Book Description
Truly the guides that show you what others only tell you, this book features stunning 3D and cutaway views of museums, cathedrals, and other must-see sights; detailed street maps; a handy phrase section; advice on the best places to eat, drink, shop, sleep, and be entertained; and a Survival Guide to help the traveler sort out essential information such as currency, transportation, and communications. As world traveler and TV personality Michael Palin says, "the Eyewitness Travel Guides are irresistibly seductive.... They also deliver where it matters most -- uncluttered and accurate information."
More than 750 color photographs capture the palaces and other visual pleasures in DK's Eyewitness Travel Guide: St. Petersburg. Dividing the city into five districts (Vasilevskiy Island, Petrogradskaya, Palace Embankment, Gostiny Dvor, and Sennaya Ploschad), precise street-by-street maps and 3-D aerial overviews guide you to all of St. Petersburg's most magnificent attractions. Visit the splendid Winter Palace, a superb example of Russian Baroque architecture, with a stunning illustration surrounded by photos of its key highlights. The glorious treasures of the Hermitage are vividly depicted in an eight-page section featuring illustrations, photos, complete floor plans, and collection highlights by Gauguin, Matisse, Rembrandt, and da Vinci. Additional special features showcase such sights as St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Russian Museum. Two guided walks are outlined--one along St. Petersburg's waterways, detailing the route's grand architecture, and another covering the Kamennyy and Yelagin Islands. The guide also goes beyond St. Petersburg, especially Peterof, Peter the Great's Palace, and Tsarskoe Selo, both depicted in stunning four-page sections complete with aerial overviews and photos of their highlights. The city's absorbing history, colorful royal personages, cultural centers, and flavorful cuisine are among the numerous subjects covered throughout this outstanding guide. If St. Petersburg is on your itinerary, be sure you pick up this invaluable guide before you go.
Customer Reviews:
Good Travel Info.......2007-05-16
Great book. Glossy Paper and small enuf to carry along. Recommend DK books
Eyewitness Travel Guides Does It Again.......2007-03-10
Eyewitness Travel Guides once again lives up to its motto: "The guides that show you what others only tell you." While other guides are long on talk about St. Petersburg, this guide adds hundreds of photos, detailed illustrations, diagrams, maps, and time-lines to bring the city and its surrounding areas to life. Paging through it is like vacationing in St. Petersburg without the cost of going there. Fortunately, the book also includes what you need to know and how to manage when you are there.
Eyewitness: St. Petersburg........2007-01-05
This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting St. Petersburg.
Best Overall Guide.......2006-11-10
In the past year I have used Eyewitness Guides for trips to Thailand, China, and St. Petersburg, and I have not been disappointed. They are extremely well-made and durable. If your vacation time is limited and you must narrow your choice from among many attractions, then this is an important guide for you to use in your planning. Each guide is loaded with full-color photographs of the most important attractions at each site, thereby permitting you to make an intelligent decision whether or not you want to add it to your itinerary. And, after the trip is over, the Eyewitness Guide serves as well as most coffee table books in assisting you to recall your trip to others and revive important memories. Because of its superb construction, it is not light to carry, but it won't fall apart with use. If you are not interested in a guide book full of tips about where to find gay bars and cheap hotels for backpackers, but rather want a quality book with serious sightseeing in mind, the Eyewitness Guide is the one to choose.
Great Travel Book.......2006-07-03
This book is a gem!! I love the colorful photographs and the chapter on the history of St. Petersburg.
Book Description
- Savvy insider tips on exploring the treasures of the Hermitage Museum and the Kremlin.
- Outspoken opinions on what's worth your time and what's not.
- Exact prices, so you can plan the perfect trip whatever your budget.
- Off-the-beaten-path experiences and undiscovered gems, plus new takes on top attractions.
Find great deals and book your trip at Frommers.com
Customer Reviews:
Outdated when it comes to attraction closings.......2007-07-24
Many of the main attractions in St. Petersburgh and Moscow are museums and the like.
Museums in both cities tend to be closed at least one day during the week. It is different days for different museums.
There were a significant amount of attractions (probably about 1/3) in both cities where the book had incorrect days. So we'd show up on a day it was supposed to be open, and they were closed. Or the hours were wrong. Or the book would say that they had english tours and they did not.
I was extremely disappointed at such a major oversight.
Excellent guide and I know Russia!.......2007-03-26
I think the guide is useful and concise, very much to the point and touches on many interesting and relevant topics. I've lived in Russia most of my life, so far, and I think the guide more than does it justice.
Lightweight guide with plenty of fluff.......2006-06-28
I was very disappointed by this book, which feels largely like a cut-and-paste job. It opens with a bunch of general travel advice and then goes on to describe a few things to do and see in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Many blocks of text are repeated in various parts of the book and I felt the actual amount of information about things to do and see in these two amazing cities was pretty limited, especially given the number of pages I carried around with me. I found all the hotel info I needed on the Internet (see tripadvisor.com) and would have liked this book better if they'd left out all the hotel info and left out the repetition.
I feel like I could write you a better travel guide after spending just one week with natives in each city. Surely somebody else has done a better job!
