Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog: A Mystery by the internationally bestselling author of The Winter Queen (Mortalis)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Stick with Fandorin
  • A sleuth in nun's habit
  • Akunin at his best
  • A female Fr. Brown
  • nineteenth century historical thriller
Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog: A Mystery by the internationally bestselling author of The Winter Queen (Mortalis)
Boris Akunin
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0812975138
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Book Description

“Pelagia’s family likeness to Father Brown and Miss Marple is marked, and reading about her supplies a similarly decorous pleasure.”
–The Literary Review

In a remote Russian province in the late nineteenth century, Bishop Mitrofanii must deal with a family crisis. After learning that one of his great aunt’s beloved and rare white bulldogs has been poisoned, the Orthodox bishop knows there is only one detective clever enough to investigate the murder: Sister Pelagia.

The bespectacled, freckled Pelagia is lively, curious, extraordinarily clumsy, and persistent. At the estate in question, she finds a whole host of suspects, any one of whom might have benefited if the old lady (who changes her will at whim) had expired of grief at the pooch’s demise. There’s Pyotr, the matron’s grandson, a nihilist with a grudge who has fallen for the maid; Stepan, the penniless caretaker, who has sacrificed his youth to the care of the estate; Miss Wrigley, a mysterious Englishwoman who has recently been named sole heiress to the fortune; Poggio, an opportunistic and freeloading “artistic” photographer; and, most intriguingly, Naina, the old lady’s granddaughter, a girl so beautiful she could drive any man to do almost anything.

As Pelagia bumbles and intuits her way to the heart of a mystery among people with faith only in greed and desire, she must bear in mind the words of Saint Paul: “Beware of dogs–and beware of evil-doers.”

“Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have praised [Akunin’s] clever plots, vivid characters and wit.”
–Baltimore Sun

“Akunin’s wonderful novels are always intricately webbed and plotted.”
–The Providence Journal

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Stick with Fandorin.......2007-06-06

Not one of his best. No character grabs one's interest, and trying to keep track of the many players with their multiple, many-syllabled, sound-alike names takes one right out of the plot. Much better to wait for the next Erast Fandorin novel. Take a pass 'til then.

5 out of 5 stars A sleuth in nun's habit.......2007-05-30

Boris Akunin is a well-regarded Russian author of suspense fiction, heretofore known for his Fandorin series, which concerns a part-James Bond, part-Hercules Poirot creation who nonetheless is strikingly original. SISTER PELAGIA AND THE WHITE BULLDOG marks the beginning of a new direction for Akunin and fittingly introduces Mortalis, a new imprint of literary mystery and suspense fiction for Random House.

We quickly learn from the unnamed, omnipresent narrator that Sister Pelagia is a sleuth in nun's habit, wishing to devote her life to God yet feeling stifled by the requirements of the order and by the role of women in early 20th century Russia. In addition, she is quite adept at solving mysteries, a skill that she hides from all except her supervisory bishop, who keeps her abilities a secret not only to preserve the good sister's customary role but also to keep her in reserve as a secret weapon in the political skirmishes that were the hallmark of the time.

The bishop generally has his hands full, what with an inspector from the Holy Synod coming to meddle in local affairs, the gruesome discovery of two decapitated bodies, and the bishop's aunt being in a terrible state as a result of the baffling death of one of her white bulldogs, a special breed that she and her late husband had nurtured through generations. The perpetrator of the canine murder is quickly determined, even if the motive isn't, and the unforeseen nexus that connects this and other events is slowly but surely sorted out in a climactic courtroom scene in which the good sister has a starring role.

It should be noted that Russian literature tends to be the antithesis of, say, a James Patterson work --- why use one word when pages will do? --- and occasionally, as even Akunin notes with a nod and a wink through his anonymous narrator, things seem to wander off track. All is revealed in good time, however, and along the way Akunin drops nuggets of dry, subtle humor amidst social and political commentary. Those who take their mysteries with great spoonfuls of explosions and karate may find this book wanting (though it does, particularly near the end, have its moments), and there is enough political intrigue and metaphor to provide a satisfactory feast.

