"Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art." Truly one of the world's greatest arts educators, Stanislavsky's autobiography is beautifully written. It is a fascinating portrait of the history of modern acting and also of Russian history. Absolutely key for understanding the Method, and the development of today's theater.

"Are you saved?" evangelical Protestants ask. While salvation *from* sin, death, and condemnation is certainly crucial, it is only the beginning of Christian life. What are we saved *for*?Fr. George Maloney gives the ancient Catholic answer: we are saved for deification (divinization, theosis). The Mystery of Christ in You explores Saint Paul's mystical theology of deification. It is a brilliant, readable introduction to the Epistles of Paul, the doctrine of deification, and mystical theology.

Unlike Arthur Johnson's lopsided approach in "Faith Misguided: Exposing the Dangers of Mysticism" (Moody Press, 1988), Corduan offers a balanced, modest approach to the topic. He is aware of the complex, multi-dimensional nature of the subject and carefully looks at the various positions within the literary field. In his personal introduction (Chapter One), he states his theological and methodological presuppositions which include his commitment to Evangelical Christianity and biblical inerrancy. He states: "Ultimately, a mystical experience may not be the standard for evaluating truth in the Bible, but the Bible must remain the standard by which personal realities and experiences are tested" (pg. 17). Corduan also wisely points out the need to presuppose that the best authority on the phenomena of mysticism are mystics themselves and any critical analysis of mystical experience has to be based on interpretations because "the pure phenomenality of the experienced has to go unassailed" (pg. 19). Chapter Two addresses the question "What is Mysticism?" He acknowledges that this is no easy task because "many definitions will tend to be so specific as to say too much or so general as to say too little" (pg. 22). After critiquing various definitions, he settles for an understanding of mysticism as "an unmediated link to an absolute." Chapter Two answers the question of "Does Mysticism Have a Common Core?" by siding with neither the advocates of unanimity (The Perennial Philosophy) nor the advocates of an extreme pluralism. Instead, he takes a Thomistic approach which holds that some mystical experiences across various religious and philosophical backgrounds can be similar. (One is reminded of Aquinas' distinction between univocal, equivocal, and analogical language.)

Chapter Four asks, "Does Mysticism Have an Objective Referent?". Within this chapter, Corduan basically explores the subjective and objective aspects of mysticism and points out that the question of truth can't be settled within a given experience without looking at the whole frame of reference (the world view). Because Corduan is a committed Christian, he admits, for example, that his rejection of Hinduism as a religion leads him to reject the experience contained therein (pg. 75). This, again, takes us back to the distinction between an experience and its interpretation. Because one can experience deception, tests for truth are important and contradictory world views cannot all be true. Having made this point, Corduan adds his theory of a natural mystical faculty within humans that can be activated either purely subjectively or by objective causes.

Chapter Five asks, "Can Language Describe Mytical Experience?" Because William James and others posit ineffability as a key characteristic of mystical experience, Corduan looks at this factor in relation to apophatic language. He analyzes the reasons (theories) given by advocates of ineffability such as the Insider Theory (the nonmystic can't understand what the mystic is saying), the Limits-of-Language Theory, the Lack-of Concept Theory, and the Limits-of-Logic Theory. Each is shown as coming up short. Again, insights from Thomas Aquinas are utilized and the solution of analogical language is posited. "Analogy always implies a similarity and a difference, and this is also true of language about finite things compared to language about God." For those who want further analysis of apophatic and cataphatic language, see Corduan's and Geisler's "Philosophy of Religion". Another important contemporary book that looks at the nature of apophatic language as used by the mystics is "Mystical Languages of Unsaying" by Michael Sells (April 1994).

Chapter Six, Mysticism in Christendom, looks at Eastern Orthodoxy as defended by Lossky (The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church). Corduan carefully points out positive and negative aspects. One positive aspect is the emphasis on God's grace; one negative aspect is that it seems to minimize sin and reconciliation. But Corduan quickly admits that as a Westerner, he may not be able to see all of the ramifications of "theosis" (the "deification" of the human being). Theosis is not to be confused with pantheism. The trinitarian personal God who is both transcendent and immanent is foundational to Eastern Orthodoxy. Within Western Mysticism, Corduan looks at Augustine, Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross and, again, looks at pros and cons. Regarding Eckhart, there is conflict of interpretation which can put Eckhart within or outside of Orthodoxy. Corduan looks at both. Regarding Teresa and John, he points out that both do not equate the mystical experience of union with salvation and that some protestants may think that both mystics have usurped God's grace by a notion of reward. Finally, a summary is provided that separates certain ideas within mysticism in general from biblical Christianity.