I love Frommer's!.......2006-03-29
With that said, I have been to Russia only once (about 10 years ago) and it was with a tour. I am planning my second trip this Fall (2006) and was pleased to see that Frommer's finally put out a book for Russia. The matter of fact reviews as well as prices cited for absolutely everything give you a snapshot of what it "might" cost. I say "might" because there are so many variables that a book can't truly predict (i.e. fluid exchange rates, supply/demand, the "current will of a taxi driver", etc.) but this book gives you at least a starting point to evaluate if you are overpaying or getting a deal. I am planning to go this Fall without a guide and my confidence is building, as result of this book. I should say that I can read & write in Russian and speak a little, but it was still an intimidating country for me 10 years ago. I can read a Frommers book anytime even if I do not have trip planned. I've just started reading this one and I already love it. Good job (again) Frommer's!
Book Description
The first guidebook to the lesser-known museums and treasures of Saint Petersburg.
Customer Reviews:
A Most Wonderful Book For St. Petersburg Visitors.......2006-07-27
I happened on this wonderful book by reading all the reviews written by one of its reviewers. It is small, light weight and so very easy to use. The pictures are beautiful. We went to St. Petersburg last December with the book in hand. Each night we decided where to go the next day. Planning is important because each museum is usually closed at least one day a week. Unfortunately the museums were so interesting, that we often stayed way longer than we planned to. We never would have gone to some of the museums had we not had this little book. We especially liked the maps showing the ocation of each museum in relation to the others. Because of this book, we will return to St. Petersburg in the off season and enjoy many more of its amazing little museums -- after all what better way is there to spend a cold December day?
Discovering St. Petersburg's 40 Unknown Treasures.......2004-09-02
As the founder of a company devoted to business and cultural travel to Russia, it pains me that so many tourists come to St. Petersburg for a day or two and only visit the Hermitage, Peterhof, and a ballet. Russia is like a Fabergé egg-a beautiful exterior with a hard-to-open but spectacular hidden interior. Among the little known gems in St. Petersburg are the Museum of Theatrical and Musical Arts, the Nabokov Museum (former residence of Vladimir Nabokov), the Russian Ethnographic Museum, the Rimskii-Korsakov Memorial Apartment-Museum, the History of Religion Museum (formerly the "Anti-Religion Museum), the recently-opened Museum of Toys, and the Museum of Russian Vodka. All these treasures and more are fondly catalogued in Cathy Giangrande's Saint Petersburg: Museums Palaces and Historic Collections (Museums).
To appreciate this book a traveler needs to understand the unintentional irony of the chapter titled "Also well worth a visit are ..." listing the Hermitage Museum, one of the world's premier cultural treasures (and the most popular tourist site in Russia). It makes a great companion to such guides as DK Eyewitness's St. Petersburg guidebook (far more sights and coverage of the Hermitage, but without lengthy descriptions of lesser-known museums).
Its small size makes this a "laptray book", but for the visitor in body or spirit to St. Petersburg is just as enthralling as a five pound coffee table book. One-to-four pages are devoted to each of the over 40 lesser known attractions in St. Petersburg. Each listing had a clear address, directions, phone and web site (if available).
Books like this will help St. Petersburg, and Russia, become one of the world's premier tourist destinations in the next 10 years. There are literally thousands of such treasures throughout Russia as these listed here, but few people know about them. Truly, this book will help anyone interested in truly discovering Russia.
An outstanding guidebook to St. Petersburg.......2003-09-01
I began reading Cathy Giandrande's little guide to St. Petersburg with a great deal of skepticism. As I kept exploring the book, all my doubts quickly disappeared. That alone came to me as a surprise. Unlike most Russians who still suffer from a mild identity disorder, Petersburgers have a strong sense of local patriotism and know what they are and what their city is about. From time to time, their patriotism mutates into a peculiar kind of city chauvinism. It is taken for granted that no temporary visitor, be he or she from Moscow or Paris, can know the city or truly appreciate it. I am no different. As a Petersburger, I would never think that an outsider, least a foreigner, least someone from a culture many Russians perceive as hostile and extremely russophobic, would be able to put together a concise guide to the lesser known museums and landmarks of the city and do it in such a low key, friendly and unbiased manner, that the final work is a joy to read and is more useful from any practical standpoint of city exploration than many far weightier and thicker "serious" guides.
Cathy Giangrande's St. Petersburg is a guide to the city museums and lesser-known landmarks. If the author "missed" any museums, then I have a feeling, that she excluded them deliberately because they are so obscure (like the Museum of Armed Forces Medical Academy) that almost no locals are aware of their existence. On the other hand, the guidebook contains information on some really obscure museums, such as the new private museum of toys.
The book is a journey of exploration and is a pleasure to read "as is" from cover to cover. Alternately, it can be used as a helpful reference manual.
The guidebook has its own share of minor irritants, such as the occasional misspelling of French and English words transliterated backwards, but they are not very significant.
The book is beautifully printed on high quality paper and is richly illustrated with color photographs. It contains a helpful map or rather an outline plan of the central part of the city, a schematic plan of St. Petersburg region, and a well-designed plan of St.Petersburg "Metro" (or the city's subway system). All museum and landmark entries include detailed address and contact information, and indicate the nearest subway or suburban train station.
Among all foreign languages guides and books on St. Petersburg, that I ever came across, this one is the only work that is worth translating into Russian. Even locals would find this book a great aid in exploring their own city.
