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. It is not an exaggeration to say that this will be the literary non-fiction event of the autumn.