Accessible to students; tourists; and general readers alike; this book provides a broad overview of Russian history since the ninth century. Paul Bushkovitch emphasizes the enormous changes in the understanding of Russian history resulting from the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then; new material has come to light on the history of the Soviet era; providing new conceptions of Russia's pre-revolutionary past. The book traces not only the political history of Russia; but also developments in its literature; art; and science. Bushkovitch describes well-known cultural figures; such as Chekhov; Tolstoy; and Mendeleev in their institutional and historical contexts. Though the 1917 revolution; the resulting Soviet system; and the Cold War were a crucial part of Russian and world history; Bushkovitch presents earlier developments as more than just a prelude to Bolshevik power.
#541719 in Books Eric R Dodds 1991-02-22Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .39 x 5.43l; .48 #File Name: 0521385997164 pagesPagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety Some Aspects of Religious Experience from Marcus Aurelius to Constantine
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. must readBy E. SalazarThe practical psychological implications of belief in paradise in the afterlife presented in this book now color all my understanding of life and western culture. This short book presents a simple idea that is essential for any heir to christian thought who wishes to understand themselves.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Marco TavaniExcellent book. A masterpiece.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Short; well written; and masterfulBy Jordan BellThis book covers religious thought in the Mediterranean world over the roughly 150 years from Marcus Aurelius to Constantine. Dodds has little to say about what peasants believed because this study is based on written works. But rather than describing what was said about particular ideas and doctrines; Dodds describes the religious outlook of the educated. "These are lectures on religious experience in the Jamesian sense"; quoting James's definition of religion as "the feelings; acts and experiences of individual men in their solitude; so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine."The book has a huge number of citations from original texts and from a handful of high quality studies by Daniélou; Festugière; and Nilsson; among others. This book will be useful for those researching the history of philosophy; the history of Mediterranean pagan religions; and the history of Christianity. A huge amount of knowledge is required of an author to write with authority about so many thinkers (such as the satirical celestial voyage in Lucian's Icaromenippus; the dream books of Aelius Aristides; and the biblical scholarship of Porphyry) and we are lucky that this book exists; it is neither a shallow survey for an undergraduate reader nor a disciplinary monograph that only a professional scholar would bother to read.
