No comments about SPIRIT-WRESTLERS.

No comments about The tourist's Russia.

No comments about Soviet tempo: A journal of travel in Russia.

No comments about A Journey to St. Petersburg and Moscow through Courland and Livonia.

1 comments about Russian Travel Talk (TravelTalk).

1. One has few options for learning the rudiments of Polish for the purpose of traveling there (which I did for 2.5 weeks; just got home). This kit includes the Lonely Planet phrasebook (2001 edition) and a CD with 18 tracks of "listen & repeat" audio. The phrasebook is fine, but I actually found the Berlitz phrasebook (which I purchased separately #9812463518) to be better organized and more consistent in pronunciation. The real problem with this kit is the audio CD. Here are the problems: (1) there are no real phrases, just individual words; that's fine, but you need to have a few phrases to get at least some grasp of the grammar, in case you need to (and you will!) modify a phrase for a particular circumstance. (2) the booklet that shows the content of each track does not always match what is actually spoken on the CD. Sometimes, what is spoken is more or less than the printed text in the booklet, but on a few words, it was completely different. Needless to say, that's a problem. (3) the tracks are layed out thematically, which is perfectly logical, but the thematic grouping could be much better. (4) If you're purchasing a language kit for travel, which this is, your core words/phrases should be for greetings, accommodations, transport, eating out, & shopping. While one can debate which words are most likely to be used, and therefore most needed to learn, on a CD that is trying to compress this information into approx. 60 minutes, I find little need to know "husband", "wife", "cruise ship", etc. A related problem was that several words appeared multiple times on different tracks! Space is already limited, how do certain words find their way onto 2 or 3 tracks? That's simply poor execution on the part of Penton Overseas. Shortly after I started on the CD, I bought the Berlitz phrase book, and then spent a lot of time over several weeks making my own flash cards with real, comprehensive phrases for a array of situations and questions. Tedious to do, but much better for ensuring you're able to speak coherently and spontaneously. When the audio CD doesn't even have a phrase for "What time is the next train to Krakow?" you know you have a problem. Granted, the CD had "what", "time", and "train", but we should all seek to speak as a local would, perhaps not with as diverse a vocabulary, but at least using basic grammar correctly to form real sentences. Don't apply this review to all Penton Overseas products. Their "Learn in Your Car" series is fantastic (I've used the French and Spanish), exactly what you need, with tons of relevant words and a steady progression into meaningful, complex statements. Travel Talk was a real disappointment, and I hope they can make some improvements here.

No comments about A journey due North: Being notes of a residence in Russia.

No comments about Travel Guide to Russia.

4 comments about Clarion of Midnight: Megali Idea.

1. I am a Kristina O'Donnelly fan; have read all her other novels. Clarion of Midnight - Megali Idea is the second novel in ber series, Lands of the Morning. For whatever reason, The Horseman, which is the lead novel, and The Scorpion Child, which is the third, were published long before this one. In other words I ended up reading The Scorpion Child two years before I got a chance to read Clarion/Megali Idea. However the good news is that CLARION OF MIDNIGHT - MEGALI IDEA does have its own story line spinning around 3 new characters, Anika, Leyla, and Mark, that makes this novel enjoyable all on its own.
   Also, there is another difference. Both The Horseman and The Scorpion Child contain undertows of mysticism, and reincarnation, ESP, etc. CLARION/MEGALI IDEA is a thriller, earthy and gritty. Turkish politics and their relevance to the United States' interest in that region or the world, are delved into in a no-holds barred manner, and the conflicted, controversial romance between Leyla, the young, beautiful Turkish girl with an American mother, and Mark, the American Jew, is both tender and believable. In fact, I find that Kristina O'Donnelly writes very well and honestly, about the psyche of a man in love and in lust. Or better said, that a man can lust after one woman while still thoroughly in love with another. Mark loves Leyla, fully and sincerely, but has to continuously battle the sexual spell cast upon him by Anika. Wow, what an enchantress is that Anika! Yes her ambitions and brilliance reminds you of Catherine the Great of Russia, and so will her libido.
   
   There is more I'd like to write about this novel but have to return another time. Meanwhile, enjoy arm-chair travel into exotic lands, at its best.



2. I found Clarion of Midnight: Megali Idea to be very power-packed. It offered a dab of everything, from romance to action to history. O'Donnelly is a very talented writer.



3. A thriller and romance all in one.
   Kristina O'Donnelly gives you it all.
   You will love it.



4. Archeologist Mark Cohen is investigating an ancient shipwreck off the Turkish coast when he runs into two beautiful women on a bus. One of these, the powerful Anika Alkibiades, takes an instant liking to Mark, teasing him with her sensual body--and with archeological treasures she claims have been in her family for generations but which he suspects may have been illegally looted from Turkish digs. The second woman, whose identity he does not learn for some time, is the daughter of the Turkish Interior Minister Burhan Bey.
   
   Mark soon finds himself caught up in Anika's plans to restore Greek rule to Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) and to recreate the ancient Byzantine Empire--the Megali Idea. Yet as Mark gets to know Leyla Kayhanoglu, Burhan's half-American daughter, he realizes that Anika's dangerous plan may be the worst thing that can happen to Turkey--and to the anti-Communist alliance. A continuing investigation into past lives and a look into the political turmoil in the Middle East and between Turkey and Greece adds interest to an exciting story.
   
   Author Kristina O'Donnelly continues her LANDS OF THE MORNING series with an action-packed look into a Turkey torn between communists and right-wing Islamists, with a few leaders attempting to hold onto Ataturk's idea of a modern, democratic, and westward-leaning Turkey. Anika's plan is doubly appealing because another empire, the Turkish Ottoman Empire, once ruled virtually the same territory as the Byzantine Empire and, as Burhan points out, Turks, not Greeks, form the heart of what Anika would claim.
   
   In CLARION OF MIDNIGHT, O'Donnelly combines romance with action in a page-turning thriller. You don't need to read THE HORSEMAN, the first novel in this series, but those who have will enjoy seeing Burham continue to deal with his energetic but high-maintenance wife and daughter, as well as the sweet romance between Mark and Leyla.

No comments about Travels in Russia, Tartary, and Turkey.

No comments about Red Russia after ten years,.