Talk:Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher

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Why is "exchanged" in quotes? What about a prisoner exchange deviates from the definition that requires it to be quoted? --216.254.112.37 23:42, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

I changed it for you. I agree, nothing about the exchange deviates from the standard definition. And if there is something that makes this specific event deviate from the normal type of exchange, it needs to be mentioned in order to justify the use of quotation marks.President David Palmer 09:14, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Crosswords?

Yes, you can tell a soviet spy from a normal person - if they finish the "New York Times" crossword. Well isn't that what this article is implying with that useless piece of information? Tourskin 06:49, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unstructured and badly written

He expressed admiration for the Russian artist Isaak Levitan. He is said to have been able to finish the New York Times crossword puzzle. A smoker, he suffered from sinus infections, and eventually died of lung cancer after his return to Russia.

These sentences are utterly out of place in the second paragraph. The crosswords is redundant, even for a "Trivia" section. While the NYT crossword may be legendary for its difficulty, tons of people are able to solve it. Unless this trivia comes with some kind of record time ("in ten minutes"), it's uninteresting. In a biography, someone's death comes at the end, not in the middle (especially since it's also repeated at the end).

All in all, this has a similar tone ("He such-and such. He did this-and-that. He was able to so-and-so, but then he died.") to an essay written in middle school. I'd say this text could really use some improvement.

--- Arancaytar - avá artanhé (reply) 13:00, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Edit: I reread the article, and I noticed that the bad style only applies to a certain section in the paragraph mentioned above. The rest is noticably better. Specifically, the bad text is this:

His friends found him intelligent and knowledgeable, but somewhat secretive; for example, he never disclosed where he lived. He expressed admiration for the Russian artist Isaak Levitan. He is said to have been able to finish the New York Times crossword puzzle. A smoker, he suffered from sinus infections, and eventually died of lung cancer after his return to Russia. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Arancaytar (talk • contribs) 13:02, 23 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Heading, and Crossword item

What is the logic behind giving this article the heading "Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher"? It seems to me it should be titled "Rudolf Abel," given that he's widely known as such. After all, Mark Twain's article is not titled Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

He was only very briefly in the United States, using that alias. Rudolf Abel does redirect. Fred Bauder 01:24, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Also, as to the NY Times crossword tidbit, while the info may be written a bit stiffly, the very fact that a Soviet spy enjoyed the crossword puzzle in the New York Times struck me as a very interesting and appealing personal detail. -- MSO

My writing is stiff?!, damn. Finishing any crossword is not trivial... He must have learned both English and American popular culture very well. Fred Bauder 01:24, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

He must have learned both English and American popular culture very well.

As a spy, I suppose he must, yes... ;)

"was able to finish" is a somewhat misleading formulation, as it seems to speak about his skills rather than his hobbies. Sure, the NYT crossword is known to be difficult, but it's not a legendary problem whose solving merits a mention in your biography.

It might be rewritten as "enjoyed solving the NYT crossword" as a kind of trivia about his hobbies, if that is accurate.

--- Arancaytar - avá artanhé (reply) 11:40, 31 March 2008 (UTC)