Most Popular Books by Boris

This monograph is devoted to a new approach to an old field of scientific investigation, freeway traffic research. Freeway traffic is an extremely complex spatiotemporal nonlinear dynamic process. For this reason, it is not surprising that empirical traffic pattern features have only recently been sufficiently understood. Such empirical features are in serious conflict with almost all earlier theoretical and model results. Consequently, the author introduced a new traffic flow theory called "three-phase traffic theory," which can explain these empirical spatiotemporal traffic patterns. The main focus of this book is a consideration of empirical spatiotemporal traffic pattern features, their engineering applications, and explanations based on the three-phase traffic theory. The book consists of four parts. In Part I, empirical studies of traffic flow patterns, earlier traffic flow theories, and mathematical models are briefly reviewed. Three-phase traffic theory is considered as well. This theory is a qualitative theory. Main ideas and results of the three-phase traffic flow the ory will be introduced and explained without complex mathematical models. This should be suitable for a very broad audience of practical engineers, physicists, and other readers who may not necessarily be specialists in traf fic flow problems, and who may not necessarily have worked in the field of spatiotemporal pattern formation. In Part II, empirical spatiotemporal traffic pattern features are consid ered. A microscopic three-phase traffic theory of these patterns and results of an application of the pattern features to engineering applications are pre sented in Part III and Part IV, respectively.

The reactionary Adjutant General Khrapov, newly appointed governor-general of Siberia and soon-to-be minister of the interior, is murdered in his official saloon carriage on his way from St. Petersburg to Moscow. The killer, disguised as Fandorin, boards the train at Klin, where it has been delayed by snowdrifts on the line. He leaves a knife bearing the initials "CG" (Combat Group) thrust up to the hilt in his victim''s chest and escapes through the window of the carriage. Fandorin is first arrested for the crime, but quickly released when the train pulls into Moscow and the General''s staff realise their blunder. The murder threatens the career of Prince Dolgorukoi, Moscow''s elderly governor-general, and Fandorin''s greatest fan. He asks Fandorin to investigate, even though someone new, Prince Pozharsky, has been sent from St. Petersburg to head the investigation. The head of the CG is a man named Mr. Green, the son of a Jewish pharmacist whose family suffered very badly from the pogroms. He bears a grudge and, together with his fellow revolutionaries, seeks vengeance. He is a man of steel, who has toughened himself so much that he is a worthy, and daunting, adversary. However, this is a battle between good and evil and Fandorin reminds us that two wrongs never make a right as he battles against Green in a test of wills. The mystery surrounds the mole: who is the leak? And what motivates them? This is what Fandorin must find out, even if it means that he places his own lover, the fiery Esfir, under suspician. In the end, Fandorin becomes so disillusioned that he walks away from promotion, and to the life of a civilian, at last.

Translated from the original Russian, this book analyzes the economic development of leading European empires and the United States of America. The author exposes the myths of the spontaneous emergence of the market economy and the role of government as a disincentive towards private initiative, when for centuries the state power has been carrying out a "coercing to the market" with all its strength. This book presents a somewhat epic depiction of the development of Western hegemonic powers within the capitalist world system, from the struggles of the late Middle Ages to the rise and crisis of the American Empire. It both develops and questions some of the traditional assumptions of the world-system theory, arguing that it was very much the political form of the state that shaped capitalism as we know it and that, though the existence of a hegemonic power results from the logic of the system, hegemony is often missing in reality. A major work of historical Marxist theory, this book is essential reading for students of international political economy, globalisation and the crisis of capitalism. This book is also ideal for students of politics, history, economics and international relations.

A provocative essay on the relationship between communism, philosophy and language. Since Plato, philosophers have dreamed of establishing a rational state ruled through the power of language. In this radical and disturbing account of Soviet philosophy, Boris Groys argues that communism shares that dream and is best understood as an attempt to replace financial with linguistic bonds as the cement uniting society. The transformative power of language, the medium of equality, is the key to any new communist revolution.