Chapter Seven is entitled "New Testament-Based Mysticism". It concludes that there is a mystical reality in the believer's relationship to the triune God through adoption as God's child, a position "in Christ," and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but the chapter ends with a paradox that I'll leave for future readers to discover. Overall, I enjoyed Corduan's analysis which gave me some food for thought. I also appreciate his sympathetic, although cautious, approach to the topic. Too bad this book is, as of this review, out of print. For those who want another critical evangelical analysis of mysticism of a pantheistic variety, I recommend David Clark's and Norman Geisler's "Apologetics in the New Age".

This extremely well-written book, based on loads of fresh archival material, explains how the Soviet Union's propaganda made a rapid switch from Marxist themes to Russian nationalism. In a tour through classroom textbooks, Stalinist movies, and World War II popular culture, Brandenberger tells a rich story with important ramifications. The transformation of communists into Russian nationalists in recent decades becomes more understandable when one reads his account of the importance of Russian national themes already in the 1930s, when the Soviet system was still in its formative stage.

Written for anyone interested in the First World War, this book tells the fascinating story of a major wave of ethnic cleansing that swept the eastern front between 1914-1917. "Nationalizing the Russian Empire" details how total war radicalized Russian politics, forcing Nicholas II to embrace a chauvinistic brand of populism that quickly undermined the imperial regime from within.

Focusing on tsarist attempts to neutralize the domestic threat posed by foreign nationals (the so-called "enemy aliens"), Lohr reveals how these measures evolved to affect many Russian subjects of German, Jewish and Muslim background. Entire populations were sent into internal exile. Land and property were sequestered and seized. Ethnic Russians were encouraged to think about their society in the most nativist of terms.

But instead of bolstering the empire, this campaign and the wave of interethnic hostility that it stirred up actually undermined the Romanovs' hold on power. Although the 1917 Russian Revolution is traditionally linked to military reversals at the front and class tensions in the rear, Lohr suggests that it was also the empire's clumsy attempt to engage in the modern politics of populist nationalism that compromised the stability of the society, the productivity of the economy, and the legitimacy of imperial rule itself.

Contrary to what is widely believed in the U.S., anti-Semitism and ultranationalism in Russia have not declined after the collapse of the Soviet regime, but gained new momentum, turning into an organized political and social movement. Ultranationalistic forces heavily influence Russian parliament and some key executive offices. They enjoy a considerable support from Russian Orthodox Church, law enforcement agencies and other important institutions. The possibility that they can take over the control over government is quite real. The national-communist leader Gennady Zyuganov receiving 30 million votes is a clear signal. This dangerous trend in today's Russian society has been analyzed in detail in The Nazification of Russia by Semyon Reznik. Mr. Reznik is a historian, journalist and novelist with a Russian-Jewish background. He authored twelve books, including four on the Russian anti-Semitism, which he has been studying fore more than twenty years. The Nazification of Russia--his first book in English-- summarizes his more than 20-year extensive research. Xenophobia and antisemitism have been an essential part of so called Russian idea for at least last two centuries. Hence what is going on today is a natural continuation of a strong tradition. Mr. Reznik's book gives a vivid description of this social disease. Thus, in the chapter "Blood Libel," the author demonstrates, how, on the eve of the 21st century, Russian red-brown ideologists are exploiting the Dark Age anti-Semitic prejudices. Horrible stories of the Jewish cannibalism have been printed in leading communist dailies as Pravda and Sovetskayua Rossia, in widely read youth magazine Molodaya Gvardia, not to mention dozens of smaller "patriotic" publications. Perhaps the most fascinating is the story of numerous "reincarnations" of the so-called Report on Ritual Murders produced 150 years ago for the Czar Nicholas I by a completely forgotten bureaucrat. Later it was reprinted under a glorious name of Vladimir Dal, one of the most prominent figures in Russian culture of 19th century; and today this book--under Dal's name again--has been widely circulating in numerous different editions all over the country, sowing fear and hatred into thousands of ignorant and credulous souls. Mr. Reznik proves that Vladimir Dal had nothing to do with this lampoon. Another fascinating story told in the book might sound familiar to the Jewish Chronicle readers. It is related to a political scandal that erupted a few years ago after the U.S. Information Agency had invited to this country on the taxpayers expense a group of Russian anti-Semitic writers to discuss "Cultural and Ethnic Diversity in the Soviet Union" during a month-long trip. The list of the names included the most outspoken Russian Red-Brown ideologists. The level of ignorance of organizers of the event was really outstanding: It was as someone would invite a group of KKK leaders to speak on "Racial tolerance and harmony in the U.S." Mr. Reznik was the first to introduce these guests to the U. S. public. His article, "Soviet Nazi landing in Washington, DC," printed in the Russian Los Angeles weekly Panorama was translated into English and caused a real storm in the main stream media. Most of the Universities canceled their invitations to the Russian guests, hundreds protesters followed them in every city on their tour, in one word, hardly those anti-Semites enjoyed their trip. Moreover, Mr. Reznik attended their first seminar in the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies and publicly exposed them as Nazis. His first-hand account of this event is really thrilling. Semyon Reznik tells many other stories and displays characters of key figures of anti-Semitic movement in today's Russia, such as a world-recognized mathematician and former dissident Igor Shafarevich turned into ideologist of anti-Semitism, one of the leaders of notorious Pamyat' society Igor Sychev, whom the author interviewed in Moscow, or professor Valery Yemelianov, who denounced Zionism with such passion that he killed his wife suspecting her of being a secret Zionist agent in his own family. To collect his unique materials Mr. Reznik traveled to Moscow and interviewed red-brown nazi's leaders. Hardly I need to explain what a personal risk was involved in such undertakings. Mr. Reznik's analysis of gradual nazification of Russian political and spiritual life under Gorbachev and Yeltsin is based on documents that have never been published before. I would recommend this book to every student of Political Science interested in contemporary Russia. On the other hand, the general public will gain a lot from this book as well, since it is packed with first-hand information, lively characters and fascinating intrigues. 8 oct. 1996, Boris A. Kushner, Professor, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

