskian photo-poem -- Brodskian not in its type of montage but in its predilection for montage, not in its sensibility but in the realities it conveys. To imitate Brodsky is to traduce Brodsky. Lemkhin understands that Brodsky's prime legacy is intellectual independence; his photography engages Brodsky's poetry rather than illustrates it, works with, rather than within, its visual counterparts of Brodsky's speech. The end-result belongs on the bookshelf as much as it does on the coffee-table.
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The Palaces of Leningrad
Audrey Kennett
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0500240876 |
Book Description
The complete 8-year curriculum of Lenningrad's famed Vaganova Choreographic School, which trained Nureyev, Baryshnikov and Markova, including over 100 photographs. A volume which no teacher, scholar or student of the dance can afford to miss. "A serious, indeed indispensable, textbook." -Clive Barnes
Customer Reviews:
The best book to teach classical ballet by.......2007-05-14
I'm a former dancer and a classical ballet teacher now. This book is a Ballet bible among my colleagues who teach classical ballet.
Fabulous!.......2007-03-17
I cannot say enough good things about this book. I studied ballet for about twelve years when I was young and was asked to offer a ballet club in my school in the fall. This book lays out, class by class, how to train young dancers effectively. Included are photographs of correct positions and technique so even though my own is a little rusty I am able to show my students illustrations of what they will hope to achieve especially since my turn out has never been that great. I am happy to say that the class attracted boys as well as girls in my inner-city school and that a few of the children have convinced their parents to enroll them in a dance school due to their diligence and the interest they demonstrated in the ballet club.
irreplaceble resourse.......2007-02-19
Was delighted to find this fine book on classical ballet.
My daughter is an aspiring ballerina and drinks this book.
101 Lssons in Classical Ballet.......2002-11-17
It is helpful to someone who is learning the Voganova system so you can see what you will learn and review what you have already been thaught. In this book it will show you what you will learn an example is a portde bra.
Great book.......2001-10-10
This book is very good about giving ideas on what to teach from the beginning ballet technique up to advanced levels. From the ideas one can formulate a class and know that it follows a syllabus and will develop the student appropriately. It is a good book to use as a guide and I recommend it for that.
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Siege of Leningrad (World at War)
R. Conrad Stein
Manufacturer: Childrens Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding
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ASIN: 0516047736 |
Books:
- The Oath: A Surgeon Under Fire
- The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another
- The Pastry Queen: Royally Good Recipes from the Texas Hill Country's Rather Sweet Bakery & Cafe
- The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power
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- The Rommel Papers (Da Capo Paperback)
- The Russian Army of the Crimean War 1854-56 (Men-at-Arms)
- The Things They Carried
- The Tiger's Way: A U.S. Private's Best Chance for Survival
- Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised
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