As the American way of life ground to its ultimate demise, people continued to live their lives, or the lives handed to them, by circumstance and fate. Most, like Kirby Taylor, were simply unconcerned and had never put more than a cursory thought towards the world around them. Now that the end was in sight, they simply switched gears to, "So, what do you want me to do about it?" Nancy Shepherd and others like her had spent their lives fighting what they thought was the good fight, only to realize in the end that it was that unyielding, uncompromising attitude which was part and parcel to blame. Some, like Rick Kyle, who had always lived on the edge, now realized that there were new opportunities rising out of the chaos of those end days. They simply switched gears and pressed on to what appeared to be even greater rewards. Finally, there were the Shelia Vonsteins, embittered by disrupted lives and careers, who were obliged to take whatever crumbs they could. They would try to make the best of their lives while at the same time being forever fish out of water. Does the human spirit triumph in the worst of times? Sometimes it does, and sometimes it is merely crushed under foot. Our children and grandchildren will ultimately find out.

As the American way of life ground to its ultimate demise, people continued to live their lives, or the lives handed to them, by circumstance and fate. Most, like Kirby Taylor, were simply unconcerned and had never put more than a cursory thought towards the world around them. Now that the end was in sight, they simply switched gears to, "So, what do you want me to do about it?" Nancy Shepherd and others like her had spent their lives fighting what they thought was the good fight, only to realize in the end that it was that unyielding, uncompromising attitude which was part and parcel to blame. Some, like Rick Kyle, who had always lived on the edge, now realized that there were new opportunities rising out of the chaos of those end days. They simply switched gears and pressed on to what appeared to be even greater rewards. Finally, there were the Shelia Vonsteins, embittered by disrupted lives and careers, who were obliged to take whatever crumbs they could. They would try to make the best of their lives while at the same time being forever fish out of water. Does the human spirit triumph in the worst of times? Sometimes it does, and sometimes it is merely crushed under foot. Our children and grandchildren will ultimately find out.

Assessing the relevance of Tolstoy's thought and teachings for the current day, Tolstoy and His Problems: Views from the Twenty-First Century is a collection of essays by a group of Tolstoy specialists who are leading scholars in the humanities and social sciences. In the broadest sense—with essays on a variety of issues that occupied Tolstoy, such as nihilism, mysticism, social theory, religion, Judaism, education, opera, and Shakespeare—the volume offers a fresh evaluation of Tolstoy's program to reform the ways we live, work, commune with nature and art, practice spirituality, exchange ideas and knowledge, become educated, and speak and think about history and social change.

Assessing the relevance of Tolstoy's thought and teachings for the current day, Tolstoy and His Problems: Views from the Twenty-First Century is a collection of essays by a group of Tolstoy specialists who are leading scholars in the humanities and social sciences. In the broadest sense-with essays on a variety of issues that occupied Tolstoy, such as nihilism, mysticism, social theory, religion, Judaism, education, opera, and Shakespeare-the volume offers a fresh evaluation of Tolstoy's program to reform the ways we live, work, commune with nature and art, practice spirituality, exchange ideas and knowledge, become educated, and speak and think about history and social change.