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New Myth, New World: From Nietzsche To Stalinism

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New Myth, New World takes you on a journey deep from Rüssia's past to the present when the regime has fallen (even exploring the current relevance of "excrement" as a metaphore in Soviet literature). What I liked about this book was the well researched exposition of this work, as well as the meticulous prose that did not stray from being objective. The author is well-read, and consistently stays on track, and even when you think there has been a mistake (for example, quoting a 20th century figure for an idea Schopenhauer articulated a century before in his criticism of Hegel and his fellow mumblers), you'll find a few pages later that you yourself were wrong in thinking the author to be mistaken. A la fin, this is a good example of scholary work, which should be studied and learned from.

Other recommendations: Cultural Exchange (A book dealing with the Cold War and the exchange of information that helped lead to the downfall of the Soviet Union)

Nietzsche in Turin (A short work dealing with Níetzsche's last days, but strays enough from the subject to make it much more enjoyable than the crumbling insanity which was befalling good old Fritz at the time.)

Toilet: The Novel, by Michael Szymczyk (A Tribute to the Literary Works of Franz Kafka)

New Myth, New World: From Nietzsche To Stalinism by Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal is a thoughtful and scholarly reinterpretation of Nietzsche's lasting influence upon Soviet culture. Drawing on diverse primary sources in religion, philosophy, political ideology, architecture, street theater, and more, New Myth, New World is a learned and informative series of discourses combining to illustrate and demonstrate the lasting power of ideas in helping to shape the character, culture, and politics of the Russian nation and its governments. New Myth, New World is a welcome, significant, scholarly, and very strongly recommended contribution to Soviet Studies, Russian Cultural History, and Philosophy Studies academic reference collections as well as International Studies student supplemental reading lists.