Lovingly translated by Andrew Bromfield, SISTER PELAGIA AND THE WHITE BULLDOG is a welcome debut of a new series that hopefully will give Akunin the wider visibility in this country that his work deserves. And let's give some kudos to Random House as well for its brave launch of Mortalis. We'll happily look for more.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

5 out of 5 stars Akunin at his best.......2007-03-30

The Sister Pelagia mystery series may not be as effortless a read to take in as Erast Fandorin, but it's well worth the effort. While the White Bulldog may be have a plot that is slightly less dynamic than the one Fandorin fans are used to, it is a refreshing change of pace. The language is beautiful, the characters are engaging and the sleuth and her posse (bishop Mitrofani and Berdichervsky) are at least as charismatic as Fandorin and Masa.
The series (there are only three novels in it) picks up the pace in The Black Monk and positively goes berserk in the Red Rooster, but the provincial charm of the White Bulldog is very enjoyable too.
Most Russian fans of Akunin consider the Pelagia trilogy to be a more workmanlike and even series than Fandorin, which has its peaks and valleys.

5 out of 5 stars A female Fr. Brown.......2007-02-13

In the midst of writing mysteries about detective Erast Fandorin, the author has also begun a new series. This one concerns a nun named Sister Pelagia, who is sent out by her Bishop to help solve mysteries and murders in a backward province of Imperial Russia. The action is fast, the plot never wavers, and the characters are all well-srawn. One interesting quirk to this story is that, when it is required, Sister Pelagia assumes the identity of her "sister", a widow who dresses and acts exactly as would an upper class member of the Russian nobility. I found the premise of this book fascinating, and the characters of both the good sister and her boss the bishop very believeable, therefore I am awaiting anxiously the next book in this marvelous series.

5 out of 5 stars nineteenth century historical thriller .......2007-02-10

In Zavolzhsk, far from the home of the Tsar, Bishop Mitrofannii rules over the vast scarcely populated remote region instead of Governor von Haggenau. The Bishop has earned a reputation for solving unsolved mysteries, which he takes pride in accomplishing though he also knows who actually uncovers the truth. Now his elderly late Aunt Marya Tatischeva sends him a letter asking for his help as someone poisoned Zagulyai and Zadidai with the former dying in agony and the latter barely surviving. He decides to send his secret sleuth literature and gymnastics teacher Sister Pelagia to learn what happened and why to the white bulldogs.

Sister Pelagia travels to the home of Marya to investigate the canine homicide. Sister Pelagia quickly concludes that the target is the elderly woman, who is known for treating her dogs like pampered babies, but what the nun believes is the motive leads to several avaricious souls. However, other dogs are killed and the case takes a twist when two males are recovered from the nearby river with their heads removed. The Bishop directs Sister Pelagia to investigate the murders regardless of where it takes her, as he expects everyone to live morally and piously correct though he has some doubts with her switching identities from clumsy reticent nun to vibrant nimble Polina Lisitsina.

In some ways this is more a nineteenth century historical thriller than a mystery. SISTER PELAGIA AND THE WHITE BULLDOG is a superior whodunit that uses the backdrop to paint a vivid picture of a remote part of Tsarist Russia. Readers will have to adapt to the names of the key characters, but will find it worth the time as the descriptions are terrific and the cast powerful especially the Sister and the Bishop, as irony and humor augment a fabulous story line.

Harriet Klausner
The White Russian: A Novel
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A Great Book
  • Stirring, well executed historical fiction
  • An Enjoyable Experience
  • Well written and evocative period mystery
  • Worthy follow-up to The Master of Rain
The White Russian: A Novel
Tom Bradby
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400032008
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Amazon.com

With Russia on the brink of a populist revolution, the least important thing to most residents of St. Petersburg in January 1917 might have been who stabbed to death an unidentified couple on the frozen Neva River. Yet solving that mystery is pretty much all that keeps Alexander "Sandro" Ruzsky, chief investigator of the city police, from despairing over his medley of personal torments, in Tom Bradby's doleful yet evocative novel, The White Russian.

It turns out that the dead woman on the ice used to work as a nanny to Tsar Nicholas II's children, until she was dismissed for stealing unspecified property. Her male companion, a Chicago criminal and labor agitator, was knifed 17 times and had in his coat pocket a roll of banknotes marked with tiny ink dots. A code of some sort? If so, who was he communicating with secretly, and to what end? Although Ruzsky, the black sheep son of an aristocratic family, just returned from a three-year Siberian banishment, finds his investigation hampered by the tsar's secret police, he slowly unpeels the layers of a conspiracy that involves not merely homicide, but also avarice, politics, and long-sought vengeance. The stability of Russia's monarchy may depend on Ruzsky's success in this case, as may the investigator's hesitant relationship with a star ballerina, whose cloaked past makes her a far more intriguing, and more deadly, companion than Ruzsky realizes.

