Percival relates that one early morning a drunk waiting outside Covent Garden to buy ballet tickets asked, "Did you ever see that Daggylev? He was the greatest dancer that ever lived." Sergei Diaghilev was no dancer, of course, but in 1909 he presented his astonishing Ballets Russes to Paris. Earlier he had brought Russian operas starring Chaliapin to the West. Subsequently few men in history have left a greater imprint on the history of Russian artistic life. After studying memoirs and

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... s written by Diaghilev's artistic collaborators, Percival wove together a narrative focused on the dancers in his company, the choreographers, designers, and composers, taken in that order. Diaghilev's special genius, it seems, was excellent taste. He recognized the talent of a dancer such as Nijinsky. He could appreciate the worth of a young, quite unknown composer such as Stravinsky. He realized the scenic potential of his own entrancing Russian folklore, and was able to present it to the world in such memorable productions as Firebird, Petrouchka, Le Sacre du Printemps, and Le Coq d'Or. His own artistic career began with exhibitions of paintings, and the scenic collaboration of artists such as Bakst, Benois, Larionov, Goncharova, and Picasso lent a very special panache to his works. Positively speaking, this is an interesting bit of "instant Diaghilev." It was not intended to be a scholarly tome; Percival wanted to produce a readable volume bearing witness to the vast influence of Diaghilev. The illustrations alone convey that message. Its numerous photographs and costume drawings depict the very first productions of works which are still standard ballet fare, such as Spectre de la Rose, Apollo, Daphnis and Chloe, Prodigal Son, and Les Sylphides. The book would be a worthy addition to a course on Russian culture where small, compact paperbacks are desired.