Brian MoynahanReseñas

Old Photos from Russia

The book starts and ends with a description of the performance under Karl Eliasberg of the 7th symphony, the ‘Leningrad symphony’, by Shostakovich on the 9th Aug. 1942 in the besieged city of Leningrad, encircled by the german army since the last land-route was cut on the 14. Sept. 1941. Experiences of citizen and soldiers, prominent and unknown, are described which they endured since the 22nd June 1941, the day the german invasion started. The author draws on published and archive sources; they are listed. An extensive Bibliography and Index is provided.
Stalin’s terror is drawn in vivid pictures. The NKVD activities : spying, arrests, torture and executions did not abate even when people were dying of starvation and cold in the streets. The narration switches frequently between the incredible suffering Leningrad’s citizens endured, to the front-line and the efforts to keep open the perilous supply line over Lake Ladoga by barges in summer, by lorry-convoys in winter. They were often sunk by enemy fire.

Shostakovich, his wife and children were evacuated the 1. October to Kuibyshev as the city of Samara on the Volga was then named. He finished there his 7th, the Leningrad symphony, that is inspired by the suffering, the endurance and hope of the people of Leningrad. The progress of the work and reactions to it are described. So as to perform this symphony expressing the spirit of defiance in the face of the enemy everything was mobilised. Never before or after was a concert staged under such conditions.

The book is vividly written and makes for fascinating reading. The one serious objection I have is that Moynahan equates Stalinism and Nazism, a common error of perception and judgement. The terror under Stalin was an exploitation of personal power by Stalin and the heads (Yezhov, Beria) as well as subaltern officers of the NKVD. Stalin was a ruthless dictator; anybody suspected - or just perceived - as a danger to his power he had killed or exiled to Siberia. His henchmen Yezhov and Beria were even worse.
Nazism was entirely different: it was a racist ideology that invented the idea of a superior ‘Aryan race’ while designating others, like Slavs, Romani, Jews, … as ‘subhuman’, i.e. ‘vermin’ to be enslaved or squashed and exterminated. Hitlers plan, had he won, was to raze Leningrad and Moscow to the ground and enslave any surviving population. 4* (X-21)

See also Slavoj Zizek http://www.lacan.com/zizbadman.htm on the distinction : Nazism - Stalinism :
Is the minimal difference in politics not the one between Nazism and Stalinism? In a letter to Herbert Marcuse from 20 January 1948, Heidegger wrote: "To the serious legitimate charges that you express 'about a regime that murdered millions of Jews...' I can merely add that if instead of 'Jews' you had written 'East Germans,' then the same holds true for one of the allies, with the difference that everything that has occurred since 1945 has become public knowledge, while the bloody terror of the Nazis in point of fact had been kept a secret from the German people." Marcuse was fully justified in replying that the thin difference between brutally ex-patriating people and burning them in a concentration camp is the line that, at that moment, separated civilisation from barbarism. One should not shirk from going even a step further: the thin difference between the Stalinist gulag and the Nazi annihilation camp also was, at that historical moment, the difference between civilisation and barbarism.

Note to self: Another book, [b:Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad|24727079|Symphony for the City of the Dead Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad|M.T. Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1426255855l/24727079._SY75_.jpg|44353562] is more about the life of the composer so read that one, too.

Her life in pictures and it’s a very high quality. It’s a picture book as much with minimal reading provided, great for breezing through and the showing off glossy photos of her beauty will not disappoint any hardcore fan. The theme does lead down the films she was involved in so misses out quite a vast chunk of history. However it’s a joy to be hold and ranks one of my top Marilyn books.½

Fascinating story of Tyndale's translation of the Bible into English. So much opposition, Particular focus on William Tyndale and Sir Thomas More, who seemed a nasty piece of work...½

Comprehensive look at Russia over time...

This is a strong 3 star rating. An easy to read book of the seige of Leningrad along with the story of the arts scene and the music of Shostakovich who wrote his 7th symphony about and during the siege (although he had left the city by the time he started writing). It is a picture of the horror of a city attacked by a foreign invader and even more terrifyingly by its own government and secret police. It is amazing that Stalin can make Hitler almost look, well good is not the word, but maybe less insane. And I think about all my silly complaints.

Brian Moynahan's Leningrad: Siege and Symphony is an interesting book in that it gives a good portrayal of life in Leningrad before and during the siege as well as a look at Dmitri Shostakovich.