While The White Russian introduces readers to St. Petersburg's exotic and economic extremes--tenements of Dostoevskian squalidness, gilded ballet theaters full of garrulous royalty--it is a rather less ambitiously atmospheric story than Bradby's previous novel, 2002's The Master of Rain. Yet it boasts a similarly tumbling pace, emotionally torn and credible characters (including a "neurotic and hysterical" Tsarina Alexandra), and twists and dubious allegiances enough to leave readers wondering at Ruzsky's solution until the closing pages. At once a chilling crime yarn and a cautionary tale about the sometimes painful exigencies of love, The White Russian is a literary cocktail with a decided kick. --J. Kingston Pierce

Book Description

January 1917—With St. Petersburg on the brink of revolution, Sandro Ruzsky, the city’s chief police investigator, returns from exile in Siberia only to be assigned a grisly case: the bodies of a young couple found on the ice of the frozen River Neva, just outside the Tsar’s Winter Palace. Ruzsky’s investigation leads him dangerously close to the royal family and to the woman he loves, and he finds himself confronting both a ruthless killer and the ghosts of his past as he fights desperately to save all that he cares for.

With meticulous research and narrative skill Tom Bradby brilliantly re-creates the gilded salons and squalid tenements of St. Petersburg in the last days of the tsars. Evocative and thrilling, The White Russian is a tumultuous story of murder and betrayal in a city at the crossroads of history.

Download Description

Tom Bradby is a correspondent for ITN. He is the acclaimed author of three previous novels, Shadow Dancer, The Sleep of the Dead and The Master of Rain.


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Great Book.......2007-03-08

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, so much in fact, that I stopped halfway through to order "Master of Rain." "The White Russian" is very well written, and the basic plot alone sustains it. However, Tom Bradby skillfully weaves in several subplots and surprises that make the book even better. A visit to St. Petersburg several years ago just added to my enjoyment. If this novel is typical of Bradby's work, he ranks with Eric Ambler and Frederick Forsyth.

5 out of 5 stars Stirring, well executed historical fiction.......2007-01-01

Tom Bradby's illustrative, electrifying crime thriller "The White Russian" is set in pre-revolution Russia in 1917. On New Years Day chief St. Petersburg criminal investigator Alexander "Sandro" Ruzsky is summoned to investigate a murder. A man and woman had been found brutally knifed in the middle of the frozen Neva River, a stone's throw away from the ornate Winter Palace of Tsar Nicholas.

Ruzsky, who pursued a police career much to the dismay of his father, the assistant minister of finance to the Tsar, came from one of the finest families in Imperial Russia. Shunned from the palatial family mansion on aptly named Millionnaya Street, Ruzsky had just returned from exile to Siberia. He had been transfered there for 3 years as punishment for an investigation bungled by his deputy and friend Pavel. He was presently ensconsed in a hovel in the poor part of town while his philandering wife Irina and their beloved son Michael were living in his father's mansion. Ruzsky's heart had been captured by the lithe and beautiful prima ballerina of the Russian theatre Maria Popova but dutifully maintained a platonic relationship as she fell into the arms of another.

Ruzsky and his deputy Pavel continued the investigation of the murders although dissuaded from continuing by chief of the secret police Vasilyev. They eventually learn that the murdered woman Ella was a nanny of the Tsarevich (son of the tsar) anf the man named White an American labor agitator. There inquest takes them to the distant shores of the Black Sea to Yalta where they learn that the murdered couple were part of a radical terrorist cell located there.

Back in St. Petersburg another brutal murder with a similar modus operandi occurs. All the while the social structure in Russia is crumbling around Ruzsky, as the privileged imperial existence he grew up in begins disintegrating. From the standpoint of the starving Russian populace, WWI is going poorly, the masses are being downtrodden while the rich still enjoy the opulent excesses.

The murder investigation takes an interesting turn as we learn that the plot is more convoluted and politically based than we were led to believe.

Author Bradby paints a wonderful descriptive landscape of the wide diversity of Russian society on the eve of the revolution. He recounts a way of life that has been memorialized by vestiges of Imperial Russia still standing today.

