Quickbooks for Profit: Making the Numbers Work

Book Description

"An excellent, comprehensive, and very practical guide for training design.
--Beverly Popek, director of human resources, professional & consulting services, MCI Telecommunications

The answer is here. The heart of this book is the Sequential-Iterative Model (SIM) for training design. A fancy term for a simple, elegant concept: training should be a step-by-step process with a feedback loop that enables you to continually refine your training based on experience.

"You will not find another book that so thoroughly examines the process of creating training events. For anyone who wants to do quality design work, this book is highly recommAnded."
--Mel Silberman, author of Active Training and 101 Ways to Make Training Active

This book is a tool to help you design training that is:

Effective: Accomplishing specific objectives that aim toward success
Efficient: Meeting training objectives without wasting time or energy
Engaging: Involvin g learners and incorporating their experience into the training

You get checklists and evaluations to guide your development process. Out of their many years of experience, Milano and Ullius have created a practical guidebook that enables you to structure training so it is fluid and adaptable. Many guides to instructional design are stuffy, academic, and difficult to apply to the real world. Not so with Designing Powerful Training. This book is easy to approach and visually refreshing, with over 70 figures and illustrations!

You'll receive an overview of training basics, including:

Identifying the central characteristics of adult learners
Recognizing the essential skills for instructional design
Conducting a simple and quick needs assessment . . . and much more!

Next, the authors introduce you to the revolutionary SIM design. This design guides you through:

defining training goals and objectives
designing a big-picture outline for your training program
refining your outline to create a detailed training process
selecting media for your training events
evaluating the success of your designs.

"I like this book! The [SIM] gives me the connection between training design and organizational performance needs I have been looking for in other books."-- Joseph A. Greenberg, professor of higher education administration, The George Washington University

An essential piece of the puzzle is the running example that the authors follow throughout the book. This is where the rubber meets the road. You see the SIM in action and you recognize how you'll make it work for you.

Customer Reviews:

Transformational!.......2007-01-21

I discovered Designing Powerful Training in 1999 in a graduate program on instructional design. I was a good designer before I began using this book...and it totally transformed my design ability for the better. In fact, it gave me the confidence to become a full-time instructional designer, which I have been doing ever since, and an instructional design coach.

The book focuses, in great detail, on HOW to think about design. It gives a step-by-step process for doing this. Instructional design requires discipline and this book hands it to you on a silver platter. It does NOT address in any detail how to conduct a needs assessment, how to evaluate training, how to work with graphic design, or how to create learning materials. What it focuses on, though, is superb and it has been one of the primary influences on my career today.

Designing Powerful Training Has Impact.......2005-09-02

This book is exactly what I was looking for to design a more impactful training. I reccomend it if you are looking for a step-by-step approach to get you started.

A tremendous resource for any training professional........1998-10-07

I have been in the training profession for about 15 years and have looked for a resource like this for a long time. As a training professional I have been asked to develop training materials for numerous learning styles and levels and have struggled to interpret what my customers are needing. This book details very simply what it takes to develop training materials and how to be an effective consultant in a timely manner. I found the concepts to be extremely effective and realistic and usable. I manage a training department of 8 trainers who have tremendous training responsibilities. Because this book is such an excellent resource I purchased it for each of my training consultants and they have used it many times over. I really appreciate the creative methods detailed by the authors in creating that "powerful" training program that our customers expect.

"Designing Powerful Training" will help you do exactly that.......1998-07-28

I have been designing and presenting workshops for many years but "Designing Powerful Training: The Sequential-Iterative Model" by Michael Milano and Diane Ullius is the most crisp, clear, and concise "how to" and "why" book that I've read on the subject. Theory and practice are consistently presented hand-in-hand. I particularly like the way Milano and Ullius honor all varieties of learning styles. They do this in the design process as well as in their explanations. The result is that I felt included as a colleague and as a co-learner. The book has actually motivated me to redouble my own commitment to design training events with the same sensitivity. But what I like most is the presentation of a process that is both sequential and iterative. To me that means a process that is both disciplined and flexible, invariant yet creative. The five point model helped me recommit to the importance of paying attention up-front to writing ! out complete goals and objectives. The authors do a great job of demonstrating why this is so essential. For me, the book functions like a disciplined and experienced teacher. The method demands discipline but within that discipline there is space for spontaneity and fun.

Book Description

A supplementary text for counseling, clinical psychology, and social work courses emphasizing strategies for meeting the needs of diverse populations, this book provides a thorough background to helping professionals on the developmental, cultural, and special mental health needs and concerns of Native American Indian clients. The book provides practitioners with key cultural information as well as practical guidance that will enhance their credibility when they seek to help Native American Indian/Alaskan Native clients. It addresses key questions relevant to providing services to this population: What are the developmental challenges of Native clients? How can Native clients achieve a mature and healthy sense of themselves in relation to others? What are the specific cultural and ethnic issues in helping Native clients? What are the effective methods for establishing rapport and intervening with diverse Native populations, especially those whose concerns were historically ignored by society?

Academic achievement among Caribbean immigrant adolescents: the impact of generational status on academic self-concept.: An article from: Professional School Counseling

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Academic achievement among Caribbean immigrant adolescents: the impact of generational status on academic self-concept.: An article from: Professional School Counseling
Natasha Mitchell
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00096THPO
Release Date: 2006-05-24

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Professional School Counseling, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2005. The length of the article is 7007 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Academic achievement among Caribbean immigrant adolescents: the impact of generational status on academic self-concept.
Author: Natasha Mitchell
Publication: Professional School Counseling (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Page: 209(10)

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Health professionals help the community.: An article from: Wind Speaker

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Health professionals help the community.: An article from: Wind Speaker

Manufacturer: Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Wind Speaker, published by Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA) on July 1, 1996. The length of the article is 474 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Health professionals help the community.
Publication: Wind Speaker (Newsletter)
Date: July 1, 1996
Publisher: Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA)
Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Page: 28

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Health professions & related clinical sciences: African-American baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration) : An article from: Black Issues in Higher Education

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Health professions & related clinical sciences: African-American baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration) : An article from: Black Issues in Higher Education

Manufacturer: Cox, Matthews & Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Black Issues in Higher Education, published by Cox, Matthews & Associates on June 2, 2005. The length of the article is 1139 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Health professions & related clinical sciences: African-American baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration)
Publication: Black Issues in Higher Education (Refereed)
Date: June 2, 2005
Publisher: Cox, Matthews & Associates
Volume: 28 Issue: 8 Page: 69(1)

Article Type: Illustration

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Health professions & related clinical sciences: American Indian baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCER: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration): An article from: Black Issues in Higher Education

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Health professions & related clinical sciences: American Indian baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCER: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration): An article from: Black Issues in Higher Education

Manufacturer: Cox, Matthews & Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Black Issues in Higher Education, published by Cox, Matthews & Associates on June 2, 2005. The length of the article is 1100 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Health professions & related clinical sciences: American Indian baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCER: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration)
Publication: Black Issues in Higher Education (Refereed)
Date: June 2, 2005
Publisher: Cox, Matthews & Associates
Volume: 28 Issue: 8 Page: 69(1)

Article Type: Illustration

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Health professions & related clinical sciences: Asian American baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration): An article from: Black Issues in Higher Education

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Health professions & related clinical sciences: Asian American baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration): An article from: Black Issues in Higher Education

Manufacturer: Cox, Matthews & Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Black Issues in Higher Education, published by Cox, Matthews & Associates on June 2, 2005. The length of the article is 1118 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Health professions & related clinical sciences: Asian American baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration)
Publication: Black Issues in Higher Education (Refereed)
Date: June 2, 2005
Publisher: Cox, Matthews & Associates
Volume: 28 Issue: 8 Page: 70(1)

Article Type: Illustration

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Health professions & related clinical sciences: Hispanic baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration) : An article from: Black Issues in Higher Education

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Health professions & related clinical sciences: Hispanic baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration) : An article from: Black Issues in Higher Education

Manufacturer: Cox, Matthews & Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Black Issues in Higher Education, published by Cox, Matthews & Associates on June 2, 2005. The length of the article is 1250 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Health professions & related clinical sciences: Hispanic baccalaureate.(TOP 100 DEGREE PRODUCERS: BACCALAUREATE DEGREES)(Illustration)
Publication: Black Issues in Higher Education (Refereed)
Date: June 2, 2005
Publisher: Cox, Matthews & Associates
Volume: 28 Issue: 8 Page: 70(1)

