That touched off a political battle that may make it more difficult for Viktor F. Yanukovich, who succeeded Mr. Yushchenko as president last week, to address the ethnic, regional and historical passions that divide the country.
DENVER — Molly Brown, the unsinkable survivor of Titanic fame, is about to set sail again, this time as channeled through the historical passions of Janet Kalstrom, a retired information technology specialist and full-time Titanic buff.
Our historical passions and fury have been neutered for mass consumption.
Matches against Romania or Poland would both have had the potential to stir up anti-immigrant feeling, just as meeting Germany or France would have stoked historical passions.
In a city with low density, miles of suburban sprawl to the east and west of downtown and a historical lack of passion for public transportation, the rail line, one of the nation's 36 systems, seemed like a white elephant.
Suddenly, in substance as well as in form, the movie leaps far beyond casual chat and deep into historical shudderings, intimate passions, the inescapable pull of family, the personal side of politics, the mystery of attraction, the bind of tradition and modernity, and the sheer random force of modern catastrophe.
The story, based on a historical incident, is about passion used for political ends.
Unfortunately, Zinn's big book is stronger on polemical passion than historical insight.
I hope that The Story of Swimming will enable swimmers like myself to benefit from taking a historical perspective on their passion.
Mr. Feldman, 55, retired from a career in law and real estate development in 2000 to devote himself to his lifelong passion for historical research and writing.
