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Promises and Limits of Reductionism in the Biomedical Sciences (Catalysts for Fine Chemical Synthesis)
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ASIN: 0471498505 |
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Reductionism as a scientific methodology has been extraordinarily successful in biology. However, recent developments in molecular biology have shown that reductionism is seriously inadequate in dealing with the mind-boggling complexity of integrated biological systems.
This title presents an appropriate balance between science and philosophy and covers traditional philosophical treatments of reductionism as well as the benefits and shortcomings of reductionism in particular areas of science.
Discussing the issue of reductionism in the practice of medicine it takes into account the holistic and integrative aspects that require the context of the patient in his biological and psychological entirety.
The emerging picture is that what first seems like hopeless disagreements turn out to be differences in emphasis. Although genes play an important role in biology, the focus on genetics and genomics has often been misleading. The consensus view leads to pluralism: both reductionst methods and a more integrative approach to biological complexity are required, depending on the questions that are asked.
* An even balance of contributions from scientists and philosophers of science - representing a unique interchange between both communities interested in reductionism
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Reductionism as a scientific methodology has been extraordinarily successful in biology. However, recent developments in molecular biology have shown that reductionism is seriously inadequate in dealing with the mind-boggling complexity of integrated biological systems. Biomolecules are not only very complicated molecular machines but are the results of the whole evolutionary history of life. Earlier enthusiasm for the reduction of biology to chemistry and physics has given place to the appreciation of biology as an essentially historical discipline that requires functional and not only structural explanations. To explain and treat human disease, it is nearly always necessary to move beyond genetic reductionism and take into account holistic and integrative aspects that require the context of the patient in his or her biological and psychological entirety. Promises and Limits of Reductionism in the Biomedical Sciences highlights: The traditional philosophical treatments of reductionism The benefits and shortcomings of reductionism in particular areas of science The issue of reductionism in the practice of medicine The deficiencies of evolutionary psychology and the inadequacy of reductive explanations of human behaviour in terms of single factors The picture that emerges in this anthology is that what might at first seem like hopeless disagreement turns out to be rather differences in emphasis. Although genes play an important role in biology, the focus on genetics and genomics has often been misleading. The consensus view leads to pluralism: both reductionist methods and a more integrative approach to biological complexity are required, depending on the questions that are asked. This book has an excellent balance between contributions from scientists and philosophers of science. It will appeal to philosophers and scientists alike and represents a unique interchange between individuals from both communities interested in reductionism.
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This new and updated edition deals with all aspects of Monte Carlo simulation of complex physical systems encountered in condensed-matter physics, statistical mechanics, and related fields. After briefly recalling essential background in statistical mechanics and probability theory, it gives a succinct overview of simple sampling methods. The concepts behind the simulation algorithms are explained comprehensively, as are the techniques for efficient evaluation of system configurations generated by simulation. It contains many applications, examples, and exercises to help the reader and provides many new references to more specialized literature. This edition includes a brief overview of other methods of computer simulation and an outlook for the use of Monte Carlo simulations in disciplines beyond physics. This is an excellent guide for graduate students and researchers who use computer simulations in their research. It can be used as a textbook for graduate courses on computer simulations in physics and related disciplines.
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Advanced Monte Carlo for Radiation Physics, Particle Transport Simulation and Applications
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ASIN: 3540417958 |
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This book focusses on the state of the art of Monte Carlo methods in radiation physics and particle transport simulation and applications, the latter involving in particular, the use and development of electron--gamma, neutron--gamma and hadronic codes. Besides the basic theory and the methods employed, special attention is paid to algorithm development for modeling, and the analysis of experiments and measurements in a variety of fields ranging from particle to medical physics.
Book Description
This book teaches modern Markov chain Monte Carlo (MC) simulation techniques step by step. The material should be accessible to advanced undergraduate students and is suitable for a course. It ranges from elementary statistics concepts (the theory behind MC simulations), through conventional Metropolis and heat bath algorithms, autocorrelations and the analysis of the performance of MC algorithms, to advanced topics including the multicanonical approach, cluster algorithms and parallel computing. Therefore, it is also of interest to researchers in the field. The book relates the theory directly to Web-based computer code. This allows readers to get quickly started with their own simulations and to verify many numerical examples easily. The present code is in Fortran 77, for which compilers are freely available. The principles taught are important for users of other programming languages, like C or C++.
