84x108/32, hard cover, ill., 192 pp., 2007
ISBN 5-86793-536-1

“Ice-cream for kids, flowers for chicks. Don’t mix it up!” The words of the immortal Lyolik from the movie “Brilliantovaya Ruka” are a great illustration of the significance of ice-cream in Soviet and post-Soviet culture. And while the Petersburg scholar and historian Igor Bogdanov begins “with mammoths”, so to speak, (i.e. with ancient China), Russia, which is unimaginable without its “world-beating” ice cream, remains at the center of his book. His fascinating survey is rounded out by a short anthology of poems and prose dealing with the same theme.

This is a book about food and about life; perhaps, even more about life than about food. Culinary recipes in this book alternate with the author’s reflections on her life and with short literary pieces by her. Taken together, all these make up a book with a genre not easily definable; perhaps, one might even call it a novel. In this book Nataliya Bragina, a renown artist, whose works have been displayed widely in Russia and abroad, enters into a dialogue with her readers, attempting to link together two centuries of Russian history through images, tastes, and smells.

The talented young journalist, poet, prose writer and translator Linor Goralik spent many years studying the social, economic and cultural factors behind the Barbie phenomenon. In The Hollow Woman, Goralik explains how and why this doll became a symbol of modernity and globalization.

Vatel is a legendary figure in the history of French cuisine. French society was shocked by his suicide during the festivities, which Prince Condé staged to welcome Luis XIV; later this suicide came to symbolize the sense of honor of French cooks. However, he himself was not a cook, and we know almost nothing about his real life. Dominique Michel, a historian of French cuisine reconstructs the formation of this myth. This story introduces the readers into the history of French art of cooking and eating. The book tells what and how the French ate in the 17th century, describes the machinery of an aristocratic household and the peculiar values of the French cuisine. It includes also the classic 17th-century recipes, adapted for modern use.

“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!

An examination of saunas of all ages and peoples shows that the sauna has accompanied humankind from its earliest times. The history of saunas dates back to Ancient Egypt and continues into the biblical era to our day. It has also recently been discovered that the ancient peoples of America also had saunas. The history of morality, customs and culture is intimately connected with the sauna. What saunas were built from, what kind of fuel was used in them, how they were decorated, how hot they were, what procedures were customary amongst bathers, what perceptions were associated with saunas in different epochs, amusing sauna stories and medical tips – all this can be found in this absorbing book by well-known journalist Anatoly Rubinov.

This latest book from author of “A History of the Sauna” tells of Moscow’s three largest shops and about the mystery that has intrigued historians for decades. The diligence and talent of the merchants Yeliseyev, the extraordinary story of Red Square market and the tale of the shop which no one ever saw – all this and more in this fascinating detective investigation into history.

The first Russian study of smell as a significant aspect of our everyday lives, this unusual book contains articles by Russian and Western perfumers, biologists, linguists, psychologists and anthropologists. The authors attempt to uncover the hidden significance of various aromas and to understand the intimate links connecting smell with the human body, as well as our memory, imagination and intuition. Widely discussed in this collection are such figures as Patrick Suskind, Charles Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Sigmund Freud and the well-known perfumer Edmond Roudnitska. A number of researchers in the humanities are now studying the smells of various periods in history and attempting to create new academic disciplines such as historical aromatics or the grammar of aroma.

The first Russian study of smell as a significant aspect of our everyday lives, this unusual book contains articles by Russian and Western perfumers, biologists, linguists, psychologists and anthropologists. The authors attempt to uncover the hidden significance of various aromas and to understand the intimate links connecting smell with the human body, as well as our memory, imagination and intuition. Widely discussed in this collection are such figures as Patrick Suskind, Charles Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Sigmund Freud and the well-known perfumer Edmond Roudnitska. A number of researchers in the humanities are now studying the smells of various periods in history and attempting to create new academic disciplines such as historical aromatics or the grammar of aroma.

To this day, the dandy is perceived as an eccentric aesthete – a capricious, whimsical creature, yet full of mysterious charm and brilliance. Who are the dandies of today? How did the modern canon of male elegance develop? And why did dandies favour ‘taking the air’ with tortoises? The answers to these important, and sometimes amusing questions can be found in Olga Vainshtein’s Dandy.
The main characters in this entertaining book are, of course, the famous British dandy George Brummell, the French beaux Count d’Orsay, Barbey d’Aurevilly and Charles Baudelaire, and the decadents Oscar Wilde and Count Robert de Montesquiou. For the first time, dandyism in Europe is presented as a distinct cultural tradition. Vainshtein’s dandy is not only a dedicated follower of fashion, but an adherent of a particular lifestyle possessing elegant manners, special body language and a subtle charisma. Dandy reveals the secrets of English clubs and gentlemen’s sport, city flaneurs and ‘optical duels’, society receptions and virtual aristocratism. A special section is devoted to the history of dandyism in Russia and famous Russian swells.