What it did for me was bring to life some interesting aspects of life in Russia during this time

I have just finished Leningrad: Siege and Symphony - a well researched and compelling re telling of the siege of Leningrad during WWII (Ref: The 900 Days by Harrison E. Salisbury) and the concurrent creation and eventual playing of Shostakovich's 7th symphony - which immortalizes the siege.

Several things struck me about this story:

1- the strength and perseverance of the Russian people. Through unbelievable hardships imposed upon them by their own, pervasively corrupt government led by Stalin; attack by the Nazi war machine; and mass starvation, the Russian people were survivors. Critics would point out the rampant cannibalism which occurred in Leningrad - and the numerous examples of criminal and selfish behavior exhibited by some of the survivors. While no one can condone these acts, we must ask ourselves - what would we do to survive? to extend the possibility of life for our children? Through it all, the indomitable spirit of the Russian people shines through.

2- the insanity of the Soviet system - and the Stalinist regime. We vaguely know that Stalin was a bad leader (maybe the worst in history) - few understand the depths of brutality and insanity foisted upon his own people. Throughout the book, examples of people - especially the intelligentsia - artists and scientist - were accused of being "anti-revolutionary" or "defeatist" - were taken by the NKVD (predecessor of the KGB), tortured until they "gave up" the names of other Russians who were "anti-Soviet" or "counter-revolutionary" - and then were subsequently shot.

This time frame is referred to as The Terror. (Reminiscent of the Reign of Terror in France). The futility of the Russian military at the beginning of the war can be largely traced to the work of the NKVD, which purged the Russian military of thousands of officers who were deemed untrustworthy - not loyal to the Communist party. These were men who had earned numerous distinctions during WWI and in other actions - and some of which had previously been rewarded the title (and award) Hero of the Soviet Union. The book relates the story of a military officer who was in jail (suspected of being anti-Soviet) - who the day before he was to be executed, was pulled out of jail - promoted to Major General and placed in charge of training new recruits!!!

The depth of the insanity foisted on the military and the civilian population is astounding. The NKVD was the predecessor of the KGB. Even today the best path to political success and power in Russia is through the (former) KGB. Example; the current premier - V. Putin.

When I visited Moscow in May 2013 (with IAQG) as we visited Red Square, we were told to not make any loud noises, or laugh or sing, because those actions could be interpreted as being anti - Putin. So the spirit of repression is live and well in modern day Russia.

Of course the hypocrisy and utter depravity of the loyal party members is displayed. An example was one day at a local bath an obese man was bathing next to the skeletons of the starving Leningraders when they asked him how he was so fat. He replied that he was a baker at a party commissary. So the party big wigs were getting fat while the city literally starved.

3- The ability of music to move the Russian people. The reaction of the world and the Russian people to Shostakovich's Seventh was remarkable. The story of how they found 80 musicians in devastated Leningrad to play this very demanding work, is amazing. The impact of the piece was that the world recognized that Russia was not out of the war, that the Russian people would not quit. The symphony also helped convince the world that Russia was a country of enlightenment and progress - which of course was the opposite of the truth.

What this book did for me was to fill in a chapter of my understanding of WWII and Operation "Barbarossa" - the German attack on Russia - with a greater depth of understanding as to how the Russians survived the onslaught. And it reinforced to me how critical motivation and patriotic spirit is to people under duress. It made me realize that one does not destroy a people by killing them - that unless their spirit is crushed, they can survive.

Wow, what bravery and courage. Most would have given up but people like Chapman wouldn't know the meaning. A true hero½

Amazing story of Chapmans toughness, bravery and mental state½

Having read "The jungle is neutral" many years ago, I was in two minds about reading this biography but I am now very pleased that I did. While Chapman's fame rests largely on his exploits behind Japanese lines in Malaya, during WWII, the first 90 pages of this book deal with his early life. Not only is this critical in understanding the character and motivations instilled by his upbringing as an orphan, but the account of his early travels in Greenland and Tibet, and the hardships endured, would make a book in themselves. If one considers the danger, privations and (particularly in Malaya) dire health issues that he overcame, it is quite extraordinary that the man survived at all. That, I think, is the real essence of this absorbing biography.