Customer Reviews:
can use the book for other languages.......2006-06-27
The book is best suited for those actually using Fortran. The Markov chain examples of Monte Carlo runs are well explained. Hopefully, the reader should not have any problem with the concepts. Of course, the actual runs are very compute intensive, but that's why you need a computer.
If you are coding in another language, the book can still be of use. The algorithms are the same, of course. You'll have to manually recode the examples in your language. But the core of the algorithm implementations is relatively small. Shouldn't take too long.
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Vorticity, Statistical Mechanics, and Monte Carlo Simulation (Springer Monographs in Mathematics)
Chjan Lim , and
Joseph Nebus
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 0387350756 |
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This book is drawn from across many active fields of mathematics and physics, and has connections to atmospheric dynamics, spherical codes, graph theory, constrained optimization problems, Markov Chains, and Monte Carlo methods. It addresses how to access interesting, original, and publishable research in statistical modeling of large-scale flows and several related fields. The authors f this book explicitly reach around the major branches of mathematics and physics, showing how the use of a few straightforward approaches can create a cornucopia of intriguing questions and the tools to answer them. In reading this book, the reader will learn how to research a topic and how to understand statistical mechanics treatments of fluid dynamics. Of particular interest should be the application of Monte Carlo methods to problems like dispersal of points on the sphere, the phase transitions of in viscid fluid flows in models that increasingly approach the conditions of actual planetary atmospheres, and the treatment of negative absolute temperatures and the effects these extremely high-energy states have on fluid flows. Special attention is given to spherical models as well.
This book is intended for the upper-level undergraduate or the beginning graduate level courses of mathematics and physics. It will also be of interest to readers interested in statistical mechanics methods applied to fluid mechanics problems. Readers will gain an understanding of how to synthesize new mathematics by applying familiar tools in new ways, and develop new tools to fit particular applications.
Book Description
Monte Carlo Simulation in Statistical Physics deals with the computer simulation of many-body systems in condensed-matter physics and related fields of physics, chemistry and beyond, to traffic flows, stock market fluctuations, etc.). Using random numbers generated by a computer, probability distributions are calculated, allowing the estimation of the thermodynamic properties of various systems. This book describes the theoretical background to several variants of these Monte Carlo methods and gives a systematic presentation from which newcomers can learn to perform such simulations and to analyze their results. This fourth edition has been updated and a new chapter on Monte Carlo simulation of quantum-mechanical problems has been added. To help students in their work a special web server has been installed to host programs and discussion groups (http://wwwcp.tphys.uni-heidelberg.de). Prof. Binder was the winner of the Berni J. Alder CECAM Award for Computational Physics 2001.
Customer Reviews:
A graduate level book (Review for the 4th edition).......2007-03-09
This is a nice little book written by two experts of the field. This edition is only an expanded version of earlier editions (by addition of two new chapters, the core of the book chapter 1 to 3 hasn't change at all). The book covers monte carlo techniques through various well-known examples (Ising model, random walk, percolation, self-avoiding random walk). I enjoyed reading the first 3 chapters of the book. In particular, chapter 3 guides the readers and gives them the chance to practice what they should have learned in previous chapter (through 53 exercises). The following 2 chapters (chapter 4 and 5) are not as nicely written. Moreover, there are some serious shortcoming in the book. (1) All codes are written in Fortran. While everyone who can program can easily understand the codes, Fortran belongs to the past and could have been ok for physics students during late 80's (first edition) but not for those at 2006. (2) The guide (chapter 3) should have been the last chapter and have covered subjects in chapters 4 and 5 (3) As I mentioned before, chapter 4 and 5 are not well-organized. (4) The book in general stresses too much on finite-size effects. However, it is an important subject and it tells us how we can scale our simulation result to more realistic cases. By my judgement, the book gives wrong impression about the degree of its importance.