4 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable Experience.......2005-10-20

This was actually the first Bradby book I read. After finishing this one, I ordered Master of Rain and went through it in a weekend. I loved this book because of the authors ability to not just set a scene for the reader but Bradby has an almost uncanny ability to create atmosphere through his writing. I was almost able to guess how the main character would react to a situation not by predictability but by the means which Bradby gave me through his strong character building. This and Master of Rain were great books. I want to be clear that this is a 5 Star book. I am giving this 4 stars because there really should have been a sequel to this book. I am disappointed that it seems impossible to get any other of this authors books in the USA, and I am also disappointed to know in what little I know about the authors other books that he leaves the subject matter entirely with these two books. A shame.

4 out of 5 stars Well written and evocative period mystery.......2005-04-09

The White Russian is set in St Petersburg in 1917.The Tsarist regime is disintegrating rapidly .Russian particiption in World War One is proving an unmitigated disaster with defeats and collapsing morale among the troops .Incompetence and corruption are rife in both the civilian and military administrations with food shortages bringing many to the very brink of starvation .The royal family are hugely unpopular ,especially the Tsarina -who is of German origin ,and rumours that she had a carnal relationship with the recently murdered Rasputin have made her an object of ridicule.The collapse of the regime is seen as merely a matter of time .
Against this political background -which dominates the book -two bodies are found on the ice in front of the Tsar's winter palace .They are dead of multiple stab wounds and one victim is a young woman named Ella Korvin who until recently had worked as a nurse in the employ of the royal family at the Tsars home in Tsarskoe Sela until she had been dismissed for theft -nobody will disclose to the authorities what exactly she had stolen .The dead pair -and other subsequent victims turn out to be members of a secret society ,The Black Terror,dedicated to political assassination of prominent memvers of the ruling elite .
The investigating copis Ruzzsky ,an aristocrat by background who has recently returned from exile after incurring the enmity of the state for his scrupulous honesty.A dedicated cop ,he beavers away in face of opposition from the secret police who take over the case ,and despite the investigation bringing him in conflict with members of his own family .
This is a complex and multi-layered book with some acute characterisation and a dense plot that sustains interest.The ending seems a tad rushed and is somewhat more thrillerish than what went before but overall this is an exceptional book and one likely to be enjoyed by crime readers and those devoted to period novels in general

4 out of 5 stars Worthy follow-up to The Master of Rain.......2004-11-19

Tom Bradby is the latest hit mystery writer from Britain, following Robert Wilson, who wrote "A Small Death in Lisbon" a few years ago. Bradby's "The Master of Rain" was one of the best novels of a couple of years ago, a wonderful, atmospheric novel with multiple fascinating characters and a plot that was wonderful. If James Ellroy had written a historical novel set in 1926 Shanghai, with killers, corrupt cops, and women who have prostituted themselves to buy food, it would look a lot like "The Master of Rain." "The White Russian" is a wonderful follow-up to "The Master of Rain," again an atmospheric novel, this time set in the Petrograd of 1917, where a compromised police investigator (Sandro Ruzsky) is looking into the killing of a couple on the frozen River Neva. The detective is a disgraced nobleman, partially rejected by his family and just returned from 3 years in exile for the death of a suspect in a killing, killed himself by the other prisoners in jail.

The dead are a young girl and a middle-aged man, stabbed to death. The two turn out to be a nanny for the young son of the Tsar, and a labor agitator and rabble-rouser from Chicago. As Ruzsky and his partner, Pavel Miliutin, are confronted by various characters, from the local head of the Okhrana (the precursor to the KGB) to various other revolutionaries and characters in pre-Revolutionary Petrograd (one of the annoyances of the book is the subtitle on the cover, which mentions St. Petersburg, the name of which was changed in 1914).

This is one of the better books in the last few years. It has a sort of Chandleresque air to it, with a definite tinge of Russian also, to the point you can at times almost smell the borsht. My one complaint was the ending, which made little sense to me, and seemed kind of anti-climactic. This is one of those books like Chandler, however, where the plot is secondary to the atmosphere and the characters. I enjoyed this novel a great deal, and would recommend it to almost everyone.
White Walls: Collected Stories (New York Review Books Classics)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    White Walls: Collected Stories (New York Review Books Classics)
    Tatyana Tolstaya
    Manufacturer: NYRB Classics
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    ClassicsClassics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
    ContemporaryContemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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    5. Pushkin's Children: Writing on Russia and Russians Pushkin's Children: Writing on Russia and Russians

