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"I have lived, alone, in a cell, 157,852,800 seconds of solitude and fear. Cause for screaming! They sentence me to live yet another 220,838,400 seconds! To live them or to die from them."from The Silent EscapeVictim of Stalinist-era terror, Lena Constante was arrested on trumped-up charges of "espionage" and sentenced to twelve years in Romanian prisons. The Silent Escape is the extraordinary account of the first eight years of her incarcerationyears of solitary confinement during which she was tortured, starved, and daily humiliated.The only woman to have endured isolation so long in Romanian jails, Constante is also one of the few women political prisoners to have written about her ordeal. Unlike other more political prison diaries, this book draws us into the practical and emotional experiences of everyday prison life. Candidly, eloquently, Constante describes the physical and psychological abuses that were the common lot of communist-state political prisoners. She also recounts the particular humiliations she suffered as a woman, including that of male guards watching her in the bathroom. Constante survived by escaping into her mindand finally by discovering the "language of the walls," which enabled her to communicate with other female inmates.A powerful story of totalitarianism and human endurance, this work makes an important contribution to the literature of "prison notebooks." ... Read more

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A powerful prison memoir!
This is the story of a Romanian artist, a young woman who spent eight years out of twelwe in solitary confinment, for the crime of having organized a puppet show together with the wife of a disgraced Communist leader. . . Despite all of that, Lena Constante never lost her dignity or pride. . . One of the most powerful prison memoirs ever written! ... Read more

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This book examines the beliefs and views of those who identified themselves as "democrats" during the Gorbachev era in Soviet politics, and traces the development of those beliefs in the post-Soviet era. It bases its analysis on attitudes towards the Soviet state, beliefs about the ideal future democracy, and beliefs about Russia's place in the world. Lukin also places ideology of Russian democrats into the context of Russian and world intellectual history. ... Read more

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The intellectual resistance to totalitarian regimes cantake many forms. This remarkable volume portrays one such story ofresistance in Romania during the reign of Ceausescu: that ofConstantin Noica, one of the country's foremost intellectuals.

Noica was an original thinker belonging to the remarkable intellectualgeneration of important figures such as Mircea Eliade, E.M. Ciorin andEugene Ionescu, but he chose to stay in Romania after the communisttakeover when many others fled. Harassed and jailed for six years,Noica retreated to the mountains and gathered around him somebrilliant young minds and future talent to challenge and nurture themin a time when communism denied them the materials of trueintellectual importance.

This group of students withdrew to Noica's retreat for intensivephilosophical sessions to debate the works of Kant, Plato, Heideggerand discuss humanistic values. The author of this volume Liiceanu,himself a brilliant philosopher, was Noica's closest disciple andduring every meeting he noted every conversation in a diary which cameto be known as The Paltinis Diary. These conversations were secretlypublished and quickly devoured by intellectuals in Romania who wereprepared to sacrifice part of their food provisions to acquire thebook. The Paltinis Diary sold out within a matter of days and becauseof Secret Police censorship and was not published again in Romaniauntil 1991 by which time Noica had died and the group had disbanded tohelp with the reconstruction of post-Ceausescu Romania.

The Paltinis Diary is a wonderful homage to an intellectual master andto the power of intellect and freedom. The book will be of interest tophilosophers, non-philosophers alike, and to anyone who seeks to graspthe true meaning of survival under totalitarian conditions.

Part of the new series Central European Library of Ideas a series ofbooks that will shape and fuel current Central European debates. Theseries editor, Sorin Antohi, and an international advisory board willselect the most innovative and challenging titles that set theintellectual agendas of whole societies, or which take issue withcentral concerns in the region. The series will be of interest toanyone concerned with the current ideologies shaping the future ofCentral and Eastern Europe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Butter vs Culture.
Philosophy is a way to leave your life. This book helps you to understand better the difference between this two questions: "What are you doing for living?" and"What are you doing in life (or better with your life)?".
You have to make the choice between "butter" and "culture". But when Noica talks about culture, he doesn't mean: food, clothing, religion or holyday customs. Noica talks
about having the "Greek Miracle" and the" German Idealism"as the only tools which will help you to do CULTURE(Philosophy).
So let's start to study Ancient Greek for the "Greek Miracle" and German for the "German Idealism"so maybe we can answer the second question: What are you doing in life ?.