I recommend graduate students who are serious about learning monte carlo methods to read Newman and Barkema book (Monte Carlo Methods in Statistical Physics) instead since it provides a broader view about the subject. Although I highly recommend those who are interested in the subject to go through chapter 3. It is fun and very instructive.
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Monte Carlo Methods: In Statistical Physics (Topics in Current Physics)
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ASIN: 0387165142 |
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Finite Size Scaling and Numerical Simulation of Statistical Systems
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ASIN: 9810201087 |
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The Monte Carlo Method in Condensed Matter Physics (Topics in Applied Physics)
A. Baumgartner
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ASIN: 3540601740 |
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Alongside experimental and theoretical work, computer simulation now forms one of the major tools of research in physics. The Monte Carlo method is the most important simulation method in the area of condensed matter physics. This book, written by foremost experts in the field, describes the state of the art of simulation methods in solid state physics. It also reviews selected applications in areas of particular current interest like simulations of growth processes far from equilibrium, interfacial phenomena, quantum and classical fluids, polymers, quantum problems on lattices, and random systems. A new chapter on recent developments in the Monte Carlo simulation of condensed matter has been attached.
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- A story of fraternity and strife...
- The last and the greatest of Dostoevsky's novels
- A Fitting Finale
- One of the greatest novels ever written
- A Long Haul . . .
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The Brothers Karamazov: A Novel in Four Parts and an Epilogue (Penguin Classics)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
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The Idiot (Penguin Classics)
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Anna Karenina (Signet Classics)
ASIN: 0140449248
Release Date: 2003-04-29 |
Book Description
Translated with an Introduction by David McDuff.
Customer Reviews:
A story of fraternity and strife..........2006-08-29
Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov is a rich, thick, somewhat ponderous piece of literature which tells the tale of three Russian brothers and the circumstances surrounding their father's murder. Fyodor Pavlovitch, a disgraceful wretch, competes with his son, Dmitri Fyodoritch, for the favor of a local girl. The psychopathic Dmitri struggles mightily throughout the tome to vanquish paterfamilias. Alexey, the youngest, is the voice of reason and hope, while Ivan, the enigmatic atheist of the lot remains, to the bitter end, a hard man to pin down. Amidst these four is a collection of townspeople and relations who combine to drive the plot forward.
Interspersed throughout the angst are generous dollops of theology (inspiring for those so inclined), philosophy, and politics. At nearly 900 pages, it is an effort to get through, but there is excellent character formation. One can't help but admire Alexey's innocence, magnanimity, and gentleness while despising the obsessive carnality of Fyodor Pavlovitch and Dmitri. It is said The Brothers Karamazov is the finest example of Russian literature, but there is room to disagree. Tolstoy's War and Peace and even Anna Karenina are superior to me. 4+ stars.
The last and the greatest of Dostoevsky's novels.......2005-11-07
This is the last and the greatest of Dostoevsky's novels. It is the story of the family Karamazov who embody within themselves the character and conflicts of human nature as a whole. Each of the family members as Anne Freemantle writes Dostoevsky gave some part of himself, : to Dmitri his sincerity, generosity, and courage; to Ivan his intellectual temptations and pride, his unmentionable secret sins; to Smerdyakov his malady. To the father he gave his own name; and Alyosha is both the innocent child he once was, and the saint he would become. Also, Alyosha is something more. At the novel's end, Alyosha "half laughing, half enthusiastically" tells a group of boys gathered for a funeral, ". . . we shall all rise again, certainly we shall see each other and tell each other with joy and gladness all that has happened." Alyosha, then, is also the genius, the writer in Dostoevsky, the narrator who "tells all that has happened."
The plot of the novel centers around the question of the patricide of who has killed the sensual, greedy,father of the family.