An undoubtably fascinating life but strangely uninvolving, and I think that a lot of this is because of Brian Moynahan's writing. I never felt te connection with Freedy Spencer Chapman that the author clearly did. This I thought was a shame, as it was clearly a hero worship event for the author. Criticisms would include the fact that FSC seems curiously souless at times, being just a man "that survived". This certainly was an epic of survival but not really of war, it is a story of surviving the harshest odds, and struggle but I never got the feeling that the Japanese were hunting FSC and I never got the feeling of tension. FSC certainily was an Englishman in the Boys Own adventure sense and that does come across. I think that the exhaustative account of FSC's various tracts across the Malayan interior got very montonous, and felt like a PhD thesis on what this man did when rather than an illustration of his life. It was good in parts, but I would not read it again

(Alistair) Now here's a blast from the past.

Judging from the worn state of my copy (published 1983), I must have acquired this around the time I started flying - which is to say, when I was a wee tyke of no more than ten, flying back and forth from the UK to the Middle East as an "unaccompanied minor" on my way to and from boarding school.

So, to a certain extent - and I admit that I read it again just recently mostly for sentimental reasons - my view of this little volume is perhaps colored by memories of those days when flying was An Exciting Adventure, as opposed to modern days, in which flying is That Pain In The Ass, No, Literally, Have You Seen The Seats They're Putting In Those Things These Days, Not To Mention The Security Procedures?

But even that aside, it's a fascinating look at aviation of the time, covering flying from airport to aircraft, the people of aviation, flight from take-off to landing, and everything that might go wrong on the way, with a wealth of detail, all richly referenced. And a jolly good read, to boot. Of course, quite a lot has changed in the aviation industry, even just from the passenger perspective - for a start, a lot of the airlines mentioned simply no longer exist; no more Pan Am, for example - there's an awful lot that's still relevant and interesting today.

Still, I'd love to see a Further Updated Edition to compare notes with the current era.

( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/cerebrate/2010/03/airport-international-brian... )

I have always found Rasputin fascinating. Partly because I can hardly believe he’s real. He seems so fantastic. It really shows how backward the Russian monarchs were. Rasputin was never ordained as a monk or any kind of church official. He was known as a staretz (sp?) which was basically a traveling man made semi-holy because of his self-sacrifice and knowledge of the human heart. In actual fact, it took until a man was in his 50s or 60s to be known as one of these. Rasputin gained this reputation in his 30s when he came to Petersburg. He weaseled his way into Royal society and eventually into the heart of the Romanov family.

The amount of screwing he did was amazing. The description of him physically is repulsive so I’m not sure why these women would do it, but do it they did. Sometimes to get a favor for their husbands and sometimes just because Rasputin wanted them. Rasputin had most of the power when it came to ministerial appointments and I believe because of the turnover in the various ministries, the government was weak and disorganized. Because the government was weak and disorganized, people both royalists and parlamentarists, began to doubt the power Tsar Nicolas had.

If Nicolas and Alexandra had been reasonable people, things might have been different for them. Alexandra was just as bad as Marie Antionette in her views of monarchy. The people counted for nothing. Autocracy was everything and she had a divine right to rule over them. She absolutely would not hear of a constitution being drawn up and drafted into law and wouldn’t let Nicolas think of it either. He was completely ruled by her. She encouraged him in everything, even those things to which he was clearly not suited. For example, he decided to become military chief in the time of the First World War. He did not graduate from any military academy, had never fought in any wars or studied any military tactics or strategy but yet he displaced all his war ministers and generals with people he could control. If they had not been losing already at that point, they would have been doomed at that point.

What it took to kill Rasputin is amazing. There was supposed to have been poison (arsenic) in his madiera but he didn’t die of it and it didn’t show up in the autopsy. Prince Felix then had to resort to shooting him. Apparently two or three shots weren’t enough for him so he emptied the gun into Rasputin and dumped his body into a river. It was later retrieved and given a state burial. When the Bolsheviks dug it up and burned it after the coup de etat, pictures of all the Grand Duchesses (Alexandra & Nicolas’ children) were found on his body. When the Royal Family themselves were killed, they all had pictures of Rasputin.

Alexi did appear to get better after a ‘healing’ from Rasputin and it will never be known if his episodes would have subsided on their own or not because each time he had one, Rasputin was called.

In the end it had to happen. Madness and illiteracy can’t run a country forever. When the Communist Regime also fell, it proved it yet again.

Fascinating photographs and information bursting from what feels like every sentence makes this a must have for anybody interested in Russia.

the victories and losses of the Christian faith

A useful counterpoint to the notion of the bible being a direct divinely written timeless document. This traces the struggles for the Tyndale English translation which was to go on and form 80% of the king James or authorised versions. Had Thomas More succeeded in tracking down Tyndale earlier then a very different English bible may have emerged.

