Rating: 
Summary: Where are the accent marks???????????
Review: If this book was to be used only by scholars,(those guys who wouldn't cuss if their life depended on it) this book would undoubtedly deserve a 5 star rating.However, MOST people who buy this book will probably want to cuss at somebody once in a while and since discretion is the better part of valor,(saying something the other guy doesn't understand) they will probably try a couple of Mr Topol's gems. That will be fine with non-Russian folks, but try ANY of them with a Russian and you stand a good chance of being laughed at because you simply will not know which syllable to accent in your pronunciation. Think about it...If you say something really offensive to a Russian and pronounce it wrong, he'll probably be laughing like mad when he punches you out!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: If you are learning Russian, you HAVE to get this book!
Review: If you are learning Russian, there are some really "good" words in this book. This book has the words that the translators on TV don't translate. If you want to tell some one where to go in Russian, GET THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious but difficult to master
Review: Right from the start, Topol just couldn't stop making me laugh. His reasoning behind writing the book is exactly why I wanted to read it-to break down that barrier that exists between classroom languages and the reality. Because I want to communicate with people my own age when I go to Russia, I know that theyre not going to speak all prim and proper-I know I don't speak English that way! While decency would prevent me from saying many things, also for fear of my own life, it's great to have the vocab as well as to teach it to English speaking friends so that together, you can pretend to compliment people in a language they don't understand. The only downside to the book is that to seriously learn it all takes a major effort and many of the words are quite difficult to get your tongue around, even if you do speak some Russian.
Rating:
Summary: Words your mother never taught you.
Review: Some Amazon readers object to the language used in this book. But that's the subject of the book. The author has done a good job with the translations. (One flaw: stress is not given for the Russian, leaving non-natives to guess.) Some people will be offended by the graphic language and stand forewarned. If you learn these terms, do not talk like this. Leave that to natives who know when to use -- and when to avoid -- this kind of potent speech.
Rating:
Summary: Russians misrepresented - be careful using
Review: The author has provided most accurate translations of single words and phrases between Russian and "true" American English.
However, I can't agree with definition of this particular layer of the Russian language presented in this book as "real Russian." That's not true, I've met many folks born and raised in Russia who never ever use that "real Russian" of Mr Topol et al. Russians who have NEVER been exposed to other "real" cultures of the world, they grow up believing that they are unique with their dirty words, there are so many jokes in Russia on that matter. However, in reality Russians in their everyday speech practice are not much different from other civilized nations; you don't hear more obscenities in the streets of Moscow than in New York or Tijuana. You can get in as much trouble in Moscow misusing these "real" words and phrases as you would here in Nevada. With these words, you can lose a contract, a friend, a date; for most educated girls from good families in Russia one single word from Mr Topol's book used at a wrong time will act as IMMEDIATE and FINAL turn off. The Russians grow up learning by trial and error when they can use specific language and when they absolutely can not. I've heard swear masters in Russia speaking like Mother Goose when they had to. When foreigners try to speak "real", the reaction of natives can not be predicted. You may have some hearts opened, you may get smiles and a pat on the back, but depending on your intonation and attitude your face may face one of these tight clenched well seasoned made with pride in Russia genuine and real Russian Bad Street Battle Fist(TM) flying on the collision course doing about 100 mph... If you did not grow up in Russia playing with your real Russian classmates in the nursery school, don't even try to use Mr Topol's book recommendations at your own discretion. Quite likely you may end up making a fool from yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Russians misrepresented - be careful using
Review: The author has provided most accurate translations of single words and phrases between Russian and "true" American English.
However, I can't agree with definition of this particular layer of the Russian language presented in this book as "real Russian." That's not true, I've met many folks born and raised in Russia who never ever use that "real Russian" of Mr Topol et al. Russians who have NEVER been exposed to other "real" cultures of the world, they grow up believing that they are unique with their dirty words, there are so many jokes in Russia on that matter. However, in reality Russians in their everyday speech practice are not much different from other civilized nations; you don't hear more obscenities in the streets of Moscow than in New York or Tijuana. You can get in as much trouble in Moscow misusing these "real" words and phrases as you would here in Nevada. With these words, you can lose a contract, a friend, a date; for most educated girls from good families in Russia one single word from Mr Topol's book used at a wrong time will act as IMMEDIATE and FINAL turn off. The Russians grow up learning by trial and error when they can use specific language and when they absolutely can not. I've heard swear masters in Russia speaking like Mother Goose when they had to. When foreigners try to speak "real", the reaction of natives can not be predicted. You may have some hearts opened, you may get smiles and a pat on the back, but depending on your intonation and attitude your face may face one of these tight clenched well seasoned made with pride in Russia genuine and real Russian Bad Street Battle Fist(TM) flying on the collision course doing about 100 mph... If you did not grow up in Russia playing with your real Russian classmates in the nursery school, don't even try to use Mr Topol's book recommendations at your own discretion. Quite likely you may end up making a fool from yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Filthy
Review: The author took the worst existing in Russian language, mostly criminal jargon and represented it as an "everyday Russian". I lived for 30 years in Russia and believe me I never heard anyone talk according to Mr. Topol's book. Of course, these filthy words and expressions do exist but their usage is very limited (I would imagine mostly by prison walls and criminal world). This is a tasteless misrepresentation. Don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Filthy
Review: The author took the worst existing in Russian language, mostly criminal jargon and represented it as an "everyday Russian". I lived for 30 years in Russia and believe me I never heard anyone talk according to Mr. Topol's book. Of course, these filthy words and expressions do exist but their usage is very limited (I would imagine mostly by prison walls and criminal world). This is a tasteless misrepresentation. Don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Amusing, but not a very practical reference
Review: The bawdy anecdotes and cartoons are funny, BUT beware that the book does not use accent marks for pronunciation and is not organized alphabetically.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and Useful
Review: This book is a great source of the raunchy lingo you need to know but that your proper Russian friends won't teach you. And I do mean the real raunchy slang, the kind of cursing an American would get arrested for saying in public. Thanks to this little book, I can appreciate the extremely colorful and descriptive obscenities Russians, even total strangers to eachother, occasionally exchange on the street. The book is cleverly written with ribald poems and vulgar little cartoons. My only complaint is that the captions are written in annoying phonetic English transcription rather than Cyrillic.
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