The work contains one of the greatest chapters, set- pieces of world literature, the Grand Inquisitor. In this section told by the son Ivan there is the possibility raised of Christ returning to earth. The Grand Inquisitor provides Mankind bread and circuses and forbids the return of Christ, for the meaning of Christ's return is that Mankind knows the moral decision and passion of human freedom. And to know human freedom is to know suffering. And all this against the background of the question of the unjust suffering on earth, the terrible injustices Mankind has known.
This is a powerful, complex work, one of those great works of Literature which one can read over and over again throughout one's lifetime - and each time be fascinated anew by the remarkable strangeness, richness , cruelty, complexity and perhaps too simplistic beauty( in the form of the soul of the brother Alyosha and the saintly father Zossima who is his spiritual master) which are the picture of life given by the novel.
A Fitting Finale.......2005-09-18
Fyodor Karamzov is curmudgeonly, nasty, lecherous old man, cursing the lives of those with whom he comes into contact, and blighting the lives of his three legitimate sons: Mitya, who shares many of his father's traits and with whom he is in rivalry for the attentions of Grushenka; Ivan, a hard-bitten drunken cynic; and the deeply religious yet impressionable Alyosha.
When Fyodor is murdered, the blame falls upon Mitya, but was he really to blame and can any of the brothers be absolved of guilt?
This is a long, at times dense and challenging novel, in which Dostoyevsky re-examines many of the themes he explored in his earlier works, albeit with much greater intensity: for example, the nature of freedom and man's destructiveness when moral and social controls are absent or fail to work. He also delves into the nature of heredity - are the sins of the father visited upon the sons?
At one level, the plot is of course an extended murder mystery, complete with court-room scenes. Although these play a great part in the novel, the reader needs to be prepared for long, introspective passages. For those unaccumstomed to Dostoyevsky these might be a chore.
It takes some time to get through, but it is worth the effort, because it is the most eloquent statement of Dostoyevsky's world view and still has deep relevance.
G Rodgers
One of the greatest novels ever written.......2005-08-27
Arguably one of the greatest novels ever written; challenging, brilliant, and a wonderful entry into early existential literature. This is a tale to read in your adolescence or early adulthood; do not be intimidated by its reputation, length or greatness; just enjoy.
A Long Haul . . . .......2005-04-29
But worth it in the end. I'm a slow reader by nature, and this took me some time to get through.
Although I haven't read an awful lot of Dostoyevsky, I wouldn't say this was my favourite so far, which is not to say I didn't enjoy it. It can be slow and heavy going at times, but that is to be expected due to the sheer richness of such a large novel - the notes to the text are also a wonderful guide to such a thick prose and I'd have been greatly lost without them. That said, and I don't wish to at all bring spoilers to my review, I did enjoy The Idiot more, just for the deeply dark ending that novel contained compared to this one, the ending of which left me a little unsatisfied, despite the sense of achievement of having finally finished the book!
If you like other novels from the era, and can patiently read large slabs of monologue and the like, stick this one out and you will be rewarded.
Book Description
Dostoevsky’s towering reputation as one of the handful of thinkers who forged the modern sensibility has sometimes obscured the purely novelistic virtues–brilliant characterizations, flair for suspense and melodrama, instinctive theatricality–that made his work so immensely popular in nineteenth-century Russia. The Brothers Karamazov, his last and greatest novel, published just before his death in 1881, chronicles the bitter love-hate struggle between the outsized Fyodor Karamazov and his three very different sons. It is above all the story of a murder, told with hair-raising intellectual clarity and a feeling for the human condition unsurpassed in world literature.
This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky–the definitive version in English–magnificently captures the rich and subtle energies of Dostoevsky’s masterpiece.
Customer Reviews:
strong, contrasting & enveloping.......2007-07-25
the novel changes you by questioning your opinions with such a variety of principles & points of view
The Brothers Karamazov is one of the world's greatest novels.......2007-06-27
The Brothers Karamzov was published in 1880 by Fyodor Dostoyvesky (1821-1881). It is the the greatest of his novels. The BK is also considered one of the best novels ever written.
