An emerging cult classic about America's cultural meltdown—and a surprising solution.A prophetic examination of Western decline, The Twilight of American Culture provides one of the most caustic and surprising portraits of American society to date. Whether examining the corruption at the heart of modern politics, the "Rambification" of popular entertainment, or the collapse of our school systems, Morris Berman suspects that there is little we can do as a s...

"Ecstasy, witchcraft, bewilderment-these ten loving vignettes on scandalous corners of Russian culture, by one of our most seasoned cultural critics, are a tribute to imperishable art even in our catastrophic time." -Caryl Emerson, Professor Emerita of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Princeton University In terms of literature, music, and film, it would be hard to outdo the sheer genius and creativity of Russia. These things constitute the soul of the nation, and it is this that Morris B...

In Dark Ages America, the pundit Morris Berman argues that the nation has entered a dangerous phase in its historical development from which there is no return.As the corporate-consumerist juggernaut that now defines the nation rolls on, the very factors that once propelled America to greatness—extreme individualism, territorial and economic expansion, and the pursuit of material wealth—are, paradoxically, the nails in our collective coffin. Within a few d...

Neurotic Beauty is a remarkable reevaluation of Japan’s role in the modern world. It includes a new assessment of the events leading up to the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, and of the potential role of Japanese philosophy in creating a dynamic approach to human nature and our understanding of reality. The book also shows the interrelatedness of various facets of Japanese history and society, including psychological orientation, pop culture, and Japan’s vibrant ...

“Ecstasy, witchcraft, bewilderment—these ten loving vignettes on scandalous corners of Russian culture, by one of our most seasoned cultural critics, are a tribute to imperishable art even in our catastrophic time.” (Caryl Emerson, professor emerita of Slavic languages and literatures, Princeton University)In terms of literature, music, and film, it would be hard to outdo the sheer genius and creativity of Russia. These things constitute the soul of the nation, and it is this that ...

In this enthralling, definitive new history of the Bolshoi Ballet, sensational performances onstage compete with political machinations backstage.On January 17, 2013, a hooded assailant hurled acid into the face of the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, making international headlines. A lead soloist, enraged by institutional power struggles, later confessed to masterminding the crime. The scandal, though shocking, is not an anomaly in the turbulent and tormen...

The definitive cultural biography of the “Venice of the North” and its transcendent artistic and spiritual legacy, written by Russian emerge and acclaimed cultural historian, Solomon Volkov.Long considered to be the mad dream of an imperious autocrat—the "Venice of the North," conceived in a setting of malarial swamps—St. Petersburg was built in 1703 by Peter the Great as Russia's gateway to the West. For almost 300 years this splendid city has survived the most ex...

A modern take on a classical icon: this “luminous book” (Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Library Book) tells the story of when, where, and how Chopin composed his most famous work, uncovering many surprises along the way and showing how his innovative music still animates and thrives in our culture centuries later.In this widely-praised book, Annik LaFarge presents a very different Frédéric Chopin from the melancholy, sickly...

This is a guide for instructing posthumans in living a Dada life. It is not advisable, nor was it ever, to lead a Dada life." —The Posthuman Dada GuideThe Posthuman Dada Guide is an impractical handbook for practical living in our posthuman world—all by way of examining the imagined 1916 chess game between Tristan Tzara, the daddy of Dada, and V. I. Lenin, the daddy of communism. This epic game at Zurich's Café de la Terrasse—a battle between radical visions of art...

A prominent conductor explores how aesthetic criteria masked the political goals of countries during the three great wars of the past centuryThis book offers a major reassessment of classical music in the twentieth century. John Mauceri argues that the history of music during this span was shaped by three major wars of that century: World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.Probing why so few works have been added to the canon since 1930, Mauceri examines...

From the acclaimed author of A Natural History of the Piano, the captivating story of the 1958 international piano competition in Moscow, where, at the height of Cold War tensions, an American musician showed the potential of art to change the world.April of 1958--the Iron Curtain was at its heaviest, and the outcome of the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition seemed preordained. Nonetheless, as star musicians from across the globe descended on Mosc...