Toward Another Shore: Russian Thinkers Between Necessity and Chance (Russian Literature and Thought Series) [Hardcover]

Ms. Aileen M. Kelly (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300070241 | ISBN-13: 978-0300070248 | Publication Date: June 16, 1998 | Edition: First Edition

A prominent scholar here writes about two kinds of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian intellectuals: those with a passion for ideology (often the most extreme form); and those who, inspired by libertarian humanism, developed sophisticated critiques of ideology.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Toward Another Shore, British historian Aileen M. Kelly, a specialist in Russian history, posits that current attitudes toward 19th-century Russian intellectuals are the result of distortions on the part of both Soviet and Western historians. These historians were, in great part, influenced by cold war ideology, Kelly argues. Yet at a time when Russia is trying to build herself anew, it is important to clear away political revisionism and take a good look at what 19th-century thinkers might have to offer the present generation. In 17 essays written over a period of 20 years, Kelly explores the diversity of political thought that developed in the Russia of the past century. What she demonstrates is that, far from being lockstep in their philosophies (as cold war political historians tended to portray them), Russian intellectuals were, in reality, a disparate group that ranged from the extreme left to the extreme right. Far from being 20/20, hindsight is often blinkered by the seeming inexorability of events; in Toward Another Shore, Aileen Kelly shows that the revolution of 1917 and its resulting political system was by no means the only possible outcome of 19th-century Russian thought--even as late as 1909 Russian reformers were debating several different possibilities. Kelly describes and comments on these arguments with tremendous intelligence, adding valuable new insights to the study of Russian political thought.

Review

Although many of these essays are rich in insight and thought-provoking, the collection as a whole strikes me as denser than day-old black bread. -- The Wall Street Journal, Michael J. Ybarra

Everything Kelly produces is of interest, and her best essays are sheer delight. Packed with information, densely argued, clearly written... -- The New York Times Book Review, Michael Scammell

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; First Edition edition (June 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300070241
• ISBN-13: 978-0300070248
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,161,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)