By the next day the USSR was officially no more and the USA had emerged as the world’s sole superpower. Award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy presents a page-turning account of the preceding five months of drama, filled with failed coups d’état and political intrigue.Honing in on this previously disregarded but crucial period and using recently declassified documents and original interviews with key participants, he shatters the established myths of 1991 and presents a bold new interpretation of the Soviet Union’s final months. Plokhy argues that contrary to the triumphalist Western narrative, George H. W. Bush desperately wanted to preserve the Soviet Union and keep Gorbachev in power, and that it was Ukraine and not the US that played the key role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. The consequences of those five months and the myth-making that has since surrounded them are still being felt in Crimea, Russia, the US, and Europe today.With its spellbinding narrative and strikingly fresh perspective, The Last Empire is the essential account of one of the most important watershed periods in world history, and is indispensable reading for anyone seeking to make sense of international politics today.

    One billionaire. Mikhail lies in a coma. For while Mikhail's methods were ruthless, his arrogance left him vulnerable. His associates can shoot, but they cannot manage the financial empire he built so painstakingly. Is there a way to avoid its rapid descend into turmoil? Rise of an Oligarch is a thrilling historical fiction set against the background of the Big Bang of the USSR. This is the book that tycoons don't want you to read!

    He was twenty-three, from Czechoslovakia; she was twenty, from Romania. Both had lost nearly everything in the war – yet in their chance encounter at sea, they found a new beginning. Three days later, on a train rattling across the Turkish countryside en route to Palestine, with no common language between them, they were married…and spent the rest of their lives together. Isadora had emerged from the brutal, frozen ghettos of Transnistria – known as the ‘Forgotten Cemetery’ of the Holocaust. Joshua had escaped from the Hungarian Army’s slave labor corps as his unit was being marched toward a train to Auschwitz. That either survived is incredible; that, of all possible fates, the war would toss them onto the same deck of the same boat at the same time is simply unbelievable – except that it happened. Here, their grandson, prize-winning author Michael Benanav, traces the improbable twists and turns that pulled Joshua and Isadora through the horrors of the Holocaust. As their families were destroyed and their own lives nearly lost, each element of their experiences – including a photograph of a Hungarian general; a mismatched pair of galoshes; a Romanian Orthodox priest; an SS officer’s wife; and maybe, on one occasion, an angel – proved crucial to getting them out of the war and onto that boat. Benanav vividly recounts the devastating events and astonishing coincidences that brought his grandparents together – while reckoning with the unsettling knowledge that without the Holocaust, his family would not exist. This is an extraordinary true story, rooted in the terrible tragedies and sudden strokes of serendipity that together are The Luck of the Jews. Praise for The Luck of The Jews (First published by Lyons Press as Joshua & Isadora: A True Tale of Loss & Love in the Holocaust): “Movingly written, Michael Benanav’s search for his grandparents’ tragic memories and experiences brings the reader closer to an ineffable truth that must not be forgotten.” – Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize Winner, author of Night “A harrowing wartime saga [and] an intriguing record of Holocaust survival written with passion and authority.”–Publishers Weekly “A tale of suffering, romance and redemption in Israel… What stands out about this story is its ability to bring Southeastern Europe and Bessarabia, a southern Yiddish-speaking region in today’s Moldova, into focus. The narrative is highly imagistic, often relying on crisp depictions of Jews moving through the landscape to power a story of loss.” –The Jewish Daily Forward “Important and gripping.” –Hindustan Times About the Author Michael Benanav is a freelance writer and photojournalist whose work appears in The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Geographical Magazine, Lonely Planet guidebooks, and other publications. His first book, Men Of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold, was nominated by Barnes & Noble for their Discover Great New Writers award and was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association