A masterpiece among specialty city guides.......2003-08-14
I began reading Cathy Giandrande's little guide to St. Petersburg with a great deal of skepticism. As I kept exploring the book, all my doubts quickly disappeared. That alone came to me as a surprise. Unlike most Russians who still suffer from a mild identity disorder, Petersburgers have a strong sense of local patriotism and know what they are and what their city is about. From time to time, their patriotism mutates into a peculiar kind of city chauvinism. It is taken for granted that no temporary visitor, be he or she from Moscow or Paris, can know the city or truly appreciate it. I am no different. As a Petersburger, I would never think that an outsider, least a foreigner, least someone from a culture many Russians perceive as hostile and extremely russophobic, would be able to put together a concise guide to the lesser known museums and landmarks of the city and do it in such a low key, friendly and unbiased manner, that the final work is a joy to read and is more useful from any practical standpoint of city exploration than many far weightier and thicker "serious" guides.
Cathy Giangrande's St. Petersburg is a guide to the city museums and lesser-known landmarks. If the author "missed" any museums, then I have a feeling, that she excluded them deliberately because they are so obscure (like the Museum of Armed Forces Medical Academy) that almost no locals are aware of their existence. On the other hand, the guidebook contains information on some really obscure museums, such as the new private museum of toys.
The book is a journey of exploration and is a pleasure to read "as is" from cover to cover. Alternately, it can be used as a helpful reference manual.
The guidebook has its own share of minor irritants, such as the occasional misspelling of French and English words transliterated backwards, but they are not very significant.
The book is beautifully printed on high quality paper and is richly illustrated with color photographs. It contains a helpful map or rather an outline plan of the central part of the city, a schematic plan of St. Petersburg region, and a well-designed plan of St.Petersburg "Metro" (or the city's subway system). All museum and landmark entries include detailed address and contact information, and indicate the nearest subway or suburban train station.
Among all foreign languages guides and books on St. Petersburg, that I ever came across, this one is the only work that is worth translating into Russian. Even locals would find this book a great aid in exploring their own city.
Average customer rating:
- A good read all around
- An oldie but a goodie
- not his best, by far
- Character-Fueled Storytelling
- Very Emotional
|
The Man From St. Petersburg
Ken Follett
Manufacturer: NAL Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Follett, Ken
| ( F )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Paperback
| Follett, Ken
| ( F )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
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ASIN: 0451208706
Release Date: 2003-06-06 |
Book Description
His name was Feliks. He came to London to commit a murder that would change history. A master manipulator, he had many weapons at his command, but against him were ranged the whole of the English police, a brilliant and powerful lord, and the young Winston Churchill himself. These odds would have stopped any man in the world-except the man from St. Petersburg...
Customer Reviews:
A good read all around.......2006-07-04
Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what writing should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others
THE STORY:
Its WWI and England faces the fact that Germany may invade France and eventually England. They turn to an alliance with Russia in order to avoid this but people like Feliks don't want to see Mother Russia pulled into a fight that will leave the common man killed and the old regime in tact. So Feliks, the Man from St. Petersburg, sets out to stop the people trying to make the alliance.
THE SETTING:
When most World War stories take place they seem to revolve around WWII, not the first one. It was a nice change of pace and even "funny" on some levels to see characters like Winston Churchill play a part in the plot.
THE CHARACTERS:
Feliks - the anarchist who sets out to stop the alliance
Stephen Walden - a British aristocrat asked to help negotiate the alliance
Lydia - Stephen's wife with a past
Charlotte - Lydia and Stephen's 18 year old daughter who is starting to discover a world that her parents have isolated her from
All the characters are vivid and one's we can relate with on some level. At no point are you left wishing a scene with a specific character would hurry up and end because the reader gets engaged by them all.
THE PLOT:
A bit of cat-n-mouse story during a historic periods of time. The story presents information ("lessons") in philosophy and history, both of which I wished my school books presented the same theories in such fictionalized writing in order to make it interesting and not boring or slow as with this well paced, easy to read story. The book also has plenty of action for those that just want to get to it.
CONTENT:
Little memorable vulgarity. Some sex, though not as descriptive as most books, but definitely not shy either. The violence is mostly "off-screen", leaving it to your imagination.
OVERALL:
I've read 3 books by this author (Eye of the Needle, Hammer of Eden and this one), and this was more enjoyable for me on several levels than the other two. My experience with this book was going to be the deciding factor if I ever read a book by this author again as I was ok with the other two books. I'd be willing to read more from this author after this read.
An oldie but a goodie.......2006-05-16
I bought this book when it was first published oh so many years ago. It's one of Follett's best and I must have re-read it 20 times. It's that good.
This isn't one of those exciting page turning books that keep you up til 2am. To use the words of one of the reviwers below, it's a character driven book. And the characters are fully fleshed, right from the first time you meet them. That's why you can re-read these books. With most thrillers, you can only read them once because once you know how it ends the excitement is gone. But with books like this (which it seems authors don't know how to write any more) you can keep reading them again and again because the characters are old friends that you revisit each time you re-read the book.
I must admit the plot is a little simplistic compared to best sellers of today, but it doesn't really detract from the enjoyment of this book. If you are a true book lover who loves character driven drama you must buy this book.
