Motherland: A Philosophical History of Russia
Lesley Chamberlain, . . Overlook/Rookery, $35 (331pp) ISBN 978-1-58567-952-2
Delving fearlessly into her complex and understudied subject, Chamberlain provides a useful synthesis of 200 years of thought by nearly 40 Russian philosophers. Her philosopher-by-philosopher account portrays an important, if flawed, theoretical geography that has earned its place in the philosophical tradition, despite Russia's inferiority complex stemming from Nicholas I's closing of all philosophy departments in universities in 1826. Russian thinkers defined themselves against a Western perspective—Hegelian knowledge, Cartesian individualism, Adam Smith's political economy—that, in their view, simply could not comprehend the culture and society of Russia. Among these thinkers, Lenin is the most influential, and the book's argument can't help turning on his 1908 treatise,
Reviewed on: 05/21/2007
Genre: Nonfiction
Hardcover - 331 pages - 978-1-84354-285-8
Open Ebook - 352 pages - 978-1-4683-0563-0
Paperback - 331 pages - 978-1-58567-965-2