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Rating: 
Summary: From Russia: "Wear gloves!"
Review: A scalding repast of Cyrillo-Slavic virtues and vices; a true academecian triumph. This discourse on the ambiguities rages against Tsarist constipation just as poignantly as it does against the unconscious Soviet collectives (or is that Soviet collective unconscious?). A must for all scholars, travellers, and seekers of selfless debasement.
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Summary: A vicious attack on academia and Russia's place in it
Review: I too am shocked and outraged that such a book was allowed to appear. Haven't we staffed all our Slavic Departments with ardent Russophiles, elbowing out everybody who babbled something about changing times? I thought we have wiped out once and for all the pernicious critics of things Russian, all those de Custines who, you know, were all homosexuals and probably worse. If I knew who the coward hiding under the pen name of Professor Chudo was, I would have denounced him to the FSK! The long-suffering Russia received a slap in the face through this book. Invaded so many times, betrayed by her friends, this kind and gentle nation never fought a war (unless invaded), never hurt anyone, and it has always treated old people with respect. Moreover, the book fails to mention that in the eighteenth century, Russia already had great writers and more. Elena Petukhova
Rating:
Summary: From Russia: "Wear gloves!"
Review: If you swallow the hype, and go in expecting this book to on a level with "1066 and All That" you will be disappointed. "Chudo" has failed to absorb the lesson that "brevity is the soul of wit", a philosophy that helps make "1066 and All That" the wonderful book it is. There are certainly humorous moments in this book, but there are also long stretches that try too hard without every really getting funny. The "dictionary" at the end has far more duds than truly funny entries. If you love Russian literature you should probably take a look at this book, but don't expect to fall out of your chair laughing very often.
Rating: 
Summary: Can You Say "Vanity Press"?
Review: This book (whose actual author is the distinguished Slavist Gary Saul Morson) has a few very funny segments, but there's an awful lot of dross; the more I read, the less I liked it. It makes me sad to think that someone's real book was probably passed over in order to publish this hodgepodge of professorial doodlings.
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