This is one of Follett's early books and he hasn't written like this ever again.
not his best, by far.......2006-05-14
Thin plot, thinly developed characters, not the author's best. The Pillars of the Earth, Eye of the Needle, and Dangerous Fortune stand out as by far his best. The Man from St. Petersburg is interesting, but not nearly the suspense, drama or richly developed characters of Follett's best... not worth a read in my opinion.
Character-Fueled Storytelling.......2005-10-12
Follette's best characters in the "political intrigue" stage of his writing career are to be found in this lightning-paced novel. Set in England in the year before the outbreak of the First World War, this story concerns an anarchist named Felix, and his efforts to assassinate a Russian Prince, who is visiting England to cement a treaty of mutual protection in the event of hostilities with Germany. The anarchist, a Russian who has endured much injustice in his life (so much, in fact, he has somehow lost the capacity to feel fear in his plummet from idealistic pacifist to hardened killer) is no purposeless psychopath. Though he has come to regard himself as "lost" Felix holds out hope that if the chains of tyranny can be lifted from the peoples of Europe, then peace and goodness might rise. He sees no need for governments or for law. He feels humans can best direct themselves and authority is by definition corrupt. It is to the end of disrupting the treaty between the two powers, England and Russia, that Felix travels to London in 1914, intent on stopping the alliance and making war that much less attractive to the great powers. Opposing Felix is an English Earl named Walden, who, unknown to both men, has a unlikely mutual connection with Felix from the past-the Earl's wife. This novel moves at a brisk pace and flashes through the underworld of post-Edwardian London, as well as its halls of government. Winston Churchill is a minor figure in this book, although most others, including the memorable eighteen-year-old Charlotte Walden, at the time of the novel, supposedly a ninety-two-year-old friend of Follette's, are fictional constructs. I found this novel skillfully rendered and immensely enjoyable. It is possibly the best of the novels Ken Follette composed before his turned out his 1989 masterpiece: The Pillars of the Earth.
Very Emotional.......2005-07-13
The best part about this book is that halfway through the story, I couldn't figure out what ending to hope for. Follett does an excellent job of creating sympathy for each character, even the evil ones, a characteristic found in some of his other novels as well. All of them are in very precarious situations and each possible outcome spells disaster for some other character in the book. On the one hand, I wanted the assassin to carry out the murder for his own sake and for the prevention of WWI(even though it did happen), but I also wanted the Russian prince to survive because he is a good character and it would be disastrous for the entire Walden family. Rarely does an author present such a conflict, most resort to the hope of a happy ending which the reader knows is inevitable but this one is definitely unique. There is no true happy ending.
This is an all-around solid book. You really do feel for the characters and their dilemmas. The story never drags, each chapter has some kind of contribution to the overall quality and the high stakes involved ensure the reader's attention for the duration of the book. Worth the $8.
Book Description
World-class entertainment at the Mariinsky Theatre, sultry White Nights in midsummer, ice-skating on the Neva and the sublime architecture of the Church on the Spilled Blood - Russia's 'northern capital' amazes all who visit. This smart, streetwise and stylish guide uncovers the cultural riches, captivating history and carefree nightlife of this magnificent city.
• IMMERSE YOURSELF IN ART - compare Picasso and Poussin, Gainsborough and Gauguin with a whole chapter dedicated to the vast Hermitage Museum
• CATCH THE SCENE - dance on tables or watch world-class ballet; our St Petersburg expert reveals the complete range of entertainment options
• EXPLORE the city with tailor-made walking tours, full color, cross-referenced maps and metro plan
• TALK THE TALK with our detailed language chapter complete with Cyrillic script
• ESCAPE to opulent Tsarist palaces and charming historic towns with our comprehensive Excursions chapter
Customer Reviews:
Great Guidebook.......2007-05-18
the book is really informative.
the only downfall is the russian pronunciation. as i am a russian language major, i can personally say there is definitely a better way to write out a lot of the words.
THE BEST THERE IS.......2005-08-23
This is the guide to use for Moscow. The beautifully illustrated contents include self guided tours that are so easy to follow you will feel like you were born there. BUY IT!!
Chock Full of Information.......2004-01-08
I just returned from St. Petersburg. The Lonley Planet guide was amazingly helpful. This little pocket sized book contains virtually everything one needs to navigate the city, find hotels, restaurants, visit the important and novel sites, and gain a perspective on the city's history.
There is also a section on language and phrases as well as easy to follow maps of the subway. If you go, I also recommend a companion purchase, Lonley Planet's map of St. Petersburg. It is laminated and fits easily into one's coat pocket.
Good Additional Guide Book.......2004-01-08
As the founder of a company devoted to enriching cultural and business travel to Russia, we are always looking for a good, general guidebook for clients. "Lonely Planet St. Petersburg " details several sights and museums not covered in many other guidebooks, such as the GUVD Museum and a guide to the little-visited southern St. Petersburg (which was to have been the new city center after the Siege of Leningrad). The history and art sections are also strong for a guide book. The entertainment, bar, restaurant and hotel suggestions are comprehensive (as far as quantity, quality and general pricing range, although the pricing itself is not accurate).
One annoyance is that there are no Cyrillic displays of a sight's name (or even transliterations into Latin script), which means that you are likely to miss a sign right in front of you for, for instance, the Toy Museum.
