Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002740400 ISBN 13: 9780002740401

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 1999

Arguably one of the most significant writers of the 20th century, Solzhenitsyn has, since the fall of Communism, spoken out against the current Russian regime and now lives in seclusion. His faith has always deeply informed his literary and artistic approach and his response to the excesses of modern materialism. On the spiritual, cultural, and socio-political level, his writings have much to teach the world as it prepares for the new millennium. Based on personal interviews with Solzhenitsyn and his family, Joseph Pearce's major new book provides a profoundly fascinating insight into a towering literary and political figure.

From the Inside Flap:

Based on exclusive, personal interviews with Solzhenitsyn, Joseph Pearce's new book provides profound insight into a towering literary and political figure. From his pro-Communist youth to his imprisonment in the Gulags, his exile in America to his return to Russia, this is the story of a man who has struggled with the most weighty questions of humanity. When a person has suffered the most terrible physical and emotional torture, what becomes of his spirit? Can politics and economics truly provide the answers a modern society needs? If peace and justice are never fully attained, what hope is there for the future? Arguably one of the most significant writers of the twentieth century, Solzhenitsyn has, both before and after the fall of Communism, spoken out against the Russian regime. His faith has deeply informed his literary approach and response to the excesses of modern materialism. On the spiritual, cultural, and socio-political level, his writings have much to teach the world. This biography contains previously unpublished prose poems, written by Solzhenitsyn since his return to Russia, and a gallery of rare photographs. Back flap: Joseph Pearce is a professional biographer and literary researcher. He is the author of Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G. K. Chersterton, Literary Converts, and Tolkien: Man and Myth, and a novel called The Three Ys Men. He lives in Norfolk, England.

From the Back Cover:

"Man has set for himself the goal of conquering the world but in the process loses his soul." "The author has grasped with great insight the spiritual core of Solzhenitsyn's achievement as a writer, and indeed as a prophet to Russia and the world. He writes with warm sympathy for Russia's greatest literary voice in modern times." --David Aikman, author of Great Souls: Six Who Changed the Century "Joseph Pearce offers a full-fledged biography of Solzhenitsyn, one based in substantial measure on the spadework of earlier researchers, yet with an emphasis markedly his own. Pearce has paid Solzhenitsyn the compliment of taking his moral beliefs and aspirations seriously, in this sense going beyond the issues of politics and ideology (but which he also treats with care and understanding)." --Alexis Klimoff, professor of Russian Studies, Vassar College "Joseph Pearce is best on what matters most about Solzhenitsyn: the centrality of the author's Christian faith. It is no wonder that Solzhenitsyn chose to . . . provide him with fresh information. Newcomers to Solzhenitsyn should start with this biography. They will find here a highly readable rendition of one of the most sensational lives of the twentieth century." --Edward E. Ericson, Jr., author of Solzhenitsyn and the Modern World, professor of English, Calvin College