Article Type: Illustration

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Information outreach: campaign linked to health outcomes. (Ethnic Marketing).(American Heart Association targets Latinos for fundraising campaign): An article from: The Non-profit Times

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Information outreach: campaign linked to health outcomes. (Ethnic Marketing).(American Heart Association targets Latinos for fundraising campaign): An article from: The Non-profit Times
Tom Pope
Manufacturer: NPT Publishing Group, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

American Heart Association | Nutrition | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Non-profit Times, published by NPT Publishing Group, Inc. on September 15, 2002. The length of the article is 1299 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Information outreach: campaign linked to health outcomes. (Ethnic Marketing).(American Heart Association targets Latinos for fundraising campaign)
Author: Tom Pope
Publication: The Non-profit Times (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 15, 2002
Publisher: NPT Publishing Group, Inc.
Volume: 16 Issue: 18 Page: 6(2)

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Product Description

This well-illustrated resource provides a wealth of stimulating information on the design of inherently safer and user-friendly plants. It demonstrates how chemical plants can withstand human error and equipment failures without serious effects on safety, output, or efficiency.

Customer Reviews:

An interesting read that can save lives.......2000-06-08

Kletz took his 38 years of chemical industry experience (the last 14 as a safety advisor) and identified "myths": statements often taken as truth that are actually questionable or outright false. While written from a UK perspective, the myths are often believed in the US also.

There's a complete index to make finding information easy. That's a good thing, because there are only 3 chapters and it isn't easy to find specific advice without reading through it all.

Much of that advice relates to safety and health. Kletz uses many anectdotes to expose the myth behind a supposed "truth." And he includes references so we aren't forced to take his word for it.

I like the Glossary that compares common US and UK chemical engineering terms (e.g., "install" = "fit"; "flashlight" = "torch"; "torch" = "cutting torch"), although several of the US terms listed are unfamiliar to me!

The big question is whether Dispelling Myths will be a go-to reference on your bookshelf, or a one-time read that gathers dust afterward. In my case it's the latter. But that says more about me than the value of this volume.

Book Description

The late Professor G.N. Watson wrote his monumental treatise on the theory of Bessel functions in 1922 with two objects in view. The first was the development of applications of the fundamental processes of the theory of complex variables, and the second was compiling a collection of results of value for mathematicians and physicists who encounter Bessel functions in the course of their researches. The completeness of the theoretical account, combined with the wide scope of the collection of practical examples have resulted in a book that will be indispensable for pure mathematicians, applied mathematicians, and physicists.

Customer Reviews:

The best math book of all time.......2002-03-07

'Bessel Functions', by Watson, has often been called the best math book of all time. I have no doubt it is in the top 10. Even though it is 50+ years old, it is well worth studying. It is the best book ever written about any special function.

Watson makes the needed complex analysis, generating functions, etc., simple, even obvious. I own hundreds of advanced math books, and this is one of the few that I can lay on the couch and read for fun.

Here is an old joke: Whittaker was the worst math author of all time (check out 'analytic dynamics'). Watson is so good that 'Modern analysis' by Whittaker and Watson is mediocre.

Another interesting connection: As I recall from the obituary in Physics Today, in the late 1930's Onsager needed a Ph. D. to stay at Harvard and avoid returning home to WW2. He had his notebook in which (as a sophemore chem major in Europe) he had solved all the problems but 4 in Whittaker and Watson. MIT gave him a math Ph. D. on the spot because 8 or 10 had never been solved by anyone, including W&W.

Ultimate reference book for Bessel's function, even today!.......2002-02-24

Whenever one want to find a book on Bessel Functions, it is simple, there is only one book on that subject, here is that book!!! There is no need to say any further praise words for that book. Like the book " A course of Modern Analysis " by Whittaker and Watson,these are the Classics of Classics.If soneone who are doing pure mathematics or applied mathematics who do not know about them or their books.
God bless you!!! ...

Definitive text.......2000-09-28

I found this book a struggle, but there again, I was young and found complex integration a bit strange.