Note, however, that we always tell clients and other visitors to Russia that you should get the most current guidebook, as attractions, hotels, restaurants and transportation options do often change--AND THEN VERIFY THE INFORMATION! All in all, we recommend "Lonely Planet St. Petersburg " as a good guidebook to bring if you are staying more than a few days, or if you want comprehensive entertainment and restaurant listings before departing for your journey of Discovering Russia's second city, St. Petersburg.
Marc David Miller, Discovering Russia, New York
Inevitably Out of Date, but Still Quite Good.......2003-12-18
When one goes to Europe with a European guidebook from Lonely Planet, one can expect perhaps 95% accuracy regarding the information within the book. The St. Petersberg guide is probably closer to 80%. That, however, is not the fault of the authors. Russian cities have been evolving rapidly since the break up of the USSR. Cool bars close. Hostels shut down or move. Museum schedules change. All of these things occur at a far faster rate than in Western or even Eastern Europe.
That being said, the guide was, overall, quite good. I particularly enjoyed the Walking Tours within and the map of the Winter Palace, which was invaluable.
Book Description
Before becoming a city, St. Petersburg was a utopian vision in the mind of its founder, Peter the Great. Conceived by him as Russia's "window to the West," it evolved into a remarkably harmonious assemblage of baroque, rococo, neoclassical, and art nouveau buildings that reflect his taste and that of his successors, including Anna I, Elizabeth I, Catherine the Great, and Paul I.
Crisscrossed by rivers and canals, this "Venice of the North," as Goethe dubbed it, is of unique beauty. Never before has that beauty been captured as eloquently as on the pages of this sumptuous volume. From the stately mansions lining the fabled Nevsky Prospekt to the magnificent palaces of the tsars on the outskirts of the city, including Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, Oranienbaum, Gatchina, and Pavlovsk, photographer Alexander Orloff's portrait of St. Petersburg does full justice to the vision of its founder and namesake. The text, by art historian Dmitri Shvidkovsky, chronicles the history of the city's planning and construction from Peter the Great's time to the reign of the last tsar, Nicholas II. Anyone who has ever visited--or dreamed of visiting--the city of "white nights" will find St. Petersburg irresistible.
Customer Reviews:
IMPERIAL RUSSIA.......2006-09-30
This is a gorgeous book on a beautiful city. My father would have loved this book, he had an interest in all things Russian, he and my mother toured St. Petersburg and loved it. The images in this book are crisp and text highly informative. St. Petersburg has a wealth of beautiful Imperial Buildings and they are shown at their best in this wonderful book. From Peter the Great's Peterhof to the Hermitage, to Catherine the Great's Tsarkoe Selo, the best of Imperial Russian architecture is on display. If you have any interst in Imperial Russian architecture or just enjoy fine books, then i cannot imagine you being disappointed. Highly recommended.
Worth Every Penny.......2003-06-17
This can be an expensive book if you're not buying it used, but it's absolutely worth it. The beautiful pictures are excellent at presenting St. Petersburg's amazing architectural wonders. The text is well-written, and even if you don't have a great deal of knowledge of Russian history, you'll still be able to follow along without any trouble.
A gem - read and enjoy!
where is customer service?.......2002-03-08
I ordered this book but was sent a book on grilling...I returned the grilling book but have not been credited for the st petersburg book..please refer this to the proper dept. thank you!
where is customer service?.......2002-03-08
I ordered this book but was sent a book on grilling...I returned the grilling book but have not been credited for the st petersburg book..please refer this to the proper dept. thank you!
St. Petersburg: Architecture of the Tsars.......2001-08-28
One of the most beautiful books I've ever come across, St. Petersburg:Architecture of the Tsars is a must for those interested in Imperial Russian history, architecture, or both. The lavish book aptly illustrates the architecture of the former capital of the tsars, from the exuberant Russian Baroque of Peter the Great, to the neoclassicism of Catherine the Great, to the Art Nouveau of Nicholas II. With chapters arranged in chronological order, the book illustrates the development of the city through the reigns of each tsar/tsaritsa, and includes seperate chapters on Pavlovsk, Tsarskoe Selo, and Peterhof. The book is well worth the price.
Book Description
This lavishly illustrated book tells the epic 300- story of St. Petersburg through its architecture, literature, music and art, from the city's origins and its earliest buildings through to the present day.
Book Description
The Flames of Love and Revolution…
It is Czarist Russia, 1914. Karena Peshkev dreams of escaping her family’s country estate and attending medical school. But each year, as she watches her hopes of being accepted to the Imperial College of Medicine slip further away, she much content herself with working alongside her mother, the village’s Jewish midwife.
On a visit to her cousin’s sumptuous mansion, Karena gets a taste of Russian high society–and meets Colonel Alexsandr Kronstadt. Their attraction is immediate, but they can never act on it. Alex is meant for Karena’s cousin, the general’s daughter, a superior match politically and socially.
But when the accusations of Bolshevik conspiracy tear her family apart, Karena and her mother flee to St. Petersburg. The Okhrana–the Russian secret police–are convinced Karena is a Bolshevik traitor, in league with the rebel party’s leader. Certain she is guilty of murder and assassination, they’re determined to hunt her down. Alex risks his career and his life to protect her from afar, but will it be enough? Will he find her in time to save her from false accusations–and declare his love?
