Two Shining Souls

Jane Addams, Leo Tolstoy, and the Quest for Global Peace

Nonfiction, History, Asian, Russia, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book Two Shining Souls by James Cracraft, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James Cracraft ISBN: 9780739174517
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: June 15, 2012
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: James Cracraft
ISBN: 9780739174517
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: June 15, 2012
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

In his new book, Two Shining Souls, James Cracraft explores the decades-long encounter of Jane Addams, the famous American social reformer and peace activist, with Leo Tolstoy, the acclaimed Russian writer and sage. He documents Tolstoy’s influence in Progressive-era America and particularly on Addams’s career, citing previously unknown or neglected sources. In addition to her study of Tolstoy’s writings—his now largely forgotten religious tracts more than his celebrated fiction—Addams traveled to Russia to see him personally, a meeting that is recounted in detail. Late in her life, Addams described Tolstoy as a rare “shining soul,” a term, Cracraft suggests, that applies equally well to her. His book adds an enduring religious dimension to Addams’s rich legacy while newly delimiting, by contrast, the legacy of Tolstoy.
The story of Addams and Tolstoy brings into focus issues of continuing public concern, including the often conflicting demands on the individual—particularly women—of family and society; the legitimacy of violence in pursuit of political aims; the problem of poverty; the role of government in social reform; and the place of religion in both public and private life. The distinctive ways in which these emblematic figures dealt with such controversial issues offer insights that may be valuable even today.
Yet the single most important link between Addams and Tolstoy was their preoccupation with the question of peace, which they understood as a value subsuming all other values or goods. So Two Shining Souls is also about the invention and spread of “pacifism” in 19th-century Europe and America and the great crisis in its history precipitated by World War I.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In his new book, Two Shining Souls, James Cracraft explores the decades-long encounter of Jane Addams, the famous American social reformer and peace activist, with Leo Tolstoy, the acclaimed Russian writer and sage. He documents Tolstoy’s influence in Progressive-era America and particularly on Addams’s career, citing previously unknown or neglected sources. In addition to her study of Tolstoy’s writings—his now largely forgotten religious tracts more than his celebrated fiction—Addams traveled to Russia to see him personally, a meeting that is recounted in detail. Late in her life, Addams described Tolstoy as a rare “shining soul,” a term, Cracraft suggests, that applies equally well to her. His book adds an enduring religious dimension to Addams’s rich legacy while newly delimiting, by contrast, the legacy of Tolstoy.
The story of Addams and Tolstoy brings into focus issues of continuing public concern, including the often conflicting demands on the individual—particularly women—of family and society; the legitimacy of violence in pursuit of political aims; the problem of poverty; the role of government in social reform; and the place of religion in both public and private life. The distinctive ways in which these emblematic figures dealt with such controversial issues offer insights that may be valuable even today.
Yet the single most important link between Addams and Tolstoy was their preoccupation with the question of peace, which they understood as a value subsuming all other values or goods. So Two Shining Souls is also about the invention and spread of “pacifism” in 19th-century Europe and America and the great crisis in its history precipitated by World War I.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Honor in the Modern World by James Cracraft
Cover of the book Creating the Arabian Gulf by James Cracraft
Cover of the book Ecotheology and Nonhuman Ethics in Society by James Cracraft
Cover of the book Voices of Native American Educators by James Cracraft
Cover of the book Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam by James Cracraft
Cover of the book An Advanced Guide to Psychological Thinking by James Cracraft
Cover of the book When the Letter Betrays the Spirit by James Cracraft
Cover of the book Priests and Their Books in Late Medieval Eichstätt by James Cracraft
Cover of the book Shaping Indian Diaspora by James Cracraft
Cover of the book Receptions of the Classics in the African Diaspora of the Hispanophone and Lusophone Worlds by James Cracraft
Cover of the book Tolstoy and the Religious Culture of His Time by James Cracraft
Cover of the book The Struggle for Soviet Jewry in American Politics by James Cracraft
Cover of the book The Religion of White Supremacy in the United States by James Cracraft
Cover of the book Decline of the U.S. Hegemony? by James Cracraft
Cover of the book The Working-Class Student in Higher Education by James Cracraft
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy