New Releases by Boris

In 1882, after six years of foreign travel and adventure, renowned diplomat and detective Erast Fandorin returns to Moscow in the heart of Mother Russia. His Moscow homecoming is anything but peaceful. In the hotel where he and his loyal if impertinent manservant Masa are staying, Fandorin’s old war-hero friend General Michel Sobolev (“Achilles” to the crowd) has been found dead, felled in his armchair by an apparent heart attack. But Fandorin suspects an unnatural cause. His suspicions lead him to the boudoir of the beautiful singer–“not exactly a courtesan”–known as Wanda. Apparently, in Wanda’s bed, the general secretly breathed his last. . . . From the Trade Paperback edition.

“[Akunin] writes gloriously pre-Soviet prose, sophisticated and suffused in Slavic melanchioly and thoroughly worthy of nineteenth-century forebearers like Gogol and Chekhov.” –Time It is 1877, and war has broken out between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The Bulgarian front resounds with the thunder of cavalry charges, the roar of artillery, and the clash of steel on steel during the world’s last great horse-and-cannon conflict. Amid the treacherous atmosphere of a nineteenth-century Russian field army, former diplomat and detective extraordinaire Erast Fandorin finds his most confounding case. It’s difficulties are only compounded by the presence of Varya Suvorova, a deadly serious (and seriously beautiful) woman with revolutionary ideals who has disguised herself as a boy in order to find her respected comrade– and fiancé–Pyotr Yablokov, an army cryptographer. Even after Fandorin saves her life, Varya can hardly bear to thank such a “lackey of the throne” for his efforts. But when Yablokov is accused of espionage and faces imprisonment and execution, Varya must turn to Fandorin to find the real culprit . . . a mission that forces her to reconsider his courage, deductive mind, and piercing gaze. Filled with the same delicious detail, ingenious plotting, and subtle satire as The Winter Queen and Murder on the Leviathan, The Turkish Gambit confirms Boris Akunin’s status as a master of the historical thriller–and Erast Fandorin as a detective for the ages. From the Hardcover edition.

A Polish citizen of Belarusian descent, Boris Ragula escaped German internment during World War II only to find on his return to Belarus that it had fallen under the control of Soviet totalitarianism. He was imprisoned by the communist secret police but finally escaped with his family to Belgium.Ragula earned a medical degree and then fulfilled his dream of immigrating to Canada where for forty years he ran one of the busiest practices in London, Ontario, and played a pioneering role in the North American anti-smoking movement.Against the Currentoffers a personal account of the plight of European refugees and the importance of immigrants to Canada''s postwar growth. Ragula''s insights into the complicated nature of identity in central Europe shows how "ordinary people" negotiate the complex, often contradictory claims of national, ethnic, religious, and geographic loyalties. His memoir provides a personal perspective on some of the major events of the twentieth century.

Moscow, May 1876: What would cause a talented young student from a wealthy family to shoot himself in front of a promenading public in the Alexander Gardens? Decadence and boredom, most likely, is what the commander of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Police thinks, but still he finds it curious enough to send the newest member of the division, Erast Fandorin, a young man of irresistible charm, to the Alexander Gardens precinct for more information. Fandorin is not satisfied with the conclusion that this is an open-and-shut case, nor with the preliminary detective work the precinct has done—and for good reason: The bizarre and tragic suicide is soon connected to a clear case of murder, witnessed firsthand by Fandorin. There are many unresolved questions. Why, for instance, have both victims left their fortunes to an orphanage run by the English Lady Astair? And who is the beautiful “A.B.,” whose signed photograph is found in the apparent suicide’s apartment? Relying on his keen intuition, the eager sleuth plunges into an investigation that leads him across Europe, landing him at the deadly center of a terrorist conspiracy of worldwide proportions. In this thrilling mystery that brings nineteenth-century Russia to vivid life, Akunin has created one of the most eagerly anticipated novels in years.

Paris, 1878: Eccentric antiquarian Lord Littleby and his ten servants are found murdered in Littleby''s mansion on the rue de Grenelle, and a priceless Indian shawl is missing. Police commissioner "Papa" Gauche recovers only one piece of evidence from the crime scene: a golden key shaped like a whale. Gauche soon deduces that the key is in fact a ticket of passage for the Leviathan, a gigantic steamship soon to depart Southampton on its maiden voyage to Calcutta. The murderer must be among its passengers. In Cairo, the ship is boarded by a young Russian diplomat with a shock of white hair--none other than Erast Fandorin, the celebrated detective of Boris Akunin''s The Winter Queen. The sleuth joins forces with Gauche to determine which of ten unticketed passengers on the Leviathan is the rue de Grenelle killer. Tipping his hat to Agatha Christie, Akunin assembles a colorful cast of suspects--including a secretive Japanese doctor, a professor who specializes in rare Indian artifacts, a pregnant Swiss woman, and an English aristocrat with an appetite for collecting Asian treasures--all of whom are con''ned together until the crime is solved. As the Leviathan steams toward Calcutta, will Fandorin be able to out-investigate Gauche and discover who the killer is, even as the ship''s passengers are murdered, one by one? Already an international sensation, Boris Akunin''s latest page-turner transports the reader back to the glamorous, dangerous past in a richly atmospheric tale of suspense on the high seas. From the Hardcover edition.