This having been said, I must say that since then I have yearned for this text all the way through my physics degree and beyond. You could almost say that if it ain't here, its ain't nowhere, buddy.... However, that of course isn't quite true these days. The depth of the book is extraordinary. The nicest chapters are in the middle, where the integral representations are described. Quite honestly, by then you are over the rather dry beginning and if you really got over that and the basic material, this where the text flies...

Its a lot of fun, very hard, but my gosh, do you get some heavy duy stuff under your belt.

Classic.......2000-01-27

Watson's classic text was written before the more modern age of "topologically flavored" arguments. Consequently, much of the presentation may appear to be a bit ponderous, relying on explicit calculational detail when that is no longer strictly necessary. By now many points can be deduced "by pure thought". However, the text gives a very complete and deep view of Bessel's functions. Because it "does everything" it is also a fine and practical way to learn complex analysis in the style of the "old school". If you just can't stand older style writing, you should probably look at Olver's book on special functions. If you can tolerate the old style, buy this and have many (many, many) hours of good fun and insight.

A Treatise on the Theory of Bessel Functions, Second Edition

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A Treatise on the Theory of Bessel Functions, Second Edition
G.N. Watson
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JO09WG

Treatise on the Theory of Bessel Function. Second Edition.

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Treatise on the Theory of Bessel Function. Second Edition.
G.N. Watson
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UYFNQ2

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A Treatise on the Theory of Bessel Functions SECOND EDITION
G. N. Watson
Manufacturer: MacMillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NV8YZE

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A Treatise on the Theory of Bessel Functions, Second Edition
G. N. Watson
Manufacturer: Cambridge University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O3VZRU

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Treatise on the Theory of Bessel Function. Second Edition.
G.N. Watson
Manufacturer: See notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UBXYR0

A Treatise on the Theory of Bessel Functions

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A Treatise on the Theory of Bessel Functions
G. N. Watson
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000P0PV22

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A Treatise on the Theory of Bessel Functions
G. N. Watson
Manufacturer: Cambridge at the University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000V9QC48

Amazon.com

Russian writers tend to gravitate toward either Tolstoyan gravity or Gogol's brand of feather-light fabulism. Victor Pelevin, the author of four previous books, most definitely belongs in the latter camp. His work may be grounded in the grubby realities of contemporary Russia, but the food shortages, decaying apartment blocks, and political chaos serve him as a kind of naturalistic springboard from which he launches into one antic leap after another. Pelevin's latest collection is a case in point. The title story finds a young, Moscow-based slacker visiting the countryside, hoping for a little bucolic enlightenment. Instead, he stumbles across a pack of werewolves deep in the forest, who hastily induct him into their numbers. Pelevin expertly conveys Sasha's brand-new lupine perceptions: the way he can now "distinguish the creaking of a branch in the wind a hundred yards from the clearing and the chirping of a cricket coming from precisely the opposite direction." But as the pack heads into a nearby village, it becomes clear that Sasha has been chosen to purge a treacherous, four-legged comrade. Perestroika notwithstanding, man is still a wolf to man--and vice versa.

Elsewhere, in "Sleep," a student discovers that the rest of the world is in a state of slumber, and promptly gets with the program himself. "It was all very confusing, and in order to be able to tell whether he was asleep or not at any particular moment, Nikita began carrying a small pin with a big, round, green head in his pocket, and whenever he was in any doubt, he pricked his thigh, and everything became clear. Then, of course, there was the new fear that he might simply dream that he was pricking himself with the pin, but Nikita drove that thought from his mind as quite unbearable." Political allegory? Existential parable? Arguably these stories are both--but Pelevin's talent is much too large and unpredictable to be jammed into such generic pigeonholes. He's a brilliant original who seems to get better (and funnier) with each book. --James Marcus

Book Description

fiction, Russia, tr Andrew Bromfield

Customer Reviews:

Lost on the way.......2007-05-22

Eight short stories on modern Russia (or the dying days of the USSR) by Victor Pelevin. The first (title) story and the last one ("Prince of Gosplan") are by far the most accessible: I found them both original and enjoyable.

