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Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2001 7:27 AM In response to Jennifer Hedda's request for books for an introductory course on Russian culture at a community college, I would recommend, in addition to my own From Nyet to Da: Understanding the Russians (Intercultural Press, 1996), the following: Nicholas P. Vakar, The Taproot of Soviet Society (Harper & Brothers, 1962), an analysis of Soviet society and its roots in the Russian peasant past, by a former professor of Russian civilization at Wheaton College, MA. Tibor Szamuely, The Russian Tradition (McGraw-Hill, 1974), how history has shaped the Russians, by a Hungarian-born scholar who lived and studied in both the Soviet Union and England. As much as I admire James Billington's The Ikon and the Axe, I believe it is too detailed for community college students and tells them more than they need to know in an introductory course. Szamuely and Vakar, by contrast, are very readable and ideal for an introductory course, although they are long out of print. Yale Richmond Washington, DC
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