Vibrant with historical detail and richly woven themes of danger, romance, and God’s faithfulness, The Midwife of St. Petersburg is an eloquent tale portraying the beauty and madness of a country that is about to change forever.
Customer Reviews:
Karena Peshkev dreams of escaping her family's country estate to attend medical school.......2007-06-18
In early-20th-century Czarist Russia, Karena Peshkev dreams of escaping her family's country estate to attend medical school. But she continues to be waitlisted because her mother, the village's midwife, is Jewish. On a visit to her wealthy cousin Tatiana's St. Petersburg mansion, Karen meets Colonel Alexsandr Kronstadt, a member of the Okhrana, or secret police. While their attraction is immediate, Alex is meant for Tatiana, the general's daughter --- a superior match politically and socially.
But when the accusations of Bolshevik conspiracy tear her family apart, Karena and her mother flee to St. Petersburg. The Okhrana believes that Karena is a Bolshevik traitor, in league with the rebel party's leader. Will Karena and her family survive? Will she and Alex ever be able to have a relationship?
This historical tale of a Christian-Jewish family's involvement in the Revolution is different and intriguing. Joseph Peshkov is a Christian, and his wife Yeva is a convert -- but she and her relatives (including scholar Uncle Matvey Menkin, who believes that Jesus Christ is the Jewish Messiah) remain under close scrutiny by the Okhrana. Complicating matters is the fact that Karena's brother Sergei is deeply entrenched in Bolshevik activities. When Colonel Aleksandr Kronstadt is sent to investigate suspicious doings where the family lives, near Kiev, his infatuation with Karena leads him to help her and her family out of numerous scrapes.
Grandmother Jilinsky's dreadful memories of pogroms in her native Poland, Madame Yeva's hinky ownership of a stunning jewel and the fact that all available able-bodied men are either being conscripted into the military or sent to labor camps mean that a happy ending for Karena and her ailing mother will be hard to come by.
There were some elements in this book that I greatly enjoyed, not the least of which were a number of the characters. Uncle Matvey, with his gouty foot and book-crowded study, is a marvelous creation, a sort of antiqued "Jews for Jesus" proselytizer. Kronstadt's stepmother Olga evokes all of the splendor and much of the guilt of the White Russian aristocracy. I'm not sure why author Linda Lee Chaikin always refers to the diamonds worn by the shallow aristocratic women as "South African diamonds," unless she has some political bone to sharpen. That's fine, but given the lack of similar digs at worldly things in the book, the shtick seems out of place.
I also liked the homework Chaikin has done on early 20th-century medical and hygienic practices; Madame Yeva believes as firmly in sickroom cleanliness as her idol Florence Nightingale did. I would love to see a book about Karena and her mother running a clinic for St. Petersburg's ladies of the evening (as Karena does a bit of towards the end of the novel).
--- Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick
More Stars Please.......2007-06-13
In my opinion, Linda Chaikin writes for 2 genres. One is the fast-paced world of intrigue with highly woven plots and characters (The Buccaneers, Silk House, Heart of India). The other is slightly more relaxed with deep detail and characters who think before they act (Lions of the Desert, East of the Sun). This book falls into the realm of the second, and is a highly entertaining and evocative read.
In respect to the other reviews listed here, yes there are some moments where the text repeats, but possibly this is a help to the reader who cruises through a book, rather than a speed-freak like myself who can't wait to get to the end and find out what happened and blazes through it in under 24hrs. Every author has his or her own foibles, no matter who they are. It's worth 'forgiving' this for the sake of what's going on. Keep in mind also that Aussies don't think like Americans, Americans don't think like Russians, and Russians don't think like Jews. There are valid reasons behind the behaviour of the characters here. To me the style of the book made perfect sense and the pace was beautiful. Too quick, and you fail to 'feel'. A good book is about more than a fleeting mental pleasure.
If you want a quickie romance with passionate love affairs and unrealistic time spans, go and get a novella. The Midwife of St Petersberg is a story with integrity and passion for the long haul, and the characters are treading carefully. Some men and women (Micheal W Smith's biography) share a glance and 'know'they have found their Mr or Mrs Right. Other people can take ten times longer. Still others rush into flings and get themselves in a whole lot of trouble...
Beside the point. I found the story clipped, and see that Chaikin is toning back her long descriptives in favour of urging the story along at a pace with realism that is highly plausible. This book is about more than romance. It's about relationship, deception, truth and what we all want to fight for when government does its people wrong. Karena's own spiritual journey develops in this book, and I am quite certain we shall see one if not two more installments here, hence, what some readers refer to as 'unanswered questions' and loose ends.
At the risk off too much dialogue about author technique, the story goes as follows: Karena is the daughter of a Russian Wheat farmer and has a brother and a sister and numerous cousins. She ventures to cousin Tatiana's house first where she meets Aleksander, or Alex. Their attraction is instant though they talk themselves out of it due to circumstance. Karena's brother ends up in a whole lot of trouble with the law as a Bolshevik, and later she is caught up in his web, ending with dire circumstances when their father, Josef, all but sacrifices himself so that Sergei can have a life. Alex's part to play is as Colonel, for the time being, and his step-mother helps him out with 'spy matters', since she also is a spy and is one of the few he can confide in. The situation for Karena changes numerous times in the space of hours, and her life is thrown into a spin. What would you do if everything you loved was suddenly ripped away?
