|
|
 | O. Nazarova, with the participation of K. Kobrin. A trip to the edge of a plate
Hardcover, 160 p., 2009
ISBN 978-5-86793-661-7
“A trip to the edge of a plate” is a collection of historical, cultural and culinary essays. The title doesn’t lie; these are definitely “travels”, through time, including cuisine of the middle age Vatican, and the cook book of Dickens’ wife, and the gastronomic habits of Lermontov’s characters; as well as through space. Olga Nazarova tells about the Soviet culinary empire; about the famous chefs who became the famous writers; and about the famous writers who spend almost all of their free time in the kitchen. Finally, in this book one will learn why the frontline of the Indo-Pakistan conflict lies in Prague; whether it is hard to be a vegetarian; and how to make school lunches delicious and not merely acceptable. Every “travel” ends with a simple and fine recipe, which, most importantly, has been tested by the author herself. Wishing you bon appetite intellectually and gastronomically!
| |  | Oleg Budnitsky. Kolchak’s gold. 1918-1957
Hardcover, 512 p., 2008
ISBN 978-5-86793-639-6
The fate of the “Kolchak’s gold”, a part of the gold reserves of the Russian Empire which ended up in the hands of the White army in 1918, is one of the most famous and thrilling mysteries of the Russian history of 20th century. The author of this book has managed to resolve this mystery with the help of the materials from the American, British and Russian archives. He followed the story of the money gained from selling that gold, which had been spent up to the end of 1950-ies. The purpose of this “historical investigation” was not only to draw a line under the long-term disputes on the fate of the “Kolchak’s gold”. The story of the “Kolchak’s gold” is that thread which keeps together the problems of the White Army’s story and its foreign financing; the relations of the White army and the allies, the Russian “diplomats in exile”, the Russian emigrants and some other issues.
Ultimately, this is yet another attempt of answering the key question of the Russian history of the 20th century: why did the Red army win in the Civil war, and not the White Army?
|
|
|
