Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Icon and the Axe : An Interpretive History of Russian Culture by James Billington ISBN: 0-394-70846-6 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 December, 1970 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (6 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Outstanding!
Comment: This book evidently is the result of a disertation as it has the typical structure of such a document. It really needs to be read in conjunction with other books on Russian History to get its full impact. It is highly documented with lots of notes. It gives Russian history a new look, telling you why Russia had to do certain things. It was very enlightening and well organized and written. I would give it a must buy recommendation.
Rating: 5
Summary: A unique combination of history, art, culture, and character
Comment: When I read this book as a young university student in the early 1970s, it kindled an interest that has endured to this day. In fact, I went on to graduate school in Russian Area Studies and spent 16 years as a Soviet specialist in the Department of Defense, primarily as a result of the reading and study sparked by Billington's masterpiece. It is not conventional history. People have asked me again and again to explain why the Russians believe or behave in a particular manner. I refer them to "The Icon and the Axe." If it is possible to explain a People (as the Russians would say a "narod"), Billington does so. Truly a great work.
Rating: 5
Summary: LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS TELLS IT LIKE IT WAS ABOUT RUSSIA!
Comment: James Billington, the present (2000) Librarian Of Congress, was well known as an expert on the subject of the Soviet Union and Russia prior to his 1989 appointment by President George Bush as head of "the Nation's Library" (as Billington likes to label LC). His 1970 book about the roots of Russian culture and cultural history should be on the bookshelf of any person who seeks to understand Russia. He wrote it during his days as a Harvard U. history professor and put a lot of work into it. The result is a very thick (some would say huge) volume which discusses and presents the influences in Russian history, religion, and culture which have brought that country to the present age.
Billington is a comic book New England blue blood, like the U.S. President who appointed him Librarian Of Congress. He is a direct descendant of the Mayflower Billingtons, was schooled at Princeton University and later at Oxford U. in England. Many thought his Librarian Of Congress appointment might be a preliminary step to his becoming U.S. ambassador to Russia, but his boss, Mr. Bush, was not reelected in 1992, as expected, so Mr. Billington remained as LC chief for the following decade up to the present time.
Billington tells an interesting tale in his book about Russia. The influences of Asia on the Moscow headquartered country barely located in Europe give the Russian cultural tradition an oriental caste difficult for western countries to understand and identify with. Russia has always been a mysterious country to westerners, Mr. Billington informs us, and this has been a headache for Russian leaders. Peter the Great made a point of bringing French culture to Russia, and trying to "westernize" the Moscow capital so western diplomats, whose help the Czar needed, wouldn't be scared off (or at least as scared off as before). Peter The Great was partially successful, but the continuing Russian traditions and the eastern/Asian personality of these traditions didn't go away for Peter the Great or his successors, right down to the Communist Party leaders of post-1918 Russia and the U.S.S.R. The result, according to Billington, is that Russia always was and still is a "wanna be" western country.
James Billington relates a fascinating and brutal tale of an oriental country trying to become western for centuries, and mostly failing, stuck with the reality of its past. It is a tale of politics and poignance well worth buying and reading. His book is now 30 years old, yet it stands as a classic all libraries and individuals interested in Russia should obtain and re-read often.
 |
Title: Natasha's Dance : A Cultural History of Russia by Orlando Figes ISBN: 0312421958 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 17 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
 |
Title: A History of Russia by Nicholas Valentine Riasanovsky ISBN: 0195121791 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $61.95 |
 |
Title: Land of the Firebird by Suzanne Massie, Suzanne Massie ISBN: 096441841X Publisher: Hearttree Press Pub. Date: 1980 List Price(USD): $32.00 |
 |
Title: A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924 by Orlando Figes ISBN: 014024364X Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: March, 1998 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
 |
Title: Lenin's Tomb : The Last Days of the Soviet Empire by DAVID REMNICK ISBN: 0679751254 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 26 April, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