Karena has several encounters with Alex, as well as the 'troublemakers' of the story. The character details do help define the people and certainly shows who they are and what they are not. Some of it is rather blunt, and shows just how stupid people can be, even when the truth is right before their eyes.
I hesitate to say too much and reveal all the secrets, or else, if you read the reviews here you might be disappointed with knowing everything! :) Suffice it to say, there is a kind of "Book #1" ending about it. It is a semi-cliff hanger not devoid of hope or promise. Karena's own mother is probably holding the biggest bomb of all to drop, at this stage.
Yes, it is a good read. A great read. It does deserve the time of day, but I also suggest you keep in mind not only what kind of things you love, but also to try something a little different. This is meant to be more than your average fiction romance. I considered it very smooth, and I can't wait for the next one!
Way to go LLC! :)
Don't waste your time........2007-05-24
"The Midwife of St. Petersburg" was a great disappointment to me. I have long heard about Linda Lee Chaikin as being an excellent writer of exciting, romantic historical Christian novels, but this book, the first of hers I have read, did not prove such praises to be true. I certainly hope that what other reviewers have said is true, and that this novel is not a good example of Chaikin's work, because based on this book alone, I would most likely never read a book of hers again.
It would be a VAST understatement to say that this book is LONG and drawn-out far beyond what is necessary. It seems as though Chaikin takes forty pages to write what could be done eloquently and efficiently in about five pages. That being said, she certainly pays close attention to detail, leaving no stone unturned - and no thought unrecorded. You do get a feel for the time period and setting when reading this novel. I suppose that attention to detail is the only reason I'm giving this book two stars instead of one.
The constant inner monologues of her characters are, I suppose, meant to create depth in them, but instead it comes off as long-winded and boring. The relationships, particularly the "romantic" one, also lack depth and believability. The "romantic" aspect of this book is nearly non-existent, highly contrived, and very disappointing. The plot, aside from moving ridiculously slow, simply dead ends without much resolution, which is also unsatisfactory.
I think that Chaikin is trying to make this novel the first in a series; my assumption is based solely on the lack of resolution in the plot, although nothing on the book jack or the back of the book indicates that a sequel is in the works. If a sequel is indeed going to be published, I will most certainly not be reading it; I couldn't finish this book fast enough, which is always a sign of a sub-par novel.
Grade: D
Pretty bad for a Chaikin book.......2007-05-12
Midwife of St. Petersburg is not one of Ms. Chaikin's better books. In fact, I found it to be pretty annoying. The overall writing style seems sloppy- going off on tangents about events, people randomly. There are multiple instances where a certain fact or event is repeated, first stated by one character then the next chapter another character makes the exact same remark. At least three times, there is the same comment made about Florence Nightingale and her sanitizing/hand-washing practices. Almost as if someone wasn't paying attention when editing or it is assumed that the readers need these redundancies...???? I don't know why but it was extremely annoying to read a story that didn't have much plot, romance, too much boring historical information, a lot of loose ends hanging at the end, and then had to repeat whole sections that weren't that great to begin with.
I personally didn't like the protagonist of Karena either. She was a sweet, caring girl but she came off as stupid and careless. She knowlingly puts herself into dangerous situations and then seems surprised at the outcome! The little romance that there is in the story, between Karena and Alex, is just barely beginning and yet they claim to have already fallen head over heels for each other. In that sense, even the romance doesn't seem realistic. There is too much time devoted to explaining certain historical facts (the character of Rasputin, religious persecution, Bolshevik revolutions) at great lengths that is too much for a work of fiction. And even those facts are repeated over and over again. As if we're too stupid to have noticed them the first time they were mentioned.
There are also some very hokey lines that make "serious" parts almost laughable. Karena "dream[ed] of the day when she would see him again (...)the day the rosebud would open into a full, red rose." "The times are against us." Those lines could be sweet and poetic but the way they're used it seems more melodramatic.
Overall, a disappointment. This story isn't on the same level as Ms. Chaikin's other novels. It was an interesting story idea but it isn't written well. If is was better edited and the plot more concentrated, it would have made a strong, stand alone book. But instead there is a poorly structured plot with a lot of loose ends and redundancies.
For some better historical romances set in Russia, I recommend reading the Heirs of Anton series by Susan May Warren and Susan Downs.
A Story that begs to be read and enjoyed!.......2007-05-05
One of the best books ever written by Linda Chaikin! Russia 1914, a time of unrest among the common people forgotten by the czar and the elite. Karena Peshkova seeks to gain admittance to the prestigious Medical school in St.Petersburg in order to become a doctor but her dream for three years in a row have been dashed. She must content herself to work alongside her monther on her family's country estate as a midwife. But on a visit to her wealthy cousin's home in Kazan, Karena meets the dashing officer Alex Kronstadt who is promised in a political marriage to her cousin, Tatiana. The attraction between them is immediate but they both knew they could never act upon it. As the story prgresses, Karena finds herself a target for the Russian Imperial Secret Police as in league with the rebel leader of the Bolshevik. Certain that she is guilty of murder and conspiracy against the Czar, they are determined to hunt her down. Alex intervenes from afar, saving her life, while knowing that his action could jeopardize his career in the Russian military. Would he be able to get through and declare his love for Karena?
