Natasha'S Dance: Cultural History Of Russia, A

Description: This tremendously attractive, ambitious, dizzying book is in every way a worthy successor to Figes' bestselling 'A People's Tragedy'. The whole panorama of Russia's mighty culture is conjured up in a way that is fresh, intimate and immediate. Whether talking about music or novels, buildings or paintings, Figes' enthusiasm and literary brilliance sweeps the reader along through a series of great set-piece chapters. Table of Contents: European Russia; children of 1812; Moscow! Moscow!; the peasant marriage; in search of the Russian soul; descendants of Genghiz Khan; Russia through the Soviet lens; Russia abroad. Prizes: Shortlisted for BBC Four Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2003. Shortlisted for Samuel Johnson Prize 2003. Author Biography: Orlando Figes is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. His last book, A PEOPLE'S TRAGEDY (Cape 1996), won the NCR Book Award, the Wolfson History Prize, the Longman/History Today Book of the Year Award and the WH Smith Literary Award. He lives in Cambridge.