    ASIN: 1590171977
    Release Date: 2007-04-17

    Book Description

    A New York Review Books Original

    “Tolstaya carves indelible people who roam the imagination long after the book is put down.” –Time

    Tatyana Tolstaya’s short stories—with their unpredictable fairy-tale plots, appealingly eccentric characters, and stylistic abundance and flair—established her in the 1980s as one of modern Russia’s finest writers. Since then her work has been translated throughout the world. Edna O’Brien has called Tolstaya “an enchantress.” Anita Desai has spoken of her work’s “richness and ardent life.” Mixing heartbreak and humor, dizzying flights of fantasy and plunging descents to earth, Tolstaya is the natural successor in a great Russian literary lineage that includes Gogol, Yuri Olesha, Bulgakov, and Nabokov.

    White Walls is the most comprehensive collection of Tolstaya’s short fiction to be published in English so far. It presents the contents of her two previous collections, On the Golden Porch and Sleepwalker in a Fog, along with several previously uncollected stories. Tolstaya writes of lonely children and lost love, of philosophers of the absurd and poets working as janitors, of angels and halfwits. She shows how the extraordinary will suddenly erupt in the midst of ordinary life, as she explores the human condition with a matchless combination of unbound imagination and unapologetic sympathy.
    A Gentle Creature and Other Stories: White Nights; A Gentle Creature; and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (The World's Classics)
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      A Gentle Creature and Other Stories: White Nights; A Gentle Creature; and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (The World's Classics)
      Fyodor Dostoevsky
      Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

      19th Century19th Century | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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      Dostoevsky, FyodorDostoevsky, Fyodor | ( D ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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      ASIN: 0192822802

      Book Description

      In these stories, Dostoevsky explores both the figure of the dreamer divorced from reality, and also his own ambiguous attitude toward utopianism, themes central to his great novels. In White Nights, the apparent idyll of the dreamer's romantic fantasies disguises profound loneliness and
      estrangement from "living life." A Gentle Creature and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man show how withdrawal from reality can end in spiritual desolation as well as moral indifference, and how, in Dostoevsky's view, the tragedy of the alienated individual can only be resolved by the rediscovery of a
      sense of compassion and responsibility toward other people.
      No other edition brings together these specific stories--which are most interesting when read alongside one another--and the new translations capture all the power and lyricism of Dostoevsky's writing at tis best.

      The Shield Between the Worlds: The Second Chronicle of Fionn Mac Cumhal
      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
      • Simply Superb!
      The Shield Between the Worlds: The Second Chronicle of Fionn Mac Cumhal
      Diana L. Paxson , and Adrienne Martine-Barnes
      Manufacturer: Avon Books (Mm)
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      ASIN: 0380758024

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      5 out of 5 stars Simply Superb!.......1999-06-12

      This book along with the rest of the series truly embraces the Celtic spirit. A MUST for any with the heart of a Celtic warrior. Tis a shame to see the series out of print.
      Aging In Today's World: Conversations Between An Anthropologist And A Physician
      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
      • Both common issues and more obscure philosophical dilemmas
      Aging In Today's World: Conversations Between An Anthropologist And A Physician
      Renee Rose Shield , and Stanley M., M.D. Aronson
      Manufacturer: Berghahn Books
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

      GeneralGeneral | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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      GeneralGeneral | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
      ASIN: 1571810803

      Book Description

      Never before in human existence have the aged been so numerous — and for the most part — healthy. In this important new book, two professionals, an anthropologist and a physician, wrestle with the complex subject of aging. Is it inevitable? Is it a burden or gift? What is successful aging? Why are some people better at aging than others? Where is aging located? How does it vary among individuals, within and between groups, cultures, societies, and indeed, over the centuries? Reflecting on these and other questions, the authors comment on the impact age has in their lives and work.

      Two unique viewpoints are presented. While medicine approaches aging with special attention given to the body, its organs, and its functions over time, anthropology focuses on how the aged live within their cultural settings. As this volume makes clear, the two disciplines have a great deal to teach each other, and in a spirited exchange, the authors show how professional barriers can be surmounted.

      In a novel approach, each author explores a different aspect of aging in alternating chapters. These chapters are in turn followed by a commentary by the other. Further, the authors interrupt each other within the chapters—to raise questions, contradict, ask for clarification, and explore related ideas—with these interjections emphasizing the dynamic nature of their ideas about age. Finally, a third "voice"—that of a random old man—periodically inserts itself into the text to remind the authors of their necessarily limited understanding of the subject.

