The USSR Under Stalin (Witness History) Review
The USSR Under Stalin (Witness History) Feature
Examines the social and economic changes in the Soviet Union during Stalin's regime and discusses the nation's devastation by World War II.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Theremin: ETHER MUSIC AND ESPIONAGE (Music in American Life)
Theremin: ETHER MUSIC AND ESPIONAGE (Music in American Life) Review
Theremin: ETHER MUSIC AND ESPIONAGE (Music in American Life) Feature
Leon Theremin led a life of flamboyant musical invention laced with daring electronic stealth. A creative genius and prolific inventor, Theremin launched the field of electronic music virtually singlehandedly in 1920 with the musical instrument that bears his name. The theremin - the only instrument that is played without being touched - created a sensation worldwide and paved the way for the modern synthesizer. Its otherworldly sound became familiar in sci-fi films and even in rock music. This magical instrument that charmed millions, however, is only the beginning of the story. As a Soviet scientist, Theremin surrendered his life and work to the service of State espionage. On assignment in Depression-era America, he became the toast of New York society and worked the engines of capitalist commerce while passing data on U.S. industrial technology to the Soviet apparat.Following his sudden disappearance from New York in 1938, Theremin was exiled to a Siberian labor camp and subsequently vanished into the top-secret Soviet intelligence machine, presumed dead for nearly thirty years. Using the same technology that lay behind the theremin, he designed bugging devices that eavesdropped on U.S. diplomatic offices and stood at the center of a pivotal cold war confrontation. Throughout his life, Theremin developed many other electronic wonders, including one of the earliest televisions and multimedia devices that anticipated performance art and virtual reality by decades.In this first full biography of Leon Theremin, Albert Glinsky depicts the inventor's nearly one hundred-year life span as a microcosm of the twentieth century. Theremin is seen at the epicenter of most of the major events of the century: the Russian Revolution, two world wars, America's Great Depression, Stalin's purges, the cold war, and perestroika. His life emerges as no less than a metaphor for the divergence of communism and capitalism. Theremin blends the whimsical and the treacherous into a chronicle that takes in everything from the KGB to Macy's store windows, Alcatraz to the Beach Boys, Hollywood thrillers to the United Nations, Joseph Stalin to Shirley Temple. Theremin's world of espionage and invention is an amazing drama of hidden loyalties, mixed motivations, and an irrepressibly creative spirit.
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Thursday, July 28, 2011
Lenin Lives!: The Lenin Cult in Soviet Russia, Enlarged Edition
Lenin Lives!: The Lenin Cult in Soviet Russia, Enlarged Edition Review
Lenin Lives!: The Lenin Cult in Soviet Russia, Enlarged Edition Feature
Was the deification of Lenin a show of spontaneous affection, or a planned political operation designed to solidify the revolution with the masses? This book aims to provide the answer. Exploring the cults mystical, historical, and political aspects, the book attempts to demonstrate the galvanizing power of ritual in the establishment of the postrevolutionary regime. In a new section the author includes the fall of the Soviet Union and Russia's new democracy.
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Stalin: A biography (How they did it)
Stalin: A biography (How they did it) Review
Stalin: A biography (How they did it) Feature
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Stalin Phenomenon
The Stalin Phenomenon Review
The Stalin Phenomenon Feature
What was "Stalinism"? How far was it in line with the teachings of Marx and the practice of Lenin? Was it the logical outcome of the revolution, or was it a sort of counter-revolution? How far was Stalin an absolute ruler? Was he popular? How much support did his regime have, and from whom? What was the scale and purpose of the terror? Was there any alternative to him or to his policies? These and other controversial issues are discussed by five scholars from the USA, the Soviet Union and Britain who put forward constrasting interpretations of the phenomenon of Stalinism. The contributors are: R.W. Davies, Sheila Fitzpatrick, J. Arch Getty and Segei Mikoyan.
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Sunday, July 24, 2011
Mon Oncle Joseph
Mon Oncle Joseph Review
Mon Oncle Joseph Feature
Reminiscences of Joseph Stalin by his nephew, Budu Svanidzé, with text in French.
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Saturday, July 23, 2011
American Political Scientists: A Dictionary<br> Second Edition
American Political Scientists: A Dictionary<br> Second Edition Review
American Political Scientists: A Dictionary<br> Second Edition Feature
This dictionary offers the only comprehensive collection of profiles of American political scientists, each of whom contributed significantly to the intellectual development of American political science from its beginnings in the late-19th century to the present. This second edition includes 22 new and 110 revised entries, reflecting new scholarship that emerged during the 1990s. Numerous experts helped the editors develop this "consensus" group of the 193 political scientists who have made the most important theoretical contributions over the years, with attention to varied approaches and the different subfields. Alphabetically arranged entries focus on the main ideas and major works by each scholar, listing list the most important publications by and about the individual. There are numerous cross-references to show how the work of one scholar has influenced another in the discipline. Appendices list the political scientists by degree-granting institutions and by major fields. A short bibliography points to important general readings about the profession. A general index makes this major reference easily accessible for broad interdisciplinary research.
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Thursday, July 21, 2011
Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin: The Intelligentsia and Power
Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin: The Intelligentsia and Power Review
Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin: The Intelligentsia and Power Feature
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Stalin, Man of History
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Stalinist Science
Stalinist Science Review
Stalinist Science Feature
Some scholars have viewed the Soviet state and science as two monolithic entities--with bureaucrats as oppressors, and scientists as defenders of intellectual autonomy. Based on previously unknown documents from the archives of state and Communist Party agencies and of numerous scientific institutions, Stalinist Science shows that this picture is oversimplified. Even the reinstated Science Department within the Central Committee was staffed by a leading geneticist and others sympathetic to conventional science. In fact, a symbiosis of state bureaucrats and scientists established a much more terrifying system of control over the scientific community than any critic of Soviet totalitarianism had feared. Some scientists, on the other hand, developed more elaborate devices to avoid and exploit this control system than any advocate of academic freedom could have reasonably hoped. Nikolai Krementsov argues that the model of Stalinist science, already taking hold during the thirties, was reversed by the need for inter- Allied cooperation during World War II. Science, as a tool for winning the war and as a diplomatic and propaganda instrument, began to enjoy higher status, better funding, and relative autonomy. Even the reinstated Science Department within the Central Committee was staffed by a leading geneticist and others sympathetic to conventional science. However, the onset of the Cold War led to a campaign for eliminating such servility to the West. Then the Western links that had benefited genetics and other sciences during the war and through 1946 became a liability, and were used by Lysenko and others to turn back to the repressive past and to delegitimate whole research directions.
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