The Life of a Russian Woman Doctor: A Siberian Memoir, 1869-1954 [Paperback]

Anna Bek (Editor), Anne D Rassweiler (Editor), Adele Lindenmeyr (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2004

The Life of a Russian Woman Doctor by Anna Bek (1869–1954) yields rich insights into the lives of a generation of Russian women who lived at a time of revolutionary change, extraordinary challenges, and unprecedented opportunities. Written in a lively and compelling style, Anna Bek's memoir reveals not only the experiences but also the motives and values of women who sought education, independence, and self-sufficiency, the obstacles they encountered, and the influences of other women and men on their lives. This engrossing memoir also engages the special context of Siberian geography and history—the vast distances and isolation, the heterogeneous population of settlers, exiles, and convicts, the closeness and interdependence of families and communities, and the deep appreciation of nature. This book offers a rewarding excursion into Siberian social history and an intimate acquaintance with two exceptional individuals of great charm and courage—Anna Bek and her American editor, Anne D. Rassweiler.

(2008)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"During the past few decades, an increasing number of memoirs and autobiographies of a wide range of individuals who lived in Russia and the Soviet Union have appeared in English translation. This memoir by a woman physician and educator whose life spanned the years before the 1917 Revolution and the Stalin era is a welcome addition to this literature. The author, Anna Zhukova Bek, grew up in an isolated mining village in Eastern Siberia where her father was the mine director. Anna excelled at her studies and was sent to a boarding school for girls in Irkutsk. After graduation, she studied medicine in France and St. Petersburg. During a year's exile for political activity in Siberia, she met her future husband (who also was considered politically unreliable by the tsarist authorities), and the couple worked there until the husband's death from typhus in 1915. After 1917, Anna became a well-respected professor at several Siberian universities, but her specialties (psychology and pedology) became politically suspect by the early 1930s, and she was forced to give up these positions. The editor's annotations and notes are very helpful and informative. Summing Up: Recommended. Public and general collections." —N. M. Brooks, New Mexico State University, Choice, October 2005

(N. M. Brooks, New Mexico State University Choice 2005)

"The memoir's style is clear and the story is compelling. Furthermore, Rassweiler's introductions and annotations make the memoir usable for courses in Russian history, gender history, medical history, and general European history." —Michelle DenBeste, California State University Fresno, H-Women, July 2008

(Michelle DenBeste, California State University Fresno H-Women )

About the Author

Anne D. Rassweiler (1933–2002) was author of The Generation of Power: The Planning and Construction of Dneprostroi, 1927–1932.

Adele Lindenmeyr is Professor and Chair, Department of History, Villanova University, and author of Poverty Is Not a Vice: Charity, Society, and the State in Imperial Russia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (November 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253217172
• ISBN-13: 978-0253217172
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #698,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Multiiple Stories/Multiple Values, February 17, 2007

By 

John G. Zinn - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Life of a Russian Woman Doctor: A Siberian Memoir, 1869-1954 (Hardcover)

"The Life of a Russian Woman Doctor" is a book with significant value at multiple levels. In the academic arena, it provides orginal source material for those studying both Russian history and the lives of women in Eastern European cultures. It is, in fact, already being used for this purpose in at least one college course. However, the book also has real value for a much broader audience. By both translating and editing Anna Bek's diary, Anne Rassweiler has provided the story of how an extraordinary woman lived out her dream to be a doctor. The story reminds us of how deeply dreams and living them out are part of our common humanity regardless of country, culture or gender. As such it is a story that can and should appeal to general readers. Anna Bek's story is fascinating by itself, but it is supplemented by the story of Anne Rassweiler's journey to find, understand, and tell that story. The first chapter is an incredible account of Anne's journey across the vast expanse of Siberia (seven time zones) to walk where Anna Bek walked, to meet her descendents and to do further research. It is a book that I wholeheartedly recommend both to the general reader and those with specific interest in Russian history and women's issues.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Life of a Russian Woman Doctor, January 30, 2010

By 

Stephen G. Silberstein - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Life of a Russian Woman Doctor: A Siberian Memoir, 1869-1954 (Hardcover)

This book is informative regarding 19th and early 20th century Siberian life and women's issues in Russia. It offers a limited but intimate portrait of an unusually idealistic, thoughtful and courageous woman. Very readable which makes one all the more regret its brevity. An engaging read.