Unspoken Truths
There were many forms of resistance under communism and we don't know them all yet. Liiceanu's Paltinis Diary constitutes such an example no doubt. Articulated as a reverential homage to Constantin Noica, Liiceanu's master, this book is full of insights into a subculture of intellectual resistance through the "paideic model" to communist ideology and dogmatism generally. The "master" also seems to be proposing a resistance to "modern rationality," or capitalism, into culture, spiritual elevation, and political passivity, as a form of legitimate apolitical disengagement. Today, the west is generally used to identify forms of resistance to communism with the help of a tripping "grand theory" of dissident-intellectuals: active, politically militant, promoting "socialism with humane face" or outright liberalism. Think only of Adam Michnik, Václav Havel, the leaders of the Solidarity movement in Poland, Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia, or the technocratic elite in Hungary. But what could one do in Romania under a tyrant, Ceausescu? Nothing? This book is indicative that subversive resistance existed and that if dissent was impossible to utter in the open air, a duplicitously undermining complicity managed to leave some gray areas for alternative knowledge.

If there are some moral problems in this form of Noica apolitical resistance, then these are exactly the lack of any intention of engaging into political action, in any form, in any way. We are left with some kind of a disconcerting idea of mystico-humanistic deliverance. There is also a sectarian feeling traversing the book--which is also understandable in light of Ceausescu's cruelly autocratic governance--but one keeps wondering if the paideic model is an elitist formula for a "city of gods." What about the average Romanian citizen, student, reader--in either communism or post-communism? How could such a paideic model empower them change their "human condition" and command them as masters over their own destiny as individuals, as "citizens of the polis?" Yet another problem is the total absence of a critical discussion over Noica's fascist past as an intellectual-legionnary in interwar Romania. The distinction between, on the one hand, Noica, Mircea Eliade Emil Cioran, and their master Nae Ionescu, and, on the other hand, the Iron Guard, the legionnaries par excellence, is quite significant, but there is no debate about this issue in the book, at least in a preface or introduction. One wonders if this is not an effort to mystify uncomfortable unspoken truths. It is a great mistake to leave Noica's past open to speculation and re-appropriation by ill-intentioned neo-fascists. On the other hand, a critical engagement into the political positioning of this interwar generation of intellectuals would clarify if and how such a political dedication could alter Noica's philosophy, Eliade's myths, or Heidegger's philosophy, as various pros and cons have been voiced in this regard. Finally, are these things discussed in Romania or are they "politically incorrect" critical approaches? It is interesting that neither the publishing house nor the editorial review mentions such insights, which are normally studied in the history departments of any decent western university.

Nonetheless, the Paltinis Diary remains a valuable proof of "life under communism," of human aspiration for knowledge, of the particular intellectual conditions of Romania, and of challenging intellectual relationships between past, present, and future. ... Read more

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Presents an account of the impressions Western culture made on the author, a young researcher from behind the Iron curtain, as a personal history of the developing new science of plate tectonics. DLC: Roman, Constantin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Discover Romanian
This book is great if you're serious about really learning the language! I bought and went through "Teach Yourself Romanian", which was a good book but it wasn't as thorough on explanations of grammar and missed quite a few things too-I didn't quite grasp the concepts with Teach Yourself.., whereas with Discover Romanian I am. I still recommend that book however, or another basic learner, because although I do think "Discover Romanian" is a better book overall it's hard to go through if you do not have a native speaker at your disposal for helping you out, checking your answers on exercises(as others have said there's no answer key), etc. I might have had a harder time with Discover Romanian if I didn't already go through a lot of intro to Romanian books/computer programs.

And to comment on what others have said about the old spelling used in this book, yes it is used however it's extremely easy to change into the new spelling. It's mainly just 1 letter, so if you know the rules it's no issue at all.

