First Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President
Author: Vladimir Putin
The astonishingly frank and revealing self-portrait of the most powerful man in Russia, President Valdimir Putin.
Who is this Vladimir Putin? Who is this man who suddenly--overnight and without warning--was handed the reigns of power to one of the most complex, formidable, and volatile countries in the world? How can we trust him if we don't know him?
First Person is an intimate, candid portrait of the man who holds the future of Russia in his grip. An extraordinary compilation of over 24 hours of in-depth interviews and remarkable photographs, it delves deep into Putin's KGB past and explores his meteoric rise to power. No Russian leader has ever subjected himself to this kind of public examination of his life and views. Both as a spy and as a virtual political unknown until selected by Boris Yeltsin to be Prime Minister, Putin has been regarded as man of mystery. Now, the curtain lifts to reaveal a remarkable life of struggles and successes. Putin's life story is of major importance to the world.
Publishers Weekly
Prior to his sudden rise to the Russian presidency, Putin was virtually a mystery; this transcript of recent interviews goes a long way toward filling the blanks in his past. In eight chapters of q&a, punctuated with anecdotes from friends and family members, Putin recounts his boyhood in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), the three years he spent as a KGB intelligence officer in Dresden, his return to the collapsed USSR and decision to enter politics and, finally, the day Boris Yeltsin asked him to take up the Kremlin reins. In Russia, this slim volume surfaced quickly during the brief interim between Yeltsin's resignation and the March elections. But rather than focusing on his political views and ideology, the interviewers devote the bulk of the text to Putin's biography--an indication of just how unknown the new Russian president is to his constituency. And the book succeeds in humanizing the uncharismatic politician. Through his childhood memories, readers learn that the gaunt, stoic man in the newsreels was once a spunky teen cruising the streets of Leningrad in search of girls and judo matches and dreaming of being a Soviet secret agent. Putin, it would seem, was just the socialist boy-next-door, or, in his own unironic words: "a pure and utterly successful product of Soviet patriotic education." The question he leaves unanswered is: how does such an ordinary and unassuming guy find himself the president of Russia in an era of unabashed political intrigue? (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
Library Journal
This book, which transcribes 24 hours of interviews that three Russian journalists conducted with the Russian president, seeks to answer the pressing question: Who is Vladimir Putin? We read of his grim childhood, adolescence, education, early professional life, interests (judo, intelligence work), and marriage. Nothing particularly remarkable here. Then came the collapse of communism, and Putin's dazzling ascent began, but just why is still not altogether clear. What comes through of the man? An intense patriot, a religious believer, and a family man, Putin is characterized by stern rectitude, even priggishness, and lacks a sense of humor. He insists on Russia's European nature and says that he is committed to democracy. The questioners are polite but not toadying, pressing him on the Chechen War and high-level cronyism and corruption in the Kremlin. An interesting start to what is sure to become a growth industry of books on Russia's new president; for all public libraries.--Robert H. Johnston, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Booknews
Three people, presumably journalists, interviewed the Russian president six times for about four hours each, and arranged the questions and answers into a chronological account of his life and career. The translator is Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The Times Literary Supplement - Amy Knight
What they want is an end to the unpredictabilityand chaos that characterized the Yeltsin era. Judging from this book, Vladimir Putin is the ideal man for the job.
New interesting textbook: Outdoor Photographers Landscape and Nature Photography with Photoshop CS2 or Conquest in Cyberspace
Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori
Author: Mark Ravina
The dramatic arc of Saigo Takamori's life, from his humble origins as a lowly samurai, to national leadership, to his death as a rebel leader, has captivated generations of Japanese readers and now Americans as well - his life is the inspiration for a major Hollywood film, The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. In this vibrant new biography, Mark Ravina, professor of history and Director of East Asian Studies at Emory University, explores the facts behind Hollywood storytelling and Japanese legends, and explains the passion and poignancy of Saigo's life. Known both for his scholarly research and his appearances on The History Channel, Ravina recreates the world in which Saigo lived and died, the last days of the samurai.
The Last Samurai traces Saigo's life from his early days as a tax clerk in far southwestern Japan, through his rise to national prominence as a fierce imperial loyalist. Saigo was twice exiled for his political activities -- sent to Japan's remote southwestern islands where he fully expected to die. But exile only increased his reputation for loyalty, and in 1864 he was brought back to the capital to help his lord fight for the restoration of the emperor. In 1868, Saigo commanded his lord's forces in the battles which toppled the shogunate and he became and leader in the emperor Meiji's new government. But Saigo found only anguish in national leadership. He understood the need for a modern conscript army but longed for the days of the traditional warrior.
Saigo hoped to die in service to the emperor. In 1873, he sought appointment as envoy to Korea, where he planned to demand that the Korean king show deferenceto the Japanese emperor, drawing his sword, if necessary, top defend imperial honor. Denied this chance to show his courage and loyalty, he retreated to his homeland and spent his last years as a schoolteacher, training samurai boys in frugality, honesty, and courage. In 1876, when the government stripped samurai of their swords, Saigo's followers rose in rebellion and Saigo became their reluctant leader. His insurrection became the bloodiest war Japan had seen in centuries, killing over 12,000 men on both sides and nearly bankrupting the new imperial government. The imperial government denounced Saigo as a rebel and a traitor, but their propaganda could not overcome his fame and in 1889, twelve years after his death, the government relented, pardoned Saigo of all crimes, and posthumously restored him to imperial court rank.
In THE LAST SAMURAI, Saigo is as compelling a character as Robert E. Lee was to Americans-a great and noble warrior who followed the dictates of honor and loyalty, even though it meant civil war in a country to which he'd devoted his life. Saigo's life is a fascinating look into Japanese feudal society and a history of a country as it struggled between its long traditions and the dictates of a modern future.
Library Journal
Known as the "Robert E. Lee" of Japan, Saigo- (1828-77) first helped overthrow the feudal Tokugawa regime and establish Meiji Japan in1868, then in 1877 led a bloody, futile uprising against the new government. He feared the impersonal, commercial, and centralized nation would destroy samurai traditions of personal honor, regional loyalty, and social service. Ravina (director, East Asian Studies Program, Emory Univ.) is a careful scholar who nevertheless writes an action-filled story that resonates today. He shows us that Saigo- was no reactionary, though he harked back to the tradition of the socially responsible Confucian warrior who valued community, not class exploitation or individual advancement. Especially interesting is Ravina's presentation of Saigo- 's legacy in popular culture, where he became a folk hero, forcing the government to elevate him posthumously to a reconciling national martyrdom. Fascists and right-wing patriots from the 1930s to today have evoked samurai tradition, but their efforts are exposed as tawdry exploitation by this engrossing and thoughtful history. Highly recommended for all college and larger public libraries. [Interest in this period may be driven by the new Tom Cruise film of same name and period, though it is not based on this book.-Ed.]-Charles W. Hayford, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Table of Contents:
| Note to the Reader | ix | |
| Acknowledgments | xiii | |
| Introduction | 1 | |
| 1 | "Powerfully Sentimental": Saigo's Early Years in Satsuma | 13 |
| 2 | "A Man of Exceptional Fidelity": Saigo and National Politics | 43 |
| 3 | "Bones in the Earth": Exile and Ignominy | 77 |
| 4 | "To Shoulder the Burdens of the Realm": The Destruction of the Shogunate | 107 |
| 5 | "To Tear Asunder the Clouds": Saigo and the Meiji State | 151 |
| 6 | "The Burden of Death is Light": Saigo and the War of the Southwest | 191 |
| Notes | 215 | |
| Bibliography | 240 | |
| Sources | 255 | |
| Index | 257 |
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