The others however, I can't really assess as I had little idea of what was really going on in them. Perhaps that's largely due to my ignorance of modern Russian society and politics. Each is a surreal piece, replete with satire, irony and allusions which I confess went over my head. So, my reading experience of this book was OK at the beginning, OK at the end and lost in the middle!

I suppose that this collection should be better if you're more tuned into things Russian than me.

G Rodgers

A Tour of the Forces of Communism Taken to the Absurd Degree.......2007-01-09

First let me say that I reeeaaaallly enjoyed this book, but let me also state that I know that I missed alot of the inferences and sly winks. Though I am decently well read in Russian history (it's part of my own background) there are many current and historical references that are beyond most non-Russian Russians. It would be a much more enjoyable read if the translator had not only put in a glossary, but made some notes at the end of each story. Sort of an 'annotated' version, like they do with Shakespear.

That said, my two favorite stories were 'Ninth Dream' about a solipsist toilet cleaner and 'the Chinese Fantasy' where an obscure Chinese Peasant is kidnapped by the KGB and ends up becoming a major minister in the Russian government. The total absurdity of these stories has to do with the survival instinct that has become part of the Russian psyche over the last three hundred years. Gogol was highly respected for his ability to write stories that said so much, by saying so little (to keep him out of trouble, as much as possible).

One has to remember that this is a culture where the Czar, whether Ivan (who sent a Division marching towards Siberia) to Peter (who forcibly shaved off peoples beards, and ordered a city built on a swamp); to Stalin who had whole cultures (Crimean Tartars and Volga Germans) transported to the deserts of Kazahkstan, and just dumped there. Where a knock on the door in the middle of the night, meant certain death and anathema to the family. Parents begged their children to turn them in, so that the children wouldn't be punished for their parents imagined sins.

When you grow up in a culture like the Marxist-Leninist USSR, where history is constantly rewritten (and people disappear and reappear in photographs), it's hard to take anything seriously. Tomorrow, seriousness could be determined to be anti-Soviet propaganda, and everyone is ordered to be merry (or else!).

Years ago an immigrant friend of mine told me a story of how his mother would wait on line each day for two hours for toilet paper, even though she knew that the store was empty. She did this because it gave her time to spend with friends, get the latest gossip, look over the latest samizdat (underground publishing), and keep her mind off her hunger. She considered it time well spent. If you don't see the humor in this, don't bother reading the book.

This is officially one of my favorite short story collections ever!.......2005-12-27

This is one of the darkest, most surreal short story collections I have ever read. Russian literature has always struck me as being intense, brutal and, yes, depressing at times, and this book contains more of the two former than the latter descriptions. I will also add "surreal" into the mix. A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia and Other Stories is a book that won't be forgotten any time soon and that has won a special spot in my library. The stories in this collection are quite intricate -- with a language that changes from being surrealistic to having fantasy aspects to centering on social situations. They are intellectually and emotionally exhausting, and they disturbed as well as moved me at times. My favorite stories are "The Ontology of Childhood," "Sleep," "The Tarzan Swing," "A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia," and "Prince of Gosplan." This is the English translation of the original Russian offering, and I only hope that there was nothing lost in the translation because I love to read the author's words and interpretations on the pages. Are you in the bargain for some intense and enlightening stories? I suggest you give A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia a whirl. You will not regret it!

Russian surrealism.......2004-01-05

A book of difficult stories, at best, the first story, "A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia", about a wanderer who happens upon a pack of werewolves, and the last story "Prince of Gosplan", which meshes the real world with the world of computer games, are the two stellar and meaningfully understandable stories in this collection.

Whether it is my own ignorance of Russian/Soviet history and life, my lack of philosophical depth, and/or issues of translating Russian to English, the 6 other stories in this collection left me mostly confused and frustrated.

In "Vera Pavlovna's Ninth Dream", a bathroom attendant suffers from severe solipsism and its disturbing consequences.

In "Sleep", a student succumbs to the belief that everyone around him is "sleeping" through their daily lives.

In "Tai Shou Chuan USSR", a Chinese citizen metaphysically becomes a powerful force in the Russian government.

"The Tarzan Swing" is an alternating tale of death vs. mental illness.

In "The Ontology of Childhood", a young child describes what seems to be his life in a prison cell.

