The five
Vladimir Jabotinsky
Translated by Michael R. Katz
Jabotinsky could well be one of the greatest Russian writers you have never heard of. This wonderfully crafted autobiographical tale provides a window into life in Odessa and Russia at the turn of the last century – on the eve of revolution and war. It is an engrossing, nostalgic portrait of springtime: of a world on the brink of exciting but unimaginable changes, where the comfortable (for some) old order is in decline, and a new, more permissive, less-understood order is in the offing. [Cornell Univ. Press • $17.95]
Bobby fischer goes to war
David Edmonds and John Eidinow
It is the summer of 1972 and the Cold War is in full swing. The two contenders for the title of World Chess Champion are to face off in the tiny Icelandic capital of Reykjavik. On the one hand is the defending champion, Soviet Boris Spassky, a fun-loving, independent, easy-going genius. He has every reason to be confident. After all, for most of the last five decades, Russians have owned the top title in chess. But into this quiet, composed, gentlemanly world lopes the obsessive, controlling, paranoid figure of American Bobby Fischer. A savant at chess, he lacks the most basic social skills or human decency. He does not even show up for the first game of the match. And things just deteriorate from there – with Fischer’s obscenely stupid complaints about lighting, chairs, the distance of the audience from the competitors, etc. ad nauseum. If this were just a story about chess, it would hardly be of interest to a very wide audience. But chess is just a backdrop. The real story is about these two characters – neither one their country’s ideal representative – and the bizarre events set in motion by their personalities, by the facts of the Cold War, by the other characters swirling around the flames of their celebrity (with cameos by Nixon and Kissinger), by the cerebral intensity of the game of chess. This is a fascinating story about one-on-one psychological warfare and, even though you know how it comes out, you cannot put it down. [Ecco Books • $24.95]
A Traveller’s companion to Moscow
Laurence Kelly, Ed.
We are glad to see this volume back in print. It is an invaluable compilation of travelers’ and residents’ impressions of Moscow, some dating back to the 1500s. Sure, you could take along a Fodor’s or Lonely Planet guide to the capital, but for truly rich and unusual background reading, you cannot beat this lightweight yet informative anthology of essays and observations. [Interlink • $16.95]
russian romance
Ella Leya
Suffused with rich textures of Gypsy, Celtic, Jewish and Russian music, Leya’s new CD draws on Russian poetry from Pushkin to Yesenin. A delightful collection. [B-Elite • $16]
strange soviet practices
This latest Glas volume takes on the surreal reality of Soviet byt, from literary witchhunts to naval mysteries to nuclear disasters. [NU Press • $17.95]
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