For now this is a standalone novel but I have been told that Linda's readers should write to the publisher of this book for a sequel. The ending was left open for more to the story. I would love for this story to continue!
Customer Reviews:
Better ones out there..........2007-03-20
This guide was OK however I there are much better ones out there. Not enough background-history & culture, no pics, just not close to being the best guide I've used. Rough Guide & Let's Go are much better. Eyewitness Guide is great for history & visual.
Fodors guide to St Petersburg and Moscow.......2006-11-03
The book is very comprehensive, but to the type of tourist I am, 300 hundred pages of just descriptions is not good. For tourist that can only dedicate 4 to 5 days to each city, we would like to see lots of pictures of the most important places we should not miss in the city. The book doesn't have any pictures. it is also helpful to mention that the Peterhof palace needs to be (ideally) visited during late spring or summer. The gardens of the palace are absolutely fantastic, with the highlight of the springs of water flushing from every statue, step, and fountain. and the ponds and springs are closed at other time of the year. So you can not appreciate them in its full beauty and glory. We went to St. Petersburg in October and the fountains were closed in Peterhof, but the garden is worth visiting, even if they are not working in full. just remember to wrap up well!
Average customer rating:
- A latter day Platonic Dialogue
- Brilliant Analysis of Modernity
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St Petersburg Dialogues: Or Conversations on the Temporal Government of Providence
Joseph De Maistre
Manufacturer: McGill-Queen's University Press
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Customer Reviews:
A latter day Platonic Dialogue.......2003-05-31
I picked up this book in a wonderful pocket edition in Spanish, which allowed me to read it in snatches. I believe it is better read thus, rather than in one sitting (I can't imagine reading 500+ pages of complex arguments in one go). The author, Count Joseph de Maistre, was a Catholic Savoyard nobleman who was born in the Ancién Régime's twilight and was almost buried by the revolutionary upheavals after 1789. Separated from his family and nearly broke, he endured a long odyssey through Europe, always escaping the revolutionaries just before their arrival into a territory, at last seeking refuge in Saint Petersburg where he quickly became a local fixture, well respected as a very learned man. His learning is visible in the St. Petersburg Dialogues, where he has three characters (the count- apparently himself-, the senator - an elderly Russian nobleman- and the knight -a young French soldier) meet at the Count's dacha for 11 nights to debate all sort of matters. They discuss the nature of Providence, and address the old question "why does the good man suffer, whereas the evildoer thrives?" in a very ingenious way. They discuss the origin of languages, the limits of science, the future of mankind. There is also a very long disquisition in which the Count tears Locke's "Treatise on Human Understanding" to tatters. The writing is wonderfully fluid and a character may talk about an issue for pages on end, but this is never boring because the arguments move forward very quickly. De Maistre was a great polemist and many of his arguments were apparently meant to shock the reader. This will happen at times even when the reader tends to agree with most of the Count's arguments (as in my case). Clearly, after the passing of Gilbert K. Chesterton (1930's) there hasn't been a worthy Catholic polemist willing to take on many of the fallacies of the modern mindset.
The Dialogues is, at its best, worthy of the Socratic dialogues on which it was modelled, although De Maistre is as guilty as Plato of never giving opposite viewpoints enough airtime. He may have been worried about fortifying them, which was opposite to his intention. De Maistre shows that religion doesn't have to be fair, only consistent. The Count, possessed of one of the bleakest views on nature imaginable, lived up to his own somber expectations. Having lived in exile for a quarter century, he died a few years after the Restoration, unable to enjoy the re-establishment of absolute monarchy and absolute religion.
I found the book to be very uplifting in the spiritual sense and very much enjoyed the robust argumentation.
Brilliant Analysis of Modernity.......2000-02-04
De Maistre is one of the most incisive political philosophers ever to take pen in hand: he was able to predict the social impact of the French Revolution's demented ideas with unerring precision, and he dissects the revolutionary mentality with ruthlessness. The frame of his analysis is one simple principle: man is flawed. It is ridiculous to believe that a perfect social order can be dreamed up and implemented by imperfect human beings. While other critics of the French Revolution, like Edmund Burke or the older (and wiser) Thomas Jefferson cannot fully attack revolutionary principles (because they subscribed to a modified version of them), De Maistre revels in adopting a position diametrically opposed to those principles and ably defends it. He demonstrates not only the fallacy of utopian social planning, but he also refutes the tired chestnut that authority and tradition are stultifying or repressive - authority lends order to chaos, and tradition prevents the wheel of government from being bloodily reinvented every generation by idiotic murderers like Lincoln, FDR, Hitler and Mao. The book is not only a spirited defense of traditional European culture against perverse universalist ideology, it is also a literary masterpiece. Unlike Rousseau's Social Contract or Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws, this particular Frenchman (actually Savoyard) wrote in a lucid, engaging and conversational style full of wit and paradox instead of stolid pronouncement. Its literary artifice (it is written as a series of conversations - the dialogues of the title - between a young French nobleman at the Court of St. Petersburg and several interesting companions) is pleasant and reveals the fads and thinking of the times in a playful and enjoyable way. It is rare to find a work which is simultaneously so thought-provoking and so well wrought. Next time you read a blow-dried, boring book by a hack like Garry Wills, remember that 200 years ago political writers still had independent minds and literary talent.
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