En 1948, Boris Vian est choisi par une radio de New York pour présenter aux auditeurs " amerlauds " le jazz tel qu''il se crée à Paris depuis les années trente. Pendant près de deux ans, il prend plaisir à enchaîner les disques des jazzmen français ou des groupes franco-américains enregistrés en France. Il le fait dans un anglais bien à lui, avec son élan habituel _ variations comiques et stylistiques, jeux de mots bilingues, fantaisie et humour _, mais aussi avec le sérieux du connaisseur pédagogue. Voici donc en édition bilingue un (ultime?) complément indispensable aux quelque 1 200 pages de chroniques de jazz déjà publiées du vice-président du Hot Club de Paris. Il se révèle toujours, même dans des textes d''une forme convenue, un instructeur aimable et un écrivain brillamment original que chaque titre de jazz peut faire glisser vers les régions fécondes de l''imaginaire. Gilbert Pestureau

This is the history of an unprecedented deception operation - the biggest KGB deception of all time. It has never been told in full until now. There are almost certainly people who would like it never to be told. It is the story of General Alexander Orlov. Stalin''s most loyal and trusted henchman during the Spanish Civil War, Orlov was also the Soviet handler controlling Kim Philby, the British spy, defector, and member of the notorious ''Cambridge Five''. Escaping Stalin''s purges, Orlov fled to America in the late 1930s and lived underground. He only dared reveal his identity to the world after Stalin''s death, in his 1953 best-seller The Secret History of Stalin''s Crimes, after which he became perhaps the best known of all Soviet defectors, much written about, highly praised, and commemorated by the US Congress on his death in 1973. But there is a twist in the Orlov story beyond the dreams of even the most ingenious spy novelist: ''General Alexander Orlov'' never actually existed. The man known as ''Orlov'' was in fact born Leiba Feldbin. And while he was a loyal servant of Stalin and the controller of Philby, he was never a General in the KGB, never truly defected to the West after his ''flight'' from the USSR, and remained a loyal Soviet agent until his death. The ''Orlov'' story as it has been accepted until now was largely the invention of the KGB - and one perpetuated long after the end of the Cold War. In this meticulous new biography, Boris Volodarsky, himself a former Soviet intelligence officer, now tells the true story behind ''Orlov'' for the first time. An intriguing tale of Russian espionage and deception, stretching from the time of Lenin to the Putin era, it is a story that many people in the world''s intelligence agencies would almost definitely prefer you not to know about.

An all-new collection of lush, four-color artwork from the studio of acclaimed fantasy artists Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell. Artist Boris Vallejo is renowned for his paintings of beautiful maidens, heroic men, and fearsome monsters, while his wife and partner, Julie Bell, is revered for her unique sense of color and dramatic composition. As two of the most acclaimed and popular artists working in fantasy today, Boris and Julie have produced artwork for album covers, trading cards, posters, and calendars. Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell: Dreamland features outstanding examples of their most recent work. Highlighting muscle-bound heroes, fierce dragons, and alluringly beautiful women in fantastical, otherworldly landscapes, these gorgeous pieces reflect a new level of maturity, sophistication, and intrigue. Capturing the pursuits that currently inspire the artists, these works resonate with a startling new emotional depth that adds magnitude to their powerful heroes and buxom heroines. This carefully curated selection of images is accompanied by fascinating text that provides unique insight into each artist’s process as well as biographical stories that reveal their personal histories, the influences that have shaped them, the ideas that inspire them, and their future professional aspirations. Also, for the first time ever, this outstanding compendium includes ten stunning limited-edition art prints that can easily be removed and displayed.

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

“[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.

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.

Routledge is proud to publish the first full-scale anthropometric history of Imperial Russia; Mirinov mobilizes an immense volume of archival material to chart chart how the standard of living in Russia changed over slightly more than two centuries.

The societies of Central Asia are besieged from within and without. The political elites - virtually unchanged despite the transition to independent statehood - battle radical Islamic movements and other oppositional threats that are continuously fueled by economic instability, corruption, environmental deterioration, and the collapse of social services. This survey of political, economic, and social development in Central Asia offers geopolitical context, unparalleled coverage, and analytical depth to our understanding of a region that appears to be rapidly spiraling into crisis.

A brilliant dissection and reconstruction of the three major faith-based systems of belief in the world today, from one of the world''s most articulate intellectuals, Slavoj Zizek, in conversation with Croatian philosopher Boris Gunjévic. In six chapters that describe Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in fresh ways using the tools of Hegelian and Lacanian analysis, God in Pain: Inversions of Apocalypse shows how each faith understands humanity and divinity—and how the differences between the faiths may be far stranger than they may at first seem. Chapters include (by Zizek) (1) "Christianity Against Sacred," (2) "Glance into the Archives of Islam," (3) "Only Suffering God Can Save Us," (4) "Animal Gaze," (5) "For the Theologico-Political Suspension of the Ethical," (by Gunjevic) (1) "Mistagogy of Revolution," (2) "Virtues of Empire," (3) "Every Book Is Like Fortress," (4) "Radical Orthodoxy," (5) "Prayer and Wake."