The lengthy book (nearly 1000 densely written pages!)is many things:
a. A mystery story. Who murdered the old lecherous Fyodor Karamazov?
b. A theological inquiry into theodicy and the purpose for life. Most notable chapters are "The Grand Inquisitor" and "The Devil."
c. A classic Christian story of sin, redemption and humankind's hope for eternal life.
d. A psychological study of the various types of human personality. Dostoevsky is the best psychological novelist in Russian letters.
e. A political discourse on the future of Russia in the late 19th century. We see such topics as nihilism, atheism, the role of the state and Russian social structure discussed.
Was old man Karamazov murdered by his sons?
a. Dmitri-a military man who is wild as the wild. He is torn between his love for the wealthy Katerina and the village Circe Grushenka. He hates his father. He represents sensuality in human life.
b. Ivan-the coldly intellectual son who is an atheist. He believes that in a world without God all things are possible.
c. Smerdyakov-the illegitimate epileptic son by old Karamazov's first wife who was the village idiot!He is one of the most repulsive characters in fiction!
d. Alyosha-He is the Christ-like son who lives in a monastery with the saintly Father Zossima. Alyosha will leave the monastery to share the gospel of love and understanding in society.
The novel has long passages of philisophy and religious thoughts by the characters. The court scenes dealiing with the murder of old Karamazov are exciting. Several chapters dealing with Alyosha's loving care of a dying child are as moving as anything in Dickens.
The book is not easy reading. I have read it five times always gaining a new insight into the human soul and condition. It will live forever.
Hooray for Karamazov!!!!
An Unflattering Portrait of Russia.......2007-05-27
This is a typical Russian novel in which characters walk in the room and have deep and long conversations about life with each other. If you are interested in what they are saying, it is good reading; if not, it can get tedious. Most parts of this long novel are fairly interesting, although it seems to be slow going at times.
Doestoevsky presents two brothers with opposing ideas on how the world works and how those ideas influence Russian society. Alexey follows the Orthodox Church and its beliefs and seems to do well by them, whereas Ivan is tortured by his disbelief in God and the absurdity of the world. He may just be angry at God, rather than an atheist; he is a person who does not like how God has arranged things. Dostoyevsky seems to favor Alexey's Christianity over Ivan's secular ideas because he puts Alexey in better light.
Alexey's dream is the standard Christian one in which all people become equal, holy, and loving in their submission to the will of Christ. Alexey represents a religious Russian that finds the way to live life is by the Church's teachings.
Alexey is accused of being a sensualist because he is a Karamazov; "birth and heredity" has shaped him. The socialist Rakitin states, "You're a sensualist from your father, a crazy saint from your mother." Alexey goes on to prove that his saintliness overcomes whatever sensuality he might have. He refuses to see the sensual Grushenka, even though she says that she will "pull his cassock off". Alexey represents a Russian who rejects the sensuality that a secular liberal may give into.
Unlike his brother Ivan, Alexey shows his sensitive nature and insight into people he helps. When Ivan coldly states that one reptile will devour another if Dmitri kills the father, Alexey exclaims "God forbid!" Alexey later questions Ivan as to whether he or any man has the right to decide who should live. Ivan states that it is natural to wish for his father's death and he has a right to do so. Alexey also cries over his father being beaten by Dmitri and Dmitri's insensitivity to it. When he gets bitten by Ilusha, Alexey asks the boy why he was bitten, rather than get angry with him. He thinks that he must have wronged him in some way. Alexey is incapable of passive love because if he loves someone, he wants to help them. He realizes that the captain is too proud to take the money offered him and is ashamed of his initial delight. Alexey attempts to help him again rather than lose patience. He does not have contempt for the man, but states that all are like him. Alexey is a religious Russian who finds an outlet for his kindness and sensitivity by following the Christian way of life.
Alexey does not say much, but he does record the beliefs of his mentor, Father Zossima, who believes that fulfilling desires is fruitless and one would do better to live according to brotherly solidarity and humanitarian service.