      Customer Reviews:

      5 out of 5 stars Both common issues and more obscure philosophical dilemmas.......2003-08-10

      The collaborative effort of Renee Rose Shield (Clinical Associate Professor of Community Health, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island) and Stanley M. Aronson (University Professor of Medical Science and Dean of Medicine Emeritus, Brown University), Aging In Today's World: Conversations Between An Anthropologist And A Physician is an informed and informative inquiry the addresses the complex subject of aging, and which confronts some very tough questions from a sociological and a medical standpoint, including "What is successful aging?"; "Is aging a burden or a gift?"; and "Where is aging located?" A college-level study covering both common issues and more obscure philosophical dilemmas, Aging In Today's World is a welcome and very highly recommended contribution to Geriatric Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
      Aging in Today's World: Conversations between an Anthropologist and a Physician (Public Issues in Anthropological Perspectives)
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        A comparison between U.S. combat actions of World War II in North Africa and Operation Desert Shield/Storm (SSI special report)
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          Shield Between 2 World
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              The Body Sculpting Bible For Abs: Men's Edition
              Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
              • Not completely worthless
              • Useful for everyone
              • Great Book For The Advanced Exerciser
              • Best book on abs.. period.
              • I find it incomplete
              The Body Sculpting Bible For Abs: Men's Edition
              James Villepigue
              Manufacturer: Hatherleigh Press
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

              GeneralGeneral | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
              Ab WorkoutsAb Workouts | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
              GeneralGeneral | Men's Health | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
              GeneralGeneral | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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              5. Six-Pack Abs Six-Pack Abs

              ASIN: 1578261341
              Release Date: 2002-12-27

              Book Description

              Spending too much time doing hundreds of crunches? Not seeing the spectacular abs you want? Your current abdominal workout is probably not working all the necessary muscles. The TVA, the transverse abdominis, is the most overlooked and underworked muscle in the body.

              The Body Sculpting Bible for Abs: Men's Edition by James Villepigue reveals that the abs are not one set of muscles, but several overlapping layers: the rectus abdominis, the internal and external obliques, and the TVA. All of these muscles must be toned in order to achieve that elusive "six-pack."

              No other exercise book on the market focuses on the TVA. The traditional regimen of crunches and more crunches works just one set of muscles, the rectus abdominis, but The Body Sculpting Bible for Abs has special exercises designed for the TVA, as well as the other abdominal muscles, in a complete program for producing a strong, toned midsection.

              What's more, The Body Sculpting Bible for Abs goes beyond just abdominal exercises. "Without dietary modifications and total body workouts to promote fat loss," Villepigue advises, "no amount of abdominal training will miraculously melt away a 'spare tire'. In fact, people who work so hard on those crunches may actually be promoting postural imbalances that can set them up for future injury."

              The Body Sculpting Bible for Abs exercises and 14-Day Workouts are a safe and holistic program of ab work that lets men reach their goals safely and quickly. The unique 14-Day Workout has a progressive, ever-changing program that provides the variety and motivation needed to get results in record time. The exercises work all of the abdominal muscles, as well as the rest of the body's "core," to produce a lean and chiseled look.

              The Body Sculpting Bible for Men, the best-selling first book in this series, was a run-away hit with exercisers across the country. MuscleMag called it "The most complete, effective fitness manual out there." Now the author of this proven workout plan helps men identify and work all of the muscles of the abdomen, including the "hidden" TVA, to achieve perfectly ripped abs.

              Customer Reviews:

              2 out of 5 stars Not completely worthless.......2007-03-21

              Many people in the reviews have pointed out how many exercises are too advanced but lack to point out many are also too simplistic. My problems with the book is it seems to be lacking and could have included more exercises. Also theres only one intensity for most of the exercises, after you master the "harder" ones it doesnt get any harder. I find it hard to believe that someone like Jay Cutler could use this book and not lose mass to his abs.

              5 out of 5 stars Useful for everyone.......2007-01-04

              Despite the title, you don't have to be a fitness freak in order to use this book. Back pain and back disorders are very common with office workers these days, and this book offers some excellent exercises that deal with it. The book itself is about sculpting your ABS, but it acknowledges that the back is an integral part of this process. By following the exercises in this book (first the warmups and then the more strenuous ones), you can strenghten the whole of your waist area, and your back will benefit.