    But the brutal beatings by a special riot police force, the Berkut, against peaceful protestors pushed it to become much more than this. It became a struggle for democracy and freedom.This isn’t just a people rising over the low wages that they suffer. They rise against a government that steals from the nation’s finances to become amongst the wealthiest in the world while forcing the people into poverty. They rise against constant oppression where the police act more like soldiers for a mafia regime than being there to protect them like they should. The corruption, their wish for freedom, and the need for a people’s government is the real reason why Ukrainians rise up. It is why they continue to fight and what they are willing to die for. A Picturesque View This book gives you a photo centric view point on this popular uprising against an oppressive regime. The first of its kind on the market it beholds over 200 photographs of numerous photo journalists from Ukraine capturing the events from the very beginning to the uprisings in late January. These photographs capture the beauty of this important event, along with the humorous and creative nature of these people; most importantly, it reveals the terrifying and sad events that prompted them to push even harder. Our Efforts We have two primary goals with the release of this book.It is in our wish to show you the humanity of the people so as to help everyone see that those standing up are just regular folk like you and I. They aren’t extremists but simply people pushed into extreme times. They do exactly what you and I would do if we were in the same circumstances where our freedom and rights were snatched away.In addition to this, it is also in our hopes to raise funds for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. In 2013 alone, Ukraine ranked 144 out of 177 countries in the corruption index by Transparency International. It was also ranked by others as being the worst country in Europe for journalists. We hope to help fund change this so that Ukrainians can live in a safer and better society. No amount of funding will go toward any political party as we will only fund humanitarian needs. Spread the Word Help us as well by spreading the word about EuroMaidan and the people there. Follow the current events on twitter feeds from the numerous accounts. Write to your political representatives to push them to take action. And help to find ways to fund this event if it is still going on. Basically, help us help them!You can see more information on this book and where to buy it at: http://BrineBooks.com/r/euromaidan

    Over the past two decades scores of fascinating new women authors have emerged. These authors write in a wide variety of styles and genres including short stories, novels, essays, and new journalism. In the collection you will find: realism, magical realism, surrealism, the fantastic, deeply intellectual writing, newly discovered feminist perspectives, philosophical prose, psychological mysteries, confessional prose, and much more. You’ll find an entire gamut of these Ukrainian women writers’ experiences that range from deep spirituality to candid depictions of sexuality and interpersonal relations. You’ll find tragedy and humor and on occasion humor in the tragedy. You’ll find urban prose, edgy, caustic, and intellectual; as well as prose harkening back to village life and profound tragedies from the Soviet past that have left marks of trauma on an entire nation. This is a collection of Ukrainian women’s stories, histories that serve to tell her unique stories in English translation. Substantial excerpts from novels and translations of complete shorter works of each author will give the reader deep insight into this burgeoning phenomenon of contemporary Ukrainian women’s prose. The volume will include 18 contemporary writers: Lina Kostenko, Emma Andijewska, Nina Bichuya, Sofia Maidanska, Ludmyla Taran, Liuko Dashvar, Maria Matios, Eugenia Kononenko, Oksana Zabuzhko, Iren Rozdobudko, Natalka Sniadanko, Larysa Denysenko, Svitlana Povaljajeva, Svitlana Pyrkalo, Dzvinka Matiash, Irena Karpa, Tanya Malyarchuk, and Sofia Andrukhovych. The volume is compiled, edited and accompanied with a critical introduction by Michael M. Naydan, Woskob Family Professor of Ukrainian Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. Seventeen different translators from around the world have contributed translations to the volume. Glagoslav Publications sincerely thanks Oksana Zhelisko, a talented fine artist who provided the cover art for this book. The painting “April” from the series Twelve Months-A Dozen Moods perfectly reflects the mystery of Her soul. For those who wish to delve further into certain of the writers presented here, translations of novels by Maria Matios, Larysa Denysenko, and Iren Rozdobudko are currently available with Glagoslav. Compiled by Michael M. Naydan.

    Allen examines the geographical and historical factors behind the development of the Ukraine and its people, as well as giving an overview of its economic history. This book will be invaluable for anyone with an interest in the history of Eastern Europe.