Ivan, on the other hand, asserts that all things are lawful if there is no immortality: "There is no virtue if there no immortality", he states. He is an uneasy atheist claiming that natural law is based on the belief in immortality and if the belief is destroyed then love and life will be destroyed along with it and the laws should be changed to the opposite of what they are now. Like other Russian secular liberals, he is at odds with the moral teachings of the church because he claims not to believe in God.
Ivan struggles to justify his life with his belief in absurdity and atheism. Ivan states that he still has a thirst for life that no disillusionment can destroy. Even though he does not believe in the chaotic disorder of the world and is disillusioned with it; he still wants to live and does not consider the thirst for life base. Alexey states that he should love life even if he finds no logic in it and then he will find a meaning in it later. Ivan will not depend on sensuality to get through his life the way his father has done. Ivan changes his mind and says that he does not believe in the world God created, but may believe in God. His mind is an earthly mind and cannot understand unearthly things or the absurdity of suffering in this life. Like a secular liberal, he struggles to find meaning in life after he has rejected religious meanings that explain life.
Ivan makes the argument that suffering is absurd and unjustified as it afflicts the innocent; the world does not make sense and must not have been created by God. He mentions the cruel murder of a baby and says that the devil may not exist, but man has created him in his own image. He talks about the Russian proclivity to cruelly beat innocent animals and children without a tinge of guilt. He says that everyone has a demon of lust, cruelty, and lawlessness within them that is waiting to come out and indulge itself.
Dostoevsky presents a generally unflattering picture of Russia as a backward land filled with cheats, religious fanatics, and unprincipled secular types. But he does have two compelling characters with Alexey and Father Zossima; the rest seem to be suffering from insanity, character flaws, or proclivities for violence. He indicates through these two characters that following the Christian beliefs are better than following liberal secular ones, even though a person might be considered reactionary because of it.
Please note!!.......2007-05-06
This is by far the best translation of Dostoyevsky's greatest work--BUT PLEASE!!: it is NOT the Constance Garnett translation!! It's the much newer translation by Peaver and Volokhonsky.
Any of the reviews stating this is the Garnett translation should be ignored; clearly these reviewers haven't even bothered to notice the correct names of the translators: their comments about the book itself are, no doubt, just as worthless!!
Masterpiece.......2007-03-29
This is the kind of book Freud would of wrote if he was a fiction writer. Dostoyevsky did a phenomenal job of putting together the mind set and behaviors of individuals using words.
Excellent read
Book Description
Dostoevsky's last and greatest novel, The Karamazov Brothers (1880) is both a brilliantly told crime story and a passionate philosophical debate. The dissolute landowner Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov is murdered; his sons - the atheist intellectual Ivan, the hot-blooded Dmitry, and the saintly novice Alyosha - are all at some level involved. Bound up with this intense family drama is Dostoevsky's exploration of many deeply felt ideas about the existence of God, the question of human freedom, the collective nature of guilt, the disatrous consequences of rationalism. The novel is also richly comic: the Russian Orthodox Church, the legal system, and even the authors most cherisehd causes and beliefs are presented with a note of irreverence, so that orthodoxy, and radicalism, sanity and madness, love and hatred, right and wrong are no longer mutually exclusive. Rebecca West considered it "the allegory for the world's maturity", but with children to the fore. This new translation does full justice to Doestoevsky's genius, particularly in the use of the spoken word, which ranges over every mode of human expression.
Customer Reviews:
The most magnificent novel ever written.......2006-11-30
I cannot take credit for the title of my review - apparently, Sigmund Freud said it first, and, while I cannot say that I would agree with Freud on every subject, I must say, unequivocally, that I agree with his statement about The Karamozov Brothers (with the caveat that, of course, I have not read every novel ever written, so, take the statement for what it's worth).
My only lament regarding this novel is that I cannot read Russian directly; however, as the other reviewers of this book have pointed out, the translation by Avsey is brilliant - there is simply no other way to describe it. I first read Dostoevsky in high school - Crime and Punishment, specifically - I devoured it in a few days, if that. I absolutely loved it. Since then, I have gone on to read other Dostoevsky novels, including The Idiot, and, of course, The Karamozov Brothers. Based upon reading these novels, and many others throughout the course of my life, I must say, truly, that The Karamozov Brothers is the most breathtaking novel I have ever had the pleasure to read in regards to scope, vision, and in capturing the human soul via the written word. When Crime and Punishment and The Idiot are warm up novels to something even greater, well, that's saying something.
As for the book itself, Dostoevsky understands humanity. And, more than that, he is able to somehow capture the essence of a person - their thoughts, desires, fears, in a way that, more than any author I have ever read, makes one feel as if one is not reading a novel, but rather, witnessing real events, and real people, struggle with the great mysteries of life. Reading it is like a peering through a window into the human soul.
Does God exist? Is science a complement to or repudiation of religion? Do we have souls? Is any action permitted, or are there fundamental truths about right and wrong that govern the human reality? Are we responsible for our own actions, and, if yes, then to what extent are we responsible? Are we responsible for the actions of others, and, if yes, then to what extent? Is religion a savior or destroyer of humanity?
While these all seem like pie in the sky questions, theoretical, and wishy-washy - they are in fact as relevant today (as evidenced by the furor over evolution vs. creationism/intelligent design, and the relationship of science and religion) as they were in Dostoevsky's time - and, I am sure, have always been and will always be pivotal questions surrounding the human experience. Further, while these questions are at the heart of the novel - the novel is not just about these questions, but about people, their journey, and how these questions impact and interweave with their, and our, daily lives...from how we treat strangers, to how we treat ourselves, and everyone and everything in between.
Life is rarely black and white, if ever, and it is the dichotomy between right and wrong, good and evil, guilt and innocent, taking responsibility vs. abdicating responsibility - that drives all of us, and that makes each of us who and what we are, for better or ill. It is those same forces that drive The Karamozov Brothers as a novel, and make it a crowning achievement and testimonial to the very essence of humanity itself.
Read it.
Emanates a magnififcent spiritual glow.......2006-04-12
How do i rate the brothers karamazov? Well, Crime and Punishment is my favorite novel, and so being a true dostoevsky fan, i had high expectations. Crime is still my favorite novel.
To me, Karamazov is a more uneven novel, in that its narrative is more sprawling and less intensly focused as Crime and Punishment, and the opening 200 pages, while very good, where not quite up to the standard this great genius set in his previous novel. However, once the Grand Inquisior chapters comes (to me the greatest literary passage I've ever read), the spiritual and emotional intensity is turned up dramatically. From this point on, the greater plan of the whole novel comes into focus, and never lets up.
Let me emphasize, Brothers Karamazov is a maginificent novel! The experience after finishing it, not only left me supremely happy, it also gave me a feeling of a new love for humanity.
If the narrative is less focused than Crime and P, the characters are just as expertly realized and intense in their behavior. Finally, the terrain of the book is vast, Dostoevsky deals with a number of key spiritual, political, and legal ideas, all in truly masterful fashion.
A tremendous story.......2005-08-27
This is my first, and I guarantee to myself and to anyone who asks me not the last, Dostoyevsky novel. Dostoevsky brilliantly weaves philosophical debates into a truly dynamic plot, while commenting on his contemporanious world. Despite the social commentary, this story is universal and timeless and has that rare quality that sets it apart from other literature and shoots it up to the rank of the novel, of the kind of book that will last centuries and still shine brightly over the top of entirety of the literary form. The Karamazov Brothers is what the novel should be. I cannot word precisely enough how much I enjoyed this novel.
I recommend this book, the one published by Oxford University Press who writes the clearest and most readable and refreshing translation I have seen (I have looked through many different translations to find one that is not awkwardly worded and explains the text well), and somehow, keeps the prose nuanced and delicate.
In a word, fantastic.......2005-08-15
This is one of those books that I've known about, and heard about, and been told about, and has been recommended to me countless times over the short span of my life. I remember one such recommendation in particular---from Fr. Miguel, my spiritual director at the time. He saw in me an immense love for philosophy, and wholeheartedly recommended that I read the book. In fact, one of our first 'projects' was to watch the movie, although we couldn't find a copy of it available anywhere.
This past Christmas time was that time when I finally endeavored to obtain a copy of the book in review here. One of my bosses at work gave me a gift card for Christmas to Borders. I utilized it quite well, purchasing 'The Karamazov Brothers', and a collection of novels and short stories by Flannery O'Connor. Trust me when I say that the purchase was emphatically worth it.
For starters, I almost didn't buy this edition, simply because it was titled 'Karamazov Brothers', instead of what I'd heard my entire life---from my youngest days, too; watch the cartoon 'An American Tale', with the beloved Mousekewitz family, and their son Fivel; when asked what his favorite book is, Fivel names the book in review---namely, 'Brothers Karamazov'. I bought the edition nontheless, precisely because it was published by Oxford University, and I knew them to be a fabulous publisher.
Beginning to read a book the size of 'Karamazov' is tough, due to its sheer length. Indeed, it is the longest book, apart from the Bible, that I have ever read. But, as I am fond of telling people, 'It is the best damn novel I have ever read.' I work a full-time job, thus don't have a whole lot of expendable time, thus it took me two months to read this book. Those two months were, however, two of my most memorable.
I've not read anything else by Dostoyevski, so I'm not sure if he's this 'good' in his other stories, but he was a sheer genius at character development. I simply cannot emphasize that point enough. The characters introduced throughout the 1,000 or so pages were developed and described so splendiferously, that I felt as if I were being introduced to real people. The whole scenario surrounding the murder was so realistically told, that, despite the fact that I am quite able to stomach immensley violent movies such as 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'The Passion of the Christ', this book made me shudder as I read the pages, paragraphs, sentences, and words describing the murder that is, in some sense, the centerpiece of this beloved novel.
Even the peripheral characters, those that are, well, quite random, and only in a few chapters, but developed oh-so-well strike me as being as real as my roommates, simply due to the---I'll say it again---sheer genius of the author.
Unless if one is completely philosophically inept, they notice that this book is much more than just a murder mystery of sorts. This book struck me almost as being a philosophical treatise against nihilism. In fact, a dear friend of mine told me that he's heard of Dostoyevski referred to as the 'Christian Nietzsche'. The same friend of mine---an avid Dostoyevski reader---said that he read that Nietzsche in fact took the time read Dostoyevski's novels. I can't help but wonder what he thought as he read these novels that unabashedly attacked the very philosophy that he pontificated over-and-over in his works.
To close, I first apologize for my rambling, and lack of direction in this review. There is just so much to be said in regards to this great book, and I lack the time to address each and every thing in it that made it what it is---great. Thus, I close by wholeheartedly recommending this book to any and all.
God bless.
CocamoJoe
letter to Ignat Avsey.......2003-01-30
Dear translator Ignat Avsey,
My friend Jenny Coates was astute enough to steer me to your translation of The Karamazov Brothers. I have just finished reading it and derived enormous pleasure from the experience. As I had never read any Dostoevsky before and know no Russian, I'm on shakey ground in claiming that the pleasure is due to your translation, but I feel sure that it is. I almost never read long books and I feared that I would never finish a 900 page book, but that was before I heard Avsey speak out loud and bold. I could not put it down, I smiled and laughed and wept and loved it and I thank you very much. I wrote to the classics editor at OUP and told her how much I liked it and asked her to bring it out in hardback in which case I guaranteed to buy at least one copy. i also told her that I have bought 10 copies of the paper back to give to my family and friends. I also suggested that I would buy any other books that you translated for OUP.
I am certain that its your translation that reveals the real dostoevsky because people who read other translations tell me that the book is very good, but they never say that it is extremely wonderful and so exciting that you can't put it down. I should explain that I don't often write to authors praising their work, I wrote to Arthur Koestler, Louis Begley and to Oriana Fallaci and yourself, I don't know how you feel belonging to such a group. I also wrote to Jeremy Isaacs thanking him for putting Tony Harrison's V on Channel 4.
Again many many thanks,
Ian shine
New York
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