Science and Russian Culture in an Age of Revolutions: V. I. Vernadsky and His Scientific School, 1863-1945

by Kendall E. Bailes

Overview

" . . . scholarship of the highest order. . . . Kendall Bailes's book is destined to become a most valuable contribution to our knowledge of Russian and Soviet culture. It is insightful and eloquent." —Douglas R. Weiner

" . . . an insightful, richly researched portrait of Vernadsky's life and times . . . " —American Scientist

"This biography . . . not only tells a story full of human drama but also one rich with insights into Russia's higher-education and scientific-research establishments." —Washington Post Book World

"[This] concise book, with references that stop short of the Gorbachev era, will be the foundation for all future scholarship in English on Vernadsky." —Nature

"In this insightful exploration of Vernadsky's legacy, Kendall Bailes unveils a creative scholar-activist whose life and work speak more clearly about his time than our own." —Science

"The Bailes book . . . is fascinating . . . Read it!" —World Affairs Report

"Kendall Bailes has left us with a vivid portrayal of the life and times of Vladimir Vernadsky." —The Russian Review

"It offers a penetrating analysis of social realities in twentieth-century Russia, which helped create an intellectual culture dominated by ideological extremes." —American Historical Review

This first full-length English-language biography of Vladimir Vernadsky (1863–1945), one of the leading Russian intellectual figures of the twentieth century, focuses on the interaction between science and politics during Russia's revolutionary age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253311238
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	01/22/1990
Series:	Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

Foreword by Loren Graham
Introduction

CHAPTER 1
A Life for Science: Vernadsky's Development as a Scientist in Imperial Russia, 1863-1888

Chapter 2
Science and Society: The Origins of Vernadsky's Scientific School, 1888-1905

Chapter 3
The Politics of Moral Indignation: Vernadsky in Science and Politics, 1903-1914

Chapter 4
Science, War, and Revolution: Vernadsky and Soviet Science in Transition, 1914-1922

Chapter 5
The Vernadsky School and Soviet Science, 1922-1945

Chapter 6
The Legacy of Vernadsky's Scientific and Philosophical Thought

Notes

Biblography

Index

Editorial Reviews

The biography of a Russian intellectual who developed pioneering concepts of the biosphere and the noosphere and formed a network of scholars in the earth sciences that became known as the Vernadsky school. Vernadsky remained an independent thinker and a scientist of great personal integrity during the Stalin era, and his intellectual legacy is currently undergoing a popular revival in the Soviet Union. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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