When I read Nervous People for a Russian Lit class I was overwhelmed by the absurd humor. There hasn't been a funnier, politically poignant and appealing satirist since Lewis Carrol or Jonathan Swift.

Zoschenko etches out distinct parts of the Soviet landscape with hilarious spoofs, ridiculous characters and dark conclusions; Gogol would be proud.

Despite the passing of time and demise of the Soviet Union the humor still survives. What's poking fun at Russians can easily be translated to the same for American government and bureaucracy.

Admittedly this isn't for everyone. It's not all-age-encompassing like "Alice in Wonderland" or as current as PJ O'Rouke. Nevertheless it's worth a read for young and old adults.

preliminary version, please do not quote in scholarly papers

comments are welcome to varadib@ceu.hu

It is rare that political economists should present radical political-institutional reforms that are novel, yet practically implementable, something you can feel a missionary's passion for, yet reasonably grounded in political and economic theory and empirical studies. It is even more unique that suggestions like that should have a non-zero chance to shape reality: the muddling-through EU marathon towards an adequate institutional framework presents the opportunity for a peaceful public debate about how sovereignty should be best distributed in Europe, in which Frey's and Eichenberger's proposal should be seriously considered. What is not surprising though is that something as inventive and down-to-earth as the plan in question should emerge from the political practice of the land of local patriotism, army-knifes and bankers, the home country of the authors, Switzerland.

But what do the authors propose?

The main idea of the book is that of Functional, Overlapping and Competing Jurisdictions (FOCJ). It works like this: individuals or small local communities are free to choose amongst competing FOCJ (which have their own constitutions, including democratic institutions for members and power to tax them) These concentrate on specific functions (e.g. schooling or "reducing utility losses due to fires"), have no monopoly whatsoever to supply the function in question for a certain geographic area. These FOCJ take over most of the services now provided by different levels of government.

The authors' claim that such a system would keep democratic decisions as close to people as possible, could make the quid-pro-quo between taxes and public services clearer, would make it possible for certain services to be provided for the economically optimally sized area, would open the floor to motivated "single-issue" individuals to enter active politics without getting mired in dozens of issues they don't care about, and would create flexible alternatives to the institutional strait-jackets that are nation-states.

They present and try to refute some of the most plausible counter-arguments. To quote some, they claim that quite some redistribution - the more, the less mobile the citizens - can take place in the rather decentralized system of local communities and FOCJ they propose, while larger FOCJ with appropriate entry and exit barriers could exclusively serve the function of large-scale redistribution. Further, they claim that the loss of internal coordination that is there within present regional, national, etc. governments may well be compensated for by the higher pressure on FOCJ leaders from their better informed constituents to come to agreements with other FOCJ. They also claim that the loss of opportunity to trade votes and thus reveal the intensity of preferences could be made up for by well designed constitutions for FOCJ and special FOCJ for those with especially intensive preferences about certain services.