One of the better biographies of Rasputin available. Moynahan gives you the spirit of the times and tells an amazing story backed up by new information.

A vivid narrative of the passionate 20 centuries of Christian history.½

Beginning with the birth of Jesus and tracing the religion established by his followers up to the present day, The Faith is a comprehensive exploration of the history of Christianity. Judiciously covering all the signal moments without bogging down in minutia, author Brian Moynahan's superbly written and generously illustrated book is of central importance to Christians, historians, and anyone interested in a faith that shaped the modern world.

Moynahan's research uses little-known sources to tell a magnificent story encompassing everything from the early tremulous years after Jesus' death to the horrors of persecution by Nero, from the growth of monasteries to the bloody Crusades, from the building of the great cathedrals to the cataclysm of the Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation, from the flight of pilgrims from Europe in pursuit of religious freedom to the Salem Witch Trials, from the advent of a traveling pope to the rise of televangelists.

Coming just in time for Jubilee 2000, this ambitious book reveals and commemorates the significance of the Christian faith.

Editorial Reviews
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From Publishers Weekly

This mammoth book offers a proficient survey of the checkered history of Christianity from its origins to the 21st century. In an engaging voice, journalist Moynahan (The Saint Who Sinned) narrates the story of this upstart Mediterranean religious sect as it developed from a band of ragged disciples with no place to call home to a sophisticated organization with a well-defined priestly hierarchy and often magnificent buildings. He discusses the usual cast of characters from Jesus and Paul to Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Wesley and Pope John Paul II. He argues that the impulse to convert those outside of Christianity is central to the development of the faith, but uses the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition to demonstrate how this impulse sometimes got out of hand. Moynahan discusses in helpful detail the origins of Islam in the context of the Islamic invasions of Christian Constantinople in the seventh century. However, the book suffers from a lack of balance. Moynahan lavishes attention on Christianity from its beginnings up through the Reformation for the first two-thirds of the book, but then hurries through the establishment of Christianity in America and the development of modern Christianity. Even more perplexing is the complete absence of any examination of Eastern Christianity from its beginnings to the iconoclast crises in the eighth and ninth centuries. In the end, these are minor quibbles with a book that tells crisply, with more than 100 b&w illustrations, a moving tale of the internal and external struggles of Christianity to establish and sustain its religious identity.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A generation ago, trained church historians wrote the bulk of histories of Christianity dry works that focused on theology, doctrinal debate, preaching, and the like. Journalists, however, have come to dominate the field with their unprecedented honesty, color, and verve. Moynahan, a writer for a variety of British newspapers and the author of the well-respected biography of Rasputin, The Saint Who Sinned, understands that the history of Christianity is not all about piety. With more than 100 startling photographs, illustrations, and drawings, he presents an unconventional and sensational chronology that reveals how Christianity has often been its own worst enemy. The story begins, dramatically enough, with Jesus on the cross, lamenting God's absence, and ends after 766 pages with a cutting statement: "Christianity's self-inflicted wounds still fester." In between, readers are exposed to every ugly event of Christianity imaginable: Roman persecution, Constantine's conquest of the church, heresy, Islamic invasions, slavery, crusades, inquisitions, the Bible as a lethal weapon, persecution by the Reformers, witch trials, conquistadors, persecution of missionaries, revolutions, fights between religions, and the African slave trade. Moynahan's latest is bloody, exciting, masterfully written, and recommended for all libraries. James A. Overbeck, Atlanta-Fulton P.L., GA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Ambitious...lively... The range is enormous; as Christianity spreads, this becomes a history of the world...a very impressive achievement which succeeds in drawing together an emormous amount of information into a coherent presentation... It is difficult to imagine any reader being disappointed" * Independent on Sunday * "It has great strengths... A good book makes one think. This is a good book in addition to being physically big and beautiful" * Church Times *

About the Author

BRIAN MOYNAHAN graduated with honors from Cambridge University and embarked on a career as an author and journalist. He served on the staff of The Yorkshire Post, Town Magazine, and The Times (London). Since 1989, he has concentrated on writing histories while continuing to write for British and American newspapers. His previous books include Airport International, Fool's Paradise, Claws of the Bear, Comrades, The Russian Century, and A Biography of Rasputin.

Russia, photos,