And "Bulldozer Driver's Day" details the daily life of a working class citizen determined to break out of the mold.

All seemingly straightforward, these stories constantly twist and turn through the surreal and metaphysical in ways that, without interpretation, leave the reader in a philosophical fog. I would love to re-read this with expert interpretations as I am sure the insights are fascinating, but as a literary layman I find I may be missing much of the good stuff that I am certain can be found here.

The Sublime and The Ridiculous.......2000-11-12

A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia, a collection of short stories, exhibits both the joys and the challenges of reading someone as brilliantly absurd as Russia's Victor Pelevin. The tamest of these eight stories is surreal, the most complex is, at times, simply impenetrable. At times, Pelevin addresses universal themes with tremendous insight; at other times his satire is so specifically Russian that anyone not well-versed in Russian history will find the subject matter less than understandable. And, although Pelevin appears to be striving for a light mood, at least in some of the stories, the gloomy and pessimistic specter of the former Soviet Union casts its shadow over the volume as a whole.

A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia can be seen as both a tribute to Dostoyevsky and as a radical departure from him, for these characters are loners who are simply not aware that they are loners. The Tarzan Swing is a Pelevin story that is very reminiscent of Dostoyevsky's story, The Double. It comes as a shock to the protagonist of Tarzan's Swing to realize that he is carrying on a conversation with a companion that might be nothing more than his shadow. Unlike The Double, however, the protagonist in Pelevin's story is never really sure if this "companion" is real or not.

All of Pelevin's rather narcissistic characters wander through their post-perestroika days in a dreamlike state obsessing on the meaning of life. They exist outside of themselves and seem to take it in stride that the physical world is compromised by spatial and temporal impossibilities, that a universe exists in a teapot, that dream landscapes are superimposed on real ones and that Russia is but a sewer cover away from China. And, while Dostoyevsky's characters are bogged down by paranoid delusions, Pelevin's characters always seem to find themselves faced with the empty but ultimately self-satisfying prospect of solipsism, and they take it for granted that the world is in a kind of surreal flux.

The title story tells the tale of a traveler who becomes hopelessly lost in central Russia and is transformed into a werewolf. Surprisingly, he likes it and he finds it a very liberating experience. This story, told in a linear manner, is no doubt the most accessible of the entire volume. Pelevin gives us stunning detail so we are able to feel how the character moves and smells and sees. The story's placement at the beginning of the collection provides the perfect entree to the lunacy that is Victor Pelevin's trademark.

The Ontology of Childhood is more difficult to grasp, especially for those not familiar with Russian history or Russian literature, but it is a more accomplished piece of writing and showcases Pelevin's unique talent most admirably. Written in the second person, The Ontology of Childhood is a chilling recollection of growing up in a prison and blends powerful remembrances of dark pessimism with expressions of profound hope.

Pelevin's uncanny ability to render eerie, off-center dreamscapes makes him the Salvador Dali of literature. He is a wordsmith who successfully mixes the sublime with the ridiculous and comes up with wildly turbulent tales that are always more than interesting and thought provoking. They are, in their essence, nothing short of great literature.

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Victor Pelevin. A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia and Other Stories. Andrew Bromfield, tr. New York. New Directions. 1998. 213 pages. $23.95. ISBN 0-8112-1394-3.(Review)(Brief ... An article from: World Literature Today
Philippe D. Radley
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary
General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B00098UC06
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on March 22, 1999. The length of the article is 513 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Victor Pelevin. A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia and Other Stories. Andrew Bromfield, tr. New York. New Directions. 1998. 213 pages. $23.95. ISBN 0-8112-1394-3.(Review)(Brief Article)
Author: Philippe D. Radley
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1999
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 73 Issue: 2 Page: 354

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article

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A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia and Other Stories.(Review) (book reviews) : An article from: The Review of Contemporary Fiction

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A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia and Other Stories.(Review) (book reviews) : An article from: The Review of Contemporary Fiction
Michael Pinker
Manufacturer: Review of Contemporary Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on June 22, 1999. The length of the article is 3045 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia and Other Stories.(Review) (book reviews)
Author: Michael Pinker
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1999
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Page: 143

Article Type: Book Review

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