Great post. This interested me because I was born and raised in Belarus.

The Browning revolver which pumped that fatal bullet into the mad mystic was the starting pistol of the revolution
It was a dark and stormy night, indeed.
Bleh.

Hat: I was intrigued to see this book had two Amazon reviews, both awarding it 5 stars. One of the reviewers had 30 pages of reviews, of books on a wide range of subjects. As far as I could make out, before my eyes glazed over, he had awarded 5 stars to every book on all 30 pages. Not sure what that proves though...

That's what drives me nuts. I can accept the fact that bad books get written and published, but why do people rave about them? I had a very similar experience with Simon Winchester's book on the OED.

As I understand, the fatal bullet was not fatal.

"After checking to be sure the monk was dead, Felix and his cohort celebrated with a few rounds of non-poisoned wine, then returned to fetch the body for disposal.

Alas, this just wasn't Felix's night.

The dead Rasputin sprang up from the floor when his body was disturbed and attempted to strangle the prince...."

Apparently Russian revolvers were not at all efficient. Scott Martens (of "Pedantry" blog) told the story of his Mennonite great-grandfather, who was shot something like nine times by anarchists (possibly affiliated with Makhno), but lived for two or three days afterwards.

I had a similiar but less intense experience with "Sons of the Conquerors", about the Turkish nations. There's a scattering of errors and a glib pop-journalistic flavor. From the bio I deduced that the author probably flunked out of the Oxbridge school he attended. The book's still worth reading, but it disappointed me.

Coming from your OED review, I'd suggest that the word "emetizer" be used to designate little tidbits that prepare you for the fact that what you're eating will eventuially make you puke, or (used metaphorically in book reviews) hurl your book against the opposite wall: "I encountered a small emetizer already on the first page of the introduction: 'I had paused at a pavement bar on Nachilnaya Street on Vasilievskiy Island for a much-needed cold beer.'"

Apparently Russian revolvers were not at all efficient. Scott Martens (of "Pedantry" blog) told the story of his Mennonite great-grandfather, who was shot something like nine times by anarchists (possibly affiliated with Makhno), but lived for two or three days afterwards.

A sort of Mennonite 50 Cent (also shot, in the line of business, nine times, which depending on your taste in music was either nine times too many or one time too few).

Ajay: I'll go with one time too few.

Have you tried "Entertaining in Tsarist Russia"? It might be backtracking (seems you're pursuing this chronologically) to take in its entirety, but it sounds like just the quixotic take on the period that you require.

George Negus is a television journalist of at least some repute for a public broadcaster in Australia.

So before flying somewhere I bought his The World from Islam at the airport and proceeded to be absolutely shocked at the vacuity of everything written within.

I should have judged the book by its cover on this occasion, for its contents were commensurately naff.

Here's a classic quote:

we in the West might get further by attempting at least to talk them around, not by berating and haranguing them jingoistically about how superior our Western non-Muslim values are.

And here is for your enjoyment one of the most thoroughly deserved, excoriating reviews I've ever read: http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2004/295/books295.html.

dan: No, I'm definitely interested in earlier stuff as well, and that looks great -- thanks!

Antonios: Ouch. Yes, the cover is definitely revelatory: "Dude! Look over there -- camels!!"

You may already have done so, but if not, please consider reading the last story in "Ashenden - The British Agent" - Somerset Maugham, based on his mission to Moscow in 1917 to provide assistance to the Kerensky government.

I have not; I'll have to look for it.

Ashenden is a book that I would strongly recommend. One of the best pieces about World War I espionage, matched only by Sir Compton Mackenzie.

I can't believe it. I have read something LH haven't!

Ashenden is a great book. Although - in tone, maybe - it neighbors in my head with Berlin Stories

If people are getting paid for writing this sort of crap, maybe I'm in the wrong business. :)

Just like to echo... what was that? I said, 'echo' the comment about The OED book by Winchester-fella. Very badly written I remember thinking at the time. *Very irritatingly badly written*.

Came across one of the numerous people who had given it a good review (TLS in this case), and said, 'Wotchu do that for then?' and he said 'Mervellous book, mervellous book, you are only a prole I AM A REVIEWER' well he didn't, but in his TONE OF VOICE he did. But then, he also went on about TS Eliot being the first 'sampler' in the rap sense. Pfui!

I countered this by wittily getting very drunk, being rude to him and about him and his heroes and then losing my brolly.

He also had long hair.

Quite.

George Negus! My God, he was one of the most vacuous TV presenters ever to clutter the (already mediocre) Australian airwaves. I doubt that few people could match the way he manages to consistently deliver sententious and dramatic phrases without a modicum of content. Whenever I see him I want to throw the TV out the window.

Marnanel: It's not that simple, alas; as Gore Vidal said, for a book to be a best-seller it is not enough for it to be bad.