Guardian 'literary highlights of 2020' Sunday Times 'books to watch out for in 2020' New Statesman 'books to read in 2020' Evening Standard 'thirteen titles to look for in 2020' As divisive as he is beguiling, as misunderstood as he is scrutinised, Boris Johnson is a singular figure. Many of us think we know his story well. His ruthless ambition was evident from his insistence, as a three-year-old, that he would one day be 'world king'. Eton and Oxford prepared him well for a frantic career straddling the dog-eat-dog worlds of journalism and politics. His transformation from bumbling stooge on Have I Got New for You to a triumphant Mayor of London was overshadowed only by his colourful personal life, brimming with affairs, scandals and transgressions. His ascent to Number 10 in the wake of the acrimonious, era-defining Brexit referendum would prove to be only the first act in an epic drama that saw him play both hero and villain - from proroguing parliament to his controversial leadership of the Covid-19 Crisis, all against the backdrop of divorce, marriage, the birth of his sixth child, revolts among Tory MPs and the countdown to Brexit. Yet despite his celebrity, decades of media scrutiny, the endless vitriol of his critics and the enduring adoration of his supporters, there is so much we've never understood about Boris - until now. Previous biographies have either dismissed him as a lazy, deceitful opportunist or been transfixed by his charm, wit and drive. Both approaches fall short, and so many questions about Boris remain unanswered. What seismic events of his childhood have evaded scrutiny? How has he so consistently defied the odds, proved his critics wrong, and got away with increasingly reckless gambles? What were his real achievements and failures as Mayor of London, what was really going on during his time as Foreign Secretary, and why did he write two articles for the Telegraph, one in favour of Leave and the other for Remain? How have the women in his life exerted more influence than any of us realise, and why is his story ultimately one overshadowed by family secrets? Based on a wealth of new interviews and research, this is the deepest, most rounded and most comprehensive portrait to date of the man, the mind, the politics, the affairs, the family - of a loner, a lover, a leader. Revelatory, unsettling and compulsively readable, it is the most timely and indispensable book yet from Britain's leading investigative biographer.

A major and controversial new biography of one of the most compelling and contradictory figures in modern British life. Born Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, to most of us he is just ‘Boris’ – the only politician of the age to be regarded in such familiar, even affectionate terms. Uniquely, he combines comedy with erudition, gimlet-eyed focus with jokey self-deprecation, and is a loving family man with a roving eye. He is also a hugely ambitious figure with seemingly no huge ambitions to pursue – other than, perhaps, power itself. In this revealing biography, written from the vantage point of a once close colleague, Sonia Purnell examines how a shy, young boy from a broken home became our only box-office politician – and most unlikely sex god; how the Etonian product fond of Latin tags became a Man of the People – and why he wanted to be; how the gaffe-prone buffoon charmed Londonders to win the largest personal mandate Britain has ever seen; and how the Johnson family built our biggest – and blondest – media and political dynasty. The first forensic account of a remarkable rise to fame and power, Just Boris unravels this most compelling of political enigmas and asks whether the Mayor who dreams of crossing the Thames to Downing Street has what it takes to be Prime Minister.

This famous work has had a chequered performance history, and Professor Laurel E. Fay points out that the interpretation of the opera depends on which edition is used. Robert Oldani introduces the "e;Boris problem"e;: Pushkin's play was not an obvious choice for a young composer, since it had been banned for forty years, and it is the Russian people, rather than any single character, who is the protagonist. Alex de Jonge examines its uniquely Russian character and notes the unsettling parallels of the history of old Russia with today. Nigel Osborne's comparison of the Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky versions highlights their individual qualities.Contents: Looking into 'Boris Godunov', Robert W. Oldani; A Historical Introduction, Nicholas John; The Drama and Music of 'Boris', Laurel E. Fay; Around 'Boris Godunov', Alex de Jonge; Boris: prince or peasant?, Nigel Osborne; Boris Godunov: Russian libretto (transliterated), Modest Mussorgsky; Boris Godunov: English translation by David Lloyd-Jones

Russian tycoon Boris Kievsky is not mad but he is afraid of what money and power can do to his grip on reality. When pressures of work and marriage become unsupportable, he escapes into the fictional world of Renaissance, where he befriends Niccolo Machiavelli and commits heroic deeds to win the favor of the most brilliant women of the age. In this fantasy world Boris hires Machiavelli as his business adviser because Machiavelli has the knack of making moral dilemmas seem less of a nuisance. Machiavelli also assists Boris in his amorous conquests. Be it Donna Benvenida Abravanel, wife to the King of the Jews and banker to emperors and Popes, or the ravishing Isabella d'Este, Marchesa of Mantua, they are all an image of the ideal woman that Boris, like any other man, has imprinted somewhere deep in his being. Back in reality Boris and his best friend, business partner and chess companion Igor Beschestny are trying to outsmart each other, steal from each other, destroy each other and generally prove who is the better man. Then, when his business threatens to collapse, Boris orders the kidnap of the mistress of the only man who can save his business in order to force the man to do what Boris needs. Months later circumstances bring Boris and this woman together. Larisa is the spitting image of Benvenida and Isabella, Boris' ideal woman, the woman of his dreams. He becomes obsessed with her. In order to win her love he is prepared to lose everything he has, money, power, social position. Like Tamino in The Magic Flute, Boris goes through trials to prove that his love is true. And he almost wins through, except that his best friend, business partner and chess companion Igor Beschestny senses Boris' vulnerability and sees his chance to triumph in their ego contest.

“Follow a positive and soulful approach to life, not a materialistic one, because that's what defines the real you and that's how you extract the most out of your life's teachings. Life teaches us at every step; Duty is ours, to look beyond the horizon.” - Mubarak Sandhu There are a lot of things for which life gives a second opportunity to improvise and succeed, but making a debut in any field does not fall on this list. It happens just once, followed by repetitive attempts to thrive and achieve our much-awaited goals. Boris – The Last Qahn Alive marks my debut as an author. It makes me feel once again, that dreams do come true, and no target is big enough, for it can definitely be achieved with consistent efforts. This fiction-based book narrates the story of Boris, who lives with a group of nomads but belongs to the legendary race of Qahns whose leader, Yura, once sacrificed his own self to save the kingdom and its people when attacked by the ferocious King of Seabed – Crato. Boris faces the same responsibility, which is to save the Kingdom of Ekaardus during Crato’s next invasion. He explores the Forest of Clyssia and Mountains of Vifus and learns immensely from his journey, while coming across unexpected creatures and situations. Eventually, he gets his hands on the Spear of Neutrality. What happens later, especially towards the end, is bound to make the readers ponder and wait for the sequel of this book. Boris – The Last Qahn Alive is a novel for one and all – complexities of situations are put in rather simple words, and characters are described well to picturise them conveniently. Bifurcation of chapters is done for easy references and bookmarks, and brief poetic conversations work as icing on the cake, making the story more engrossing and tasteful. CATEGORY: FICTION AUTHOR: MUBARAK SANDHU Connect with Mubarak at: www.mubaraksandhu.com

Soviet Jews lived through a record number of traumatic events: the Great Terror, World War II, the Holocaust, the Famine of 1947, the Doctors' Plot, the antisemitic policies of the postwar period, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. But like millions of other Soviet citizens, they married, raised children, and built careers, pursuing life as best as they could in a profoundly hostile environment. One of the first scholars to record and analyze oral testimonies of Soviet Jews, Anna Shternshis unearths their everyday life and the difficult choices that they were forced to make as a repressed minority living in a totalitarian regime. Drawing on nearly 500 interviews with Soviet citizens who were adults by the 1940s, When Sonia Met Boris describes both indirect Soviet control mechanisms?such as housing policies and unwritten quotas in educational institutions?and personal strategies to overcome, ignore, or even take advantage of those limitations. The interviews reveal how ethnicity was rapidly transformed into a negative characteristic, almost a disability, for Soviet Jewry in the postwar period. Ultimately, Shternshis shows, after decades living in a repressive, nominally atheistic state, these Jews did manage to retain a complex sense of Jewish identity, but one that fully disassociates Jewishness from Judaism and instead associates it with secular society, prioritizing chess over Talmud, classical music over Hasidic tunes. Gracefully weaving together poignant stories, intimate reflections, and witty anecdotes, When Sonia Met Boris traces the unusual contours of contemporary Russian Jewish identity back to its roots.

Reproduction of the original: Boris the Bear-Hunter by Fred Whishaw

Caryl Emerson and Robert Oldani take a comprehensive look at the most famous Russian opera, Modest Musorgsky's Boris Godunov.

Your country, sir. Your people. Your responsibility. It rather does fall to you to make things right. Clean up your father's mess. Winner of the 2023 Off West End 'Best Ensemble' Award Runner Up for the 2023 BBC Writersroom Popcorn Award for Best New Writing Winner of the 2020 VAULT Festival Origins Award The year is 1943 and Bulgaria has just told Hitler where to stick it. Europe's major powers are at war and King Boris III must choose a side or be swept away. A raucous and poignant tale in which a bunch of underdogs use every trick in the book to outwit the Nazis and save nearly 50,000 Jewish lives. Award-winning Out Of The Forest Theatre's irreverent comedy - featuring live music inspired by Bulgarian and Jewish folk tunes - tells the incredible true story that the world forgot. This is a unique story in 20th century European history. Prepare to be enthralled as The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria weaves a tale that delves deep into history, leaving you both informed and spellbound. This edition was published to coincide with the initial run at New York City's Brits Off Broadway festival at 59E59 Theatre in May 2024, before the show toured the UK in June 2024.

Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster are horror cinema icons, and the actors most deeply associated with the two roles also shared a unique friendship. Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff starred in dozens of black-and-white horror films, and over the years managed to collaborate on and co-star in eight movies. Through dozens of interviews and extensive archival research, this greatly expanded new edition examines the Golden Age of Hollywood, the era in which both stars worked, recreates the shooting of Lugosi and Karloff's mutual films, examines their odd and moving personal relationship and analyzes their ongoing legacies. Features include a fully detailed filmography of the eight Karloff and Lugosi films, full summaries of both men's careers and more than 250 photographs, some in color.