The Hundred Thousand Fools of God: Musical Travels in Central Asia (and Queens, New York) [Hardcover]

Theodore Levin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

"This erudite, absorbing volume chronicles the travels of ethnomusicologist Theodore Levin through urban and rural Transoxania... He writes in evocative, imaginative, personalized prose that vividly captures the flavor of his everyday experiences, providing plush visual detail, trenchant character profiles, attention to perplexing local hospitality codes and the shaping hand of gender, throughout." -- Slavic Review

"... extremely informative, using music as a platform for a much wider discussion of cultural and political issues." -- Times Literary Supplement, London

"The subject is music, but Levin uses it to cast a wider light, revealing places of considerable sorrow long hidden in the shadows of Soviet power, and to create a travelogue with wide potential appeal.... Candor about his own uncertainties and personal struggles helps make this a personal as well as a scholarly adventure." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Not to be missed by those interested in music and world culture... " -- Library Journal

"... may be destined to become the definitive work on the music of this newly accessed region." -- Dirty Linen

The Hundred Thousand Fools of God assembles a living musical and ethnographic map by highlighting the fate of traditions, beliefs, and social relationships in Muslim and Jewish Central Asian cultures during and after seventy years of Soviet rule. Theodore Levin evokes the spectacular physical and human geography of the area and weaves a rich ethnography of the life styles, values, and art of the musical performers. Photographs, maps, and an accompanying CD (featuring 24 on-site recordings) make The Hundred Thousand Fools of God a unique reading and listening experience.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When a Princeton-trained ethnomusicologist returns to follow up his studies in the Central Asian nations east of China and north of Afghanistan, he stumbles into a cornucopia of music, history, and religion. With a trusty guide called OM, Theodore Levin travels back and forth through the newly liberated cities and countryside of an ancient land that is home to such exotic names as Tashkent and Samarkand. Levin writes not only about his successes in identifying and recording the musical traditions of the area but also of the experiences of the people under Soviet rule, the myths that are kept alive through music, and the healers that use music as therapy. Levin finds a complex and colorful mix of ethnic and religious traditions where music unites Jew, Muslim, and shaman. The Hundred Thousand Fools of God is more than just a travel diary: it is a snapshot of an evolving culture. And the accompanying CD is divine. --Brian Bruya

From Publishers Weekly

Dartmouth professor Levin ventures in search of "the 100,000 fools of god," those enlightened Central Asian musicians whose art conveys both moral and spiritual power. He's interested in how musical life "reflects the... fluid boundaries and identities" of people in the rich cultural domain sometimes known as "Transoxania" now that Soviet domination of the region has ended. From Uzbekistan to Tvarkist, and through parts of Kyrghyzstan and Kazakhstan, Levin travels in an old Russian auto with a fellow ethnomusicologist and Sufi chauffeur as companions. The subject is music, but Levin uses it to cast a wider light, revealing places of considerable sorrow long hidden in the shadows of Soviet power, and to create a travelogue with wide potential appeal. Along the way he encounters men who entertain him lavishly without asking his name, brilliant forgotten composers, baxshis (healers) and a thoughtful Uzbeki pop star. Gracefully responsive to craft, Levin takes in architecture, food and cultural mores. He cannily appraises cultural issues in polyglot cultures where nationalism threatens indigenous musics?many practiced by both Muslims and Jews?as much as Soviet policy ever did. Candor about his own uncertainties and personal struggles helps make this a personal as well as a scholarly adventure. A superb accompanying 24-track CD with location recordings proves integral to Levin's commentary.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253332060
• ISBN-13: 978-0253332066
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, May 29, 2001

By 

Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hundred Thousand Fools of God, The: Musical Travels in Central Asia (and Queens, New York) (Paperback)

This book is a many faceted report on the state of music in the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union, especially Uzbekistan. The author did his Ph.D. research in ethnomusicology in Tashkent on traditional court music called Shash maqam in 1977-1978. At the time, Levin was not as interested in this music as he had expected, which he later attributed to the Soviet cultural policies which extinguished the spark of vivacity from the Uzbek music. This book details many of the author's subsequent travels to Central Asia in search of traditional musicians who managed somehow to develop their unique talents within the stifling socialist milieu.

Levin provides much information about the artists, their music, and their poetry, which can all be heard on the accompanying CD. In the text itself, he rarely describes the instruments played by the musicians, referring to them merely with their local names. However, descriptions of the instruments can be found in the glossary at the end of the book, which I unfortunately didn't notice until I had finished reading. Occasionally, Levin's musicology terms get a little too thick for the general reader, but on the whole, the book is quite accessible.

The strongest aspect of the book is its description of the culture history of music in the Soviet Union. In my own brief travels to the Soviet Union, I was struck by how many people there were acquainted with classical music--how an appreciation of classical music stretched across the entire society. I never saw the dark side of this, however. In this book, Levin describes how centralized state policies governed even the field of music, changing and obliterating centuries' old traditions.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Levin sets quite a standard!, March 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hundred Thousand Fools of God: Musical Travels in Central Asia (and Queens, New York) (Hardcover)

Mr. Levin has truly accomplished something noteworthy in this book. It is perhaps the best book from the often boring realm of ethnomusicological research that I have read in recent years. The breadth of understanding and acute cultural awareness brought out in the book is fantastic. It should find an audience among music scholars as well as the average reader, especially given the uncomplicated way Levin tells his tale. The addition of the CD to the book is truly complimentary unlike many of the other "multi-media" gimmicks so often offered to entice the buyer. This book is essential for anyone who seeks a clarity in writing about the musics of another culture.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent exploration of music and culture in Central Asia, August 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hundred Thousand Fools of God: Musical Travels in Central Asia (and Queens, New York) (Hardcover)

Mr. Levin writes about cultural survival and cultural decay in Transoxiana, as seen from the vantage point of traditional musicians. Combining his own traveler's tales with detailed but accessible musicological analysis, he examines the role of the traditional performing arts in the modern world of Uzbekistan, and the way that they have been subverted by the Soviet and successor governments. Engagingly written, without condescension towards the reader or the people of whom he writes, this book will reward readers interested in the cultural life of the region.