Dostoevski and the Human Condition After a Century

Publisher Marketing: Among nineteenth-century novelists, there is probably none who speaks so directly to the modern reader as Fedor Dostoevski. His visions of alienation and terror have not lost their power to shake our complacency even in this present age, hardened as it is to violence and social decay. In this stimulating collection of essays, a distinguished group of specialists in comparative literature and the social sciences explores the themes and problems with which Dostoevski struggled as both a writer and as a man and assesses their continuing relevance to the modern world. Encompassing a wide range of topics and perspectives, this collection enriches our knowledge and appreciation of a writer whose prophetic visions of alienation and explorations of the dark side of the human psyche continue to fascinate readers and students of the human condition.

Contributor Bio:  Unknown As a pediatrician, writer, wife, and mother, Perri Klass has demonstrated how medicine is integral to the health of families and communities, and how doctors themselves struggle to balance the conflicting needs of profession, self, and family. As medical director of Reach Out and Read, she encourages other pediatricians to foster pre-reading skills in their young patients. While earning her M. D. at Harvard, Klass contributed articles to "Mademoiselle" and "The New York Times" as well as to scientific and medical journals. She also wrote her first book, "A Not Entirely Benign Procedure "(1987), which chronicles her introduction to medicine and motherhood. In the following years she has continued to publish books, essays, award-winning short stories, a novel, and numerous articles, ranging from professional papers to popular journalism and travel pieces. Contributor Bio:  Ugrinsky, Alexej ALEXEJ UGRINSKY is Director for Documentation, Finance, and Planning at the Hofstra Cultural Center. Both have served as editors for earlier volumes of the Hofstra Presidency Series published in conjunction with Greenwood Press.