              The author stresses that the whole body must be exercised, in addition to the ABS exercises; they cannot be performed alone. This holistic approach is a valuable foundation, and continues throughout the book. It is good to have well-reasoned explanations of the theory behind the activities, along with some well-structured 14-day plans.

              This review is written from the point of view of someone trying to sort out his back, rather than going for a washboard figure. I have found the exercises to be very effective, even when performed lightly. Whatever your goals and physical condition, however, this book offers excellent exercises and exercise plans, which can be adopted to your needs.

              3 out of 5 stars Great Book For The Advanced Exerciser.......2006-04-29

              This book is not for the beginner!

              Advanced exercisers will get a good challenge with these routines.

              It could use a bit more substance on the nutritional guidance topic as this is crucial for getting those abs to be visible.

              If want some tough workouts get this book.

              Joey Atlas - The Wizard of Fitness
              [...]

              5 out of 5 stars Best book on abs.. period........2006-04-25

              I admit that the diet part it lacking, but one search on a search engine can pull up anything you need to know about diets. The workouts in this book range in difficulty, and some you really have to build up to. The pictures and explanations of how to do the exercises are great, and the trainers tips can help you fix some common mistakes you might make. I like how it also goes over working out with gym equipment, medicine ball, an aerobics workout ball, and on the floor. This book is packed with exercises that even if you have a 6-pack it will still make you feel the burn. For people who expect more than this, I cant imagine being able to master all the exercises in this book and being able to do some of the aerobics ball workouts more than 15 repititions. I am already seeing my abs come out, with diet and exercise of course, and without this book I would be stuck in a rut not knowing how to work out all areas of my abdominals.

              3 out of 5 stars I find it incomplete.......2006-04-01

              On the back cover the book says it does an extensive job on showing you the right diet to get the right abs, but as a reader I was very dissapointed to discover that there are only two pages on diet. Now the routines are very straightforward, but the exercises are extremely difficult to perform. I think there are better books out there than this abs book.

              Weightwatchers Take 5 150 Five-ingredient Recipes
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                Weightwatchers Take 5 150 Five-ingredient Recipes

                Manufacturer: weightwatchers publishing
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Paperback

                Weight WatchersWeight Watchers | Diets | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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                ASIN: B000AM3GGS

                Product Description

                Now there's truly no excuse for not treating yourself - and your family - to a delicious home-cooked meal. Weight Watchers Take 5: 150 Great Five-Ingredient Recipes! is built for speed and ease. It's the perfect cook book for today's multitasking woman, who's wise enough to know that having it all isn't about spending tons of time in the kitchen. With recipes that rely on essential pantry and refrigerator staples, Weight Watchers Take 5: 150 Great Five-Ingredient Recipes! offers up plenty of mealtime solutions - even if you have a mere 15 minutes to get a complete dinner on the table. - from back cover
                Take 5: 150 five-ingredient recipes (Weight Watchers)
                Average customer rating: Not rated
                  Take 5: 150 five-ingredient recipes (Weight Watchers)

                  Manufacturer: Weight Watchers International
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Paperback

                  Weight WatchersWeight Watchers | Diets | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
                  ASIN: B000HEEDKM
                  Take 5 (Weight Watchers 150 five-ingredient recipes)
                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                    Take 5 (Weight Watchers 150 five-ingredient recipes)

                    Manufacturer: Weight Watchers International
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Paperback

                    Weight WatchersWeight Watchers | Diets | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
                    ASIN: B000HEGDY6
                    Take 5: 150 Five-Ingredient Recipes (Weight Watchers series)
                    Average customer rating: Not rated
                      Take 5: 150 Five-Ingredient Recipes (Weight Watchers series)
                      Nancy, editor Gagliardi
                      Manufacturer: Weight Watchers
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Paperback
                      ASIN: B000WD16ZI
                      Take 5: 150 five-ingredient recipes (Weight Watchers)
                      Average customer rating: Not rated
                        Take 5: 150 five-ingredient recipes (Weight Watchers)

                        Manufacturer: Weight Watchers International
                        ProductGroup: Book
                        Binding: Paperback

                        Weight WatchersWeight Watchers | Diets | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
                        ASIN: B000HEDC7C
                        Take 5: 150 Five-Ingredient recipes
                        Average customer rating: Not rated
                          Take 5: 150 Five-Ingredient recipes
                          Weight Watchers
                          Manufacturer: Weight Watchers
                          ProductGroup: Book
                          Binding: Paperback
                          ASIN: B000VNHU6S

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