In the rest of the pamphlet they first expand on their main idea: in the rest of part I, chapters 2-5, they compare FOCJ with political decentralization and strengthening direct democracy, arguing that FOCJ would produce advantages of both; they discuss the how-to of implementation, mentioning, if not solving, the possible problems of natural monopolies and discrimination; finally, they look for similar arrangements in history, and in the modern Switzerland and the USA. In part II they consider the role of FOCJ in Europe. They chastize the centralizing tendencies of the EU, which flies in the face of the declared European value of subsidiarity; they compare theirs with other constitutional proposals for Europe. They conclude that Europe-wide constitutional guarantee to form and run FOCJ and a prohibition of blocking FOCJ, especially of double taxation, by national governments could best contribute to European integration (by cross-border FOCJ) without further centralization. In the third part they look beyond Europe: they argue that the expansion of certain European FOCJ beyond the strict nation-state-based borders of the EU could ease the bitter yes-or-no nature of EU expansion: the Ukraine or Turkey or some of their regions could easily participate in certain European FOCJ without the Ukraine's or Turkey's accession. They also argue that FOCJ could solve many of the political and social problems of developing countries.

The presentation is easy to follow and clear of technicalities, set in the framework of mainstream political economy. The empirical parts are supported by apposite tables and relevant articles, and every chapter followed by suggested further reading.

My reference to the book as a pamphlet is not meant to disparage it: it is natural that it should be a pamphlet. When first presenting something fairly radical that one believes in, pledging for its being considered for public debate, when affirming its untried advantages over the many second-best existing institutional alternatives already in existence, the adequate genre is the pamphlet.

Of course such an unabashedly one-sided approach makes the reader prone to take up the role of the devil's advocate. And there is a host of considerations, even over and above the criticisms mentioned but not convincingly refuted in the book itself, that are not tackled in a convincing manner.

One is the question of residual responsibilities. What about the default of FOCJ? The moral hazard created by the threat of default? Who has the ultimate right to use legitimate force?

Another is the question of control of FOCJ. The status of FOCJ, with its internal democracy coupled with economic relations with its members (taxing and serving them) is a mixture of market and democratic-bureaucratic coordination, somewhat akin to cooperatives or employee-controled entreprises. Is a democratic control necessary? Is it efficient? Wouldn't FOCJ without democratic control be the same as privatizing services and the collection of taxes?

A third one is a lack of analysis of the political conditions that make such a system of FOCJ feasible. What changes would make it possible to establish such a system in regions where nothing like it has existed? If interests and path dependence have blocked the introduction of a socially better system of FOCJ, why would that change? In other words: why here and now? Is it that the shaping of the EU and the political reshuffling necessary for it simply puts major political-institutional changes on the agenda?

It is my tentative answer to the last question that explains why I like the pamphlet and accept it wholeheartedly as a direction of institutional development and as a reasearch agenda. I believe that the picture in The Sovereign Individual painted by Davidson and Reese-Mogg is essentially true: the technological development that makes advanced telecommunication and the Internet possible erodes the power of nation-states based on the tax-exploitation of low-mobility individuals and companies at their mercy. The long-run political-economic effects of that process have not been analyzed yet, however, at the minimum, that change forces nation-states to compete more and more with each other for retaining individuals and legal persons that are less and less physically localized.

If that is the direction in which technological developments drive political-institutional changes, then the system that the authors argue for, a framework of FOCJ backed up by a Europe-wide constitutional guarantee, could be an ideally flexible device for a relatively gradual and peaceful transition to the adequate political setup of the future, whatever it will be like. An intriguing institutional reform proposal with such a prospect should be enough to brighten up any political scientist's or political economist's eyes. But the lion's share of the job, a lot of analytical and modelling work to analyse the trade-offs between the traditional system, the book's suggestion and the market is still ahead.

Balázs Váradi,

www.cesa.hu

and

Department of Political Science, Central European University

the right to re-use all or parts of this review in scholarly papers is retained by the author

This is such an excellent book, I really love it, especially because I wrote it.

New Jerseyans in the Civil War is a readable and enjoyable study of New Jersey's role in the Civil War. The author's major theme is how the influence of popular attitude regarding race and slavery, evolving out of the state's history, conditioned its ambivilence towards the war. The author asserts that persistent, strident criticism of the conduct of war and its purposes, put New Jersey out of step with the rest of the northern states. Readers will find the book to be interesting not only for its focus on the state's unique role in the war, but as a microcosm of the causes of the Civil War, and its impact.