In Vogue": The Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Fashion Magazine - Norberto Angeletti, Alberto Oliva

Advantages: Superb Illustrations. Definitive Text. My Favourite - if not the Best Book on this Subject.
Disadvantages: A Slightly Predictable Read!

...book, in spite of its' coffee table glossiness, as pretty much the definitive work on the subject. AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY! Good though the text is, had this book comprised just of Mr Lynch's words alone, it would have been no larger than an ordinary paperback novel! Fortunately for we Titanic enthusiasts, the ship was built, and indeed sunk, during the Edwardian era. Why is that so important? Cameras were a very fashionable and well accepted accessory by that time, photography appealed to a very wide section of society, naturally those able to pay for a First or Second Class ticket for Titanic's maiden voyage could also afford a camera! However, it actually goes a little further than mere passenger "holiday snaps" - invaluable as they turned out to be. This was the age of great engineering feats, the builders, Harland and Wolff... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Easy to read, funny, captivating
Disadvantages: Too much in one story, some comedic devices stretched a bit far

...(Peterborough's Ukrainian immigrant community) is colourfully exotic and the comedy of older and newer immigration is good, overall. As a Pole I found the idea of hoisting a cooker onto a roof rack of a Roller hilarious while realistic, after all I have myself been witness and an enthusiastic participant in the process of loading a Siemens washing machine onto a sailing yacht in Kiel, Germany in 1984... On a deeper level, 'Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian' is a novel about the little people who are, essentially, and despite all the scars they might be carrying, survivors of History. This is a theme big in Eastern/Middle European writing of last 60 or so years, and understandably so, as it would be hard to find a family in that part of the world not affected by the madness and cruelty of the last century: from the Great War, October... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: amusing in parts
Disadvantages: none

...This is a humerous read. The main character is Nadezhda who is almost fifty and an University Lecturer. Centres on the family disasters that invove her father. He finds himself another patner even though he is twentyfive years younger than him after their mother had died. She came from the Ukrain and was an divorcee and this brought memories back to him as he was there in the war. This ukrain girl wanted to remain in Britain so what better solution than to marry this eightyfour year old man which would allow her to obtain a visa to stay in Britain. Nikolai Mayevsky was quite happy with the idea of marrying Valentina. He also was aware of the age difference and why she wanted to marry him. He like her company. His daughters are very concerned about this. Nadezhda who has another sister Vera but had fell out with her then got in touch... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful