Bulgakov and Megre on CBC Christmas Booklist 2005

Mon Dec 5 23:48:50 UTC 2005

Dear Colleagues,

In response to the accusations of a sales pitch. My intention in posting information on Megre's books to this list is uniquely to inform the Russian / Slavic language professionals of these remarkable books and the social response they have been met with in Russia and beyond. If after reading my explanation below you still feel that I have abused this list with my posting (which I sincerely believe I have not), could you please kindly e-mail me at lesxrf at mizzou.edu

I do have the honor to be the editor of the Series in English, and as Dr. Monnier pointed out, I am writing my PhD dissertation at the University of Missouri Forestry Department -- on the global significance of Megre's writings for the future of agriculture and forestry. Now, if even Forestry, Agriculture and Rural Sociology professionals in the U.S. conduct research on the significance of a Russian author's books, if scholarly papers on them are presented at symposia and if mass media (CBC radio, newspapers) start talking about them, would it be of no benefit for Russian Studies scholars to learn of these books?  I apologize to the SEELANGers who sincerely
believe that not.

Also regarding the sales pitch -- the full-text Russian versions of all of Megre's books are available for a FREE download at the web-site that I indicated in my posting ( http://www.ringingcedars.com/books_russian.htm ) and elsewhere on the Internet.

And thank you Edward for sharing your impressions on Megre's first book. As with any work of art, readers have a whole range of opinions on them. From those who find that Megre's writings are worth hardly anything to others who consider them more important than the Bible. If you want to understand the former, read a few first pages of Book 1, and if you want to understand the latter, read book 4 (Sotvorenie).  (A small sample of readers' reaction to Megre's books in English is available at http://www.ringingcedars.com/materials/reviews01.pdf )

I will appreciate comments by SEELANGers who, I know, have read Megre's books. Please respond either to the list or privately to lesxrf at mizzou.edu

Thank you all,

Sincerely,

Leonid Sharashkin
Editor, The Ringing Cedars Series by Vladimir Megre
PhD candidate, Dept. of Forestry, University of Missouri

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nicole Monnier" <monniern at MISSOURI.EDU>
To: <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: Monday, December 05, 2005 3:17 PM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Bulgakov and Megre on CBC Christmas Booklist 2005

> Dear SEELANGSers,
>
> It was most certainly a sales pitch. Sharashkin is the editor of the
> English-language translation of the "series". And as he chose to identify
> himself by institution, I'd like to make it clear that he is not
affiliated
> with the Russian program at U. Missouri, but rather a PhD student in the
MU
> Forestry Department.
>
> Best,
>
> Nicole
>
>
> ****************************
> Dr. Nicole Monnier
> Assistant Professor of Instruction
> Director of Undergraduate Studies (Russian)
> German & Russian Studies
> 415 GCB
> University of Missouri
> Columbia, MO 65211
>
> phone: 573.882.3370
>
>
> On 12/5/05 3:05 PM, "Edward M Dumanis" <dumanis at BUFFALO.EDU> wrote:
>
> > It is not the first time that I see on our list such postings which
remind
> > me a sales pitch. I tried to read the first book of Megre's in Russian,
> > and found it quite boring. It reminded me "Sibiriada" of the Brezhnev's
> > time. I do not think that Megre's books deserve to be even mentioned
right
> > next to Bulgakov's creations. However, it is just my personal opinion.
> > I would appreciate if anyone who likes those books would make an effort
to
> > convince me that I am wrong, and explain the merits of reading them.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Edward Dumanis <dumanis at buffalo.edu>
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, 5 Dec 2005, Sharashkin, Leonid E (UMC-Student) wrote:
> >
> >> Dear Colleagues,
> >>
> >> Two Russian authors - Mikhail Bulgakov ("Master i Margarita") and
Vladimir
> >> Megre ("Anastasia" and "The Ringing Cedars of Russia") - were featured
on
> >> November 20 on a CBC radio show and included in this year's CBC
Christmas
> >> Booklist, posted on-line at http://www.cbc.ca/checkup/christmas05.html
> >>
> >> Over the last 10 years Megre's series "The Ringing Cedars"
("Zveniashchie
> >> kedry Rossii") has sold over 10 million copies in Russia and is now
available
> >> in 20 languages (Russian, English, German, French, Italian, Dutch,
Latvian,
> >> Lithuanian, Estonian, Kazakh, Georgian, Bulgarian, Polish, Czech,
Slovakian,
> >> Slovenian, Serbian, Hebrew, Greek, Croatian). The Series tells the
story of
> >> Megre's travels to Siberian taiga and his encounter with a woman
recluse
> >> Anastasia, from whom he gained deep spiritual insights.  Megre's books
have
> >> already sparked a massive back-to-the-land movement (referred in
Russian mass
> >> media as "a new revolution") in Russia and other countries. The first
three
> >> books in the Series have been released this year in English translation
done
> >> by John Woodsworth ("Anastasia", "The Ringing Cedars of Russia", "The
Space
> >> of Love").
> >>
> >> All Megre's books (both in Russian and the first three in English) are
> >> available from Amazon.com or (less expensively) from
www.SiberianCedar.com
> >> (both Russian and English) or the English publisher's web-site
> >> www.RingingCedars.com (English only). They may also be ordered by
calling
> >> toll-free 1-888-994-6495. The American publisher, Ringing Cedars Press,
> >> offers discounts for quantity purchases of the books for use in
instructional
> >> purposes.
> >>
> >> The 8 and a half books in the Series include:
> >>
> >> 1: Anastasiia - Anastasia (available in English)
> >> 2: Zveniashchie kedry Rossii - The Ringing Cedars of Russia (available
in
> >> English)
> >> 3: Prostranstvo Ljubvi - The Space of Love (available in English)
> >> 4: Sotvorenie - Co-creation (English release in February 2006)
> >> 5: Kto zhe my? - Who are we?
> >> 6: Rodovaia kniga - The book of kin
> >> 7: Energiia zhizni - The energy of life
> >> 8, part 1: Novaia tsivilizatsiia - The new civilisation
> >> 8, part 2: Obriady ljubvi - Rites of love
> >>
> >> Have a wonderful holiday season,
> >>
> >> Leonid Sharashkin
> >> University of Missouri
> >>
>
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