2. Boyett, Randi. SOVIET GEORGIA. Chelsea House, 1988. Surveys the history, topography, people and culture of Georgia, with an emphasis on its current economy, industry, and place in the political world.
12. Rosen, Roger. THE GEORGIAN REPUBLIC. Passport Books (NTC Publishing Group), Lincolnwood, Illinois, 1999. An excellent overview of the country: includes an historical section, a guide to cultural sites, excerpts from literature, practical information.
13. Russell, Mary. PLEASE DON'T CALL IT SOVIET GEORGIA. Serpent's Tail, 4 Blackstock Mews, London, N4. 1991. A journey through a troubled paradise; encounters and conversations with the Georgian people at a turning point in their history.
18. Van Reeuwijk, Dick. THE GEORGIAN REBELLION ON TEXEL. ISBN 90-720202-33-6. This is the little known story of Georgian soldiers during WWII who were held prisoner by the Germans on the Dutch island of Texel. They fought back against their captors, and a few men made it off the island in a small boat to England. They begged the English for help, but the English refused. Hundreds of Georgians were killed on Texel; of the 800 imprisoned there, only 228 survived.
- Papashvily Books
George Papashvily came to America from Georgia after WWI, and eventually married and became a sculptor of some note. Together, he and his wife wrote about his experiences in two delightful books, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN and HOME, AND HOME AGAIN. These won't take long to read, and they'll give you a real feeling for the warm, loving character of the Georgian people.
1. Papashvily, George and Helen. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. Harper, 1945. Tells about Papashvily's experiences as a penniless immigrant. This funny, wonderful little book was chosen by Book-of-the-Month Club and became a best seller.
2. Papashvily, George and Helen. HOME, AND HOME AGAIN. Harper, 1973. This one describes Papashvily's first trip back to Georgia, 40 years after he left. In the course of rediscovering his country he describes his childhood and youth.
2. Goldstein, Darra. THE GEORGIAN FEAST. Harper Collins, 1992. This is my favorite Georgian cookbook; in addition to delicious and authentic recipes, the author includes sections on Georgian history and customs as they relate to food.
3. Margvelashvili, Julianne. THE CLASSIC CUISINE OF SOVIET GEORGIA: HISTORY, TRADITIONS, AND RECIPES. Prentice Hall, 1991. This book is written by a Canadian woman who married a Georgian and lives in Tbilisi. She really understands the problems for an American cook and tries hard to work out substitutes for the unobtainable spices, etc. The first few chapters give a wonderful description of shopping in the Georgian open market, learning about the ingredients, and about traditions and customs
4. Papashvily, George and Helen. RUSSIAN COOKING. Time-Life Books, 1969. This is part of Time-Life "Foods of the World" series. Papashvily thought it was a reasonable division of labor for him to do the chapter on the Caucasus and let Helen do all the rest of the Soviet republics, because the Georgian section would be so much more challenging and interesting! He doesn't really address the problem of seasoning without the Georgian spices, but the text and beautiful photos will give you a feeling for Georgian food and wine.
- Georgian Language Bear in mind that the Georgian alphabet is unrelated to the Russian or any other alphabet on the planet. The written language dates from the fifth century and is the only written member of the non-Indoeuropean Kartvelian (South Caucasian) linguistic family.
1. Aronson, Howard I. GEORGIAN: A READING GRAMMAR. ISBN: 0893572071. Slavica, 1982. [Four cassettes available from Audio-Forum. ISBN: 0884327043]
2. Hall, Patricia, and Tatyana Bukia. SURVIVAL GEORGIAN. 1991, revised 1996. A Georgian phrasebook for speakers of English.
1. PIROSMANI. Sovetsky Khudozhnik Publishers, 1986 Selected works of the great Georgian artist in the primitivist style, Niko Pirosmanashvili, in English and Russian.
2. Rustaveli, Shota. THE KNIGHT IN THE PANTHER'S SKIN. This is a famous romantic epic, written in Georgian in the 12th century. Rustaveli is to Georgian as Shakespeare is to English; everyone knows passages by heart and quotes them in everyday speech. There are at least two different translations, with different publishers (It may also be called THE MAN IN THE PANTHER'S SKIN or THE MAN/KNIGHT IN THE TIGER'S SKIN).
3. Urushadze, Venera, translator. ANTHOLOGY OF GEORGIAN POETRY. State Publishing House of Soviet Georgia, 1958.
4. Said, Kurban. ALI AND NINO: A LOVE STORY. Anchor Books; (October 3, 2000)
