Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious
Review: "Dermo! The Real Russian Tolstoy Never Used" is raunchy yet light-hearted. It has idioms, sexual connotations, smart-aleck remarks and how to talk when you're at a bar! The vulgar poems where hilarious to me...the only problem is that I have used these words with Russian people I know and either I am not pronouncing the word right or the words just don't exist in the Russian language. If I ever do go to Russia, I'll be sure to only say SOME of these words, not all of them because I don't want to get beat.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful guide to the underbelly of the Russian language
Review: Although this book is not for the faint of heart, it is a wonderful guide to some of vulgarities in which Russians find so much joy and expressiveness. I am currently living in the southern Ukraine where Russian is the dominant language. I bought this book to help me unlock the slang and colloquialisms which I have been picking up piecemeal from my friends. For this purpose, Mr. Topol's book has been wonderful. He not only provides a list of expressions to improve your shadow vocabulary, but he also provides lively and informative background. This additional information puts the expressions in their cultural context and allows the reader to have a much deeper understanding of the meaning behind the language. This book has been a joy to page through and I have gotten a kick out of sharing my new enlightenment with my Ukrainian friends. They are shocked when they discover it comes courtesy of one of Russia's best-selling novelists. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in expanding their understanding of Russian language and culture, and having a little fun while doing so.
Rating:
Summary: Very useful resource for non-native speakers
Review: Dermo! is not just a list of "dirty words" and their translations; it is a peek into Russians' everyday life and culture. Organized by category [rather than alphabetically], the reader is taken through the basics of everyday slang, anatomy and physiology, and (of course) curses, oaths, and exclamations. The Russian words and phrases are in Cyrillic, with English phonetic pronunciation (helpful if you're learning "conversational" Russian and aren't up on reading it just yet). A great deal of supplemental info is included (such as history behind expressions, just *how* vulgar is a word, etc.), but not so much that it becomes tedious. I highly recommend Dermo! to anyone who will be dealing with actual, living & breathing Russians. As a colleague who teaches Russian (and recommends this book to her students) told me, "You will never understand Russians until you learn to curse -- at least a little."
Rating:
Summary: Very useful resource for non-native speakers
Review: Dermo! is not just a list of "dirty words" and their translations; it is a peek into Russians' everyday life and culture. Organized by category [rather than alphabetically], the reader is taken through the basics of everyday slang, anatomy and physiology, and (of course) curses, oaths, and exclamations. The Russian words and phrases are in Cyrillic, with English phonetic pronunciation (helpful if you're learning "conversational" Russian and aren't up on reading it just yet). A great deal of supplemental info is included (such as history behind expressions, just *how* vulgar is a word, etc.), but not so much that it becomes tedious. I highly recommend Dermo! to anyone who will be dealing with actual, living & breathing Russians. As a colleague who teaches Russian (and recommends this book to her students) told me, "You will never understand Russians until you learn to curse -- at least a little."
Rating: 
Summary: Everyone learning Russian needs this book!
Review: Edward Topol offers a humorous overview of commonly used colloquial language Russian style. His lengthy vocabulary lists and cultural explanations help the reader to understand when it is appropriate to say what at what time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent tool for not "sounding" like a foreigner...
Review: I am an intermediate Russian speaker. I found this book extremely useful in breaking the ice with my Russian-speaking friends and business contacts. It got me to a level of friendship that I could not have achieved speaking only "proper" Russian. It was also a hoot to read for pure entertainment's sake with other Americans. I definitely recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: This Book Goes Too Far
Review: I had intended to buy this book at one time until I flipped through a copy of it. Much of what is in this book is just filth, plain and simple. When it comes to the realm of vulgar and obscene language, foreigners need to be even more careful than native speakers. In Derek Offord's book, "Using Russian," there is a section on vulgar language in which he explains why foreigners have to be extra careful. As for this book, I would never even consider saying many of the expressions found here. If you're studying this book, I hope it's not because you intend to speak this way. I suppose there is some value in understanding the obscenities which you hear around you, but then again, you're likely to hear this type of language only if you regularly associate with reprobates. When I lived in Russia, I was complemented several times for how respectable my speech was, and that made a much better impression on people than having a ribald knowledge of bawdy expressions would have had. My wife, who is a native Russian, calls these words "nyepyechatniye slova." There's a good reason why this is the russian that Tolstoy never used--he was a world-class writer, and much of this book is trash. This book will certainly teach you Russian obscenities, but I felt this book goes too far. But if lewd and offensive is what you want, then I guess this book is right up your alley. Just don't use this stuff to strike up a conversation with people you don't know.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Goes Too Far
Review: I had intended to buy this book at one time until I flipped through a copy of it. Much of what is in this book is just filth, plain and simple. When it comes to the realm of vulgar and obscene language, foreigners need to be even more careful than native speakers. In Derek Offord's book, "Using Russian," there is a section on vulgar language in which he explains why foreigners have to be extra careful. As for this book, I would never even consider saying many of the expressions found here. If you're studying this book, I hope it's not because you intend to speak this way. I suppose there is some value in understanding the obscenities which you hear around you, but then again, you're likely to hear this type of language only if you regularly associate with reprobates. When I lived in Russia, I was complemented several times for how respectable my speech was, and that made a much better impression on people than having a ribald knowledge of bawdy expressions would have had. My wife, who is a native Russian, calls these words "nyepyechatniye slova." There's a good reason why this is the russian that Tolstoy never used--he was a world-class writer, and much of this book is trash. This book will certainly teach you Russian obscenities, but I felt this book goes too far. But if lewd and offensive is what you want, then I guess this book is right up your alley. Just don't use this stuff to strike up a conversation with people you don't know.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Little Book
Review: I really like this book in spite of it's few shortcomings. Like at least one other reviewer, I would rather not see the transliterated captions with the cartoons, and I could use stress marks on the cyrillic words, but it's still a great book! It's really entertaining and interesting. Certainly not for children, and no, I wouldn't get carried away trying to use many of these words and phrases with Russian people I didn't know very well. But hey, what a hoot around non Russian speaking people! You will have a new-found "freedom of speech".
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Little Book
Review: I really like this book in spite of it's few shortcomings. Like at least one other reviewer, I would rather not see the transliterated captions with the cartoons, and I could use stress marks on the cyrillic words, but it's still a great book! It's really entertaining and interesting. Certainly not for children, and no, I wouldn't get carried away trying to use many of these words and phrases with Russian people I didn't know very well. But hey, what a hoot around non Russian speaking people! You will have a new-found "freedom of speech".
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