On 15th March 1878 Lord Littleby, an English eccentric and collector, is found murdered in his Paris house together with nine members of his staff. A gold whale in the victim''s hand leads Erast Fandorin to board the Leviathan, the world''s largest steamship, as the murderer is one of the 142 First Class passengers. Commissioner Gauche of the French police has narrowed down the suspects to ten, and they are forced to eat together at every meal time in the ship''s Windsor Suite until ''the Crime of the Century'' is solved. But is the murderer really sat around the table, and can Erast Fandorin discover his or her identity before Gauche? As more passengers are murdered and Leviathan heads towards Calcutta, Fandorin needs all his investigative skills to find the truth. Boris Akunin''s latest page-turner again transports the reader back to the late nineteenth-century. In LEVIATHAN he pays homage to Agatha Christie with a cast of characters and plot which grips you from the first page.

Fiction. Translated from the French by Brian Harper. "FOAM OF THE DAZE is a novel like no other, a sexy, innocent, smart and sweet cartoon of a world which then begins, little by little, to bleed real blood until, in the end, the blood turns out to be our own. I read it nearly thirty years ago in its previous incarnation as Mood Indigo and I loved it then; it''s still one of my favorite books in the whole world"--Jim Krusoe. "A kind of jazzy, cheerful, sexy, sci-fi mid-20th century Huysmans. Check it out. There is just no place like France"--Richard Hell.

Boris Vian s early death robbed French literature of a novelist who was coherent while still modern. Heartsnatcher is an esoteric, surrealistic comedy about guilt, set in a deceptively familiar, almost ordinary locale. New Statesman

"[This collection] displays Vian''s range from gallows humor to verbal fireworks, and happily serves to give visibility to this important writer."- Publishers Weekly. "Ultimately, Blues for a Black Cat is a collection of moral fables, albeit fables told in a cynical, mocking voice and set in a skewed version of the real world. Under the surface absurdity and verbal play, they offer serious indictments of human weakness and pretensions. Further, they reveal the spiritual emptiness just beneath our civilized faade. Vian''s blues are not only for a black cat, but for a society without meaning."- Manoa. "[Blues for a Black Cat] brings back the nimble Vian in a collection of his short fiction, initially published as Les Fourmis in 1949. The work has the unmistakable flavor of the time and place, Claude Abadie''s jazz band, the coded and absurdist messages of rebellion, the wistful fables, verbal riffs and goofy anarchic encounters; the mise-en-scene includes an expiring jazzman who sells his sweat, a cat with a British accent and a piano that mixes a cocktail when "Mood Indigo" is played."-Boston Globe. Boris Vian (1920-59), a trained engineer and jazz trumpet player, was a major literary figure in World War II France. Julia Older is the author or editor of many works. Her stories, translations, and poems have appeared in New Directions, the New Yorker, and many other journals.

A comprehensive and readable account of 500 years of Brazilian history.

Bazhanov provides an eye-witness account of the inner workings and personalities of the Soviet Central Committee and the Politburo in the 1920s, painting a chilling picture of Stalin''s rise to and abuse of power. The translation (from the French version of 1979) and commentary are by David W. Doyle. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Every single element of this longstanding leading text -from content selection to sequence to organization -has been enhanced for greater effectiveness & easier understanding. The strengths that have earned the casebook enduring popularity: Problems that are interspersed between notes & questions. A perfectly balanced presentation that heightens accessibility while it remains challenging. The current authors, who are among the most noted scholars of their generation, continue to uphold & extend the tradition of excellence established by original author Boris Bittker. A unique introduction that provides insightful historical background & some economic analysis. Integrated theory & policy when appropriate. An extensive Teacher''s Manual supports the text & gives practical suggestions rooted in years of classroom experience. Exciting changes in the Twelfth Edition: new co-author Daniel Shaviro shares his expertise in tax law & policy new & additional problems, in response to user feedback new introductory text supplies additional explanations updated text on the 1997 Tax Act substantially trimmed notes concentrating on the essentials cases which have been exhaustively reviewed include preserved teaching cases considered to be the best, & less distinguished cases either cut, reduced, or summarized a new discussion of "flat tax" & an expanded section on tax compliance materials on Drescher that now stand alone & can be used when professors prefer a rewritten section on original issue discount, now clearer & easier to follow an impressive author web site, www.law.nyu.edu/bankmanj/

The book is a collection of short stories describing various aspects of human life on Earth in the 22nd century. The plots of the stories are not closely connected, but they feature a shared set of characters. The most commonly recurring characters are Evgeny Slavin and Sergei Kondratev, who, as a result of a lengthy journey through interstellar space at near the speed of light, are thrown over a century into the future and must re-integrate into the society of their great-grandchildren.

In this gripping novel, Boris Savinkov, a revolutionary and terrorist, delves into the dark underbelly of early 20th-century Russia. Through the eyes of George, a member of a terrorist organization, Savinkov explores the moral ambiguity and psychological turmoil of those who resort to violence in the name of political change. As George grapples with his conscience and the consequences of his actions, the reader is taken on a haunting journey through the shadows of a nation on the brink of upheaval.