Pros:
-Great thorough explanations of all the grammar nuances
-Good exercises-they're easy and repetitive, but that's what you need to learn!
-Good steady pace throughout the book. They don't throw too much at you at once so it's not overwhelming.
-Much easier to get a grasp on the grammar concepts with this book than with others.
-Accompanied illustrations with exercises are actually quite helpful!

Cons:
-You'll need someone to practice pronunciation with.
-and as others have said, there's no answer key to exercises-however they are easy exercises so it's not hard to figure out the answers or look back in the book to see how to answer them.

Discover Romanian - Easily
I am really enjoying this book but realize it will take me awhile to get through.It is comprehensive and even includes a Romanian to English and an English to Romanian dictionary at the back.It's a progressive lesson book, as well as a good reference book.You won't need anything else.

The only thing that could enhance it would be a CD to accompany some of the lessons for the best pronunciation.

I studied Romanian at Ohio State Univ. with Rodica Botoman quite a few years ago.She's a wonderful teacher with a passion for her language and culture which is apparent in this book.Highly recommend!!!

A good book with some drawbacks
There are some very obvious pros and cons to this book, explaining why I give it three stars.

PROS
Major pros
It it (by quite a margin) the most extensive Romanian course in English. No other Romanian course will give you such a detailed explanation of Romanian grammar or such an extensive Romanian vocabulary. For the serious student of Romanian, this book will probably be very helpful.

CONS
Majors cons
Contrary to most other Romanian courses, the vocabulary in each chapter doesn't mark stress. For each and every word, you have to go to the vocabulary in the back, find the stress, then mark it word by word. With more than 2000 words, be prepared for hours of work. Most other courses will do it for you, and it is a major drawback that this course doesn't.
This is yet another course with excercises but no keys. Strange.

Minor cons
Despite being relatively new, the book uses the old spelling that was used before the spelling reform.
The vocabulary list for each chapter is messy, not in structured tables as in most courses.

If you're a total beginner, this is not the book for you. The lack of accentuation and the lack of answer keys will make the learning process harder than it should be. If you have already completed a course such as Colloquial Romanian and want to take it further, then I recommend this course.

A great investment
After buying this book almost six years ago, I can say that this was probably one of the best investments I ever made!The book assumes you have no knowledge of the language and then slowly builds skills by having a lively dialogue in each beginning chapter, vocabulary, and uses the theme of the chapters and dialogue by having an end of chapter reading.(I had some exposure to the language because my dad is from there)As the chapters continue, the end of chapter readings become longer and more difficult, but the author prepares you to understand them.There are also about 10 to 15 assignments per each chapter (20 chapters total).This book really gravitated my interest in the language and after visiting the country three times since I purchases the book, I attribute my ability to communicate effectively in romanian to this book.

It has its virtues
This book is very useful for learning Romanian -- explained very clearly, with lots of useful exercises -- but not sufficient for self-study.There is no answer key, and not every point of grammar is exlpained fully. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Tale of the Lamb and her Gentle Shepherd
The "Miorita" is a heartwarming journey into the Romanian psyche.This story of the little lamb and her gentle Shepherd is one of the four narrative dramas that Romanians memorize in primary school, and then carry with them all of their lives. A true literary treasure!This translation evokes the northern wilds of Romania in vocabulary germane to its location.It conjures up unforgettable images of tender, guileless concern of the Shepherd; surrounded by villainous enemies.The fine black and white photography that serves to illustrate this pastoral folk story is ever-so-carefully wedded to its poetry.Simply a cultural masterpiece! ... Read more

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Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Palace of the Parliament, Cluj-Napoca Bánffy Palace, Palace of Culture, Brukenthal National Museum, Magna Curia, Mogoşoaia Palace, Cec Palace, National Museum of Art of Romania, Cotroceni Palace, Victoria Palace, Creţulescu Palace, Palace of Justice. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Palace of the Parliament (Romanian: ) in Bucharest, Romania is a multi-purpose building containing both chambers of the Romanian Parliament. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Palace is the world's largest civilian administrative building, most expensive administrative building, and heaviest building. The Palace was designed and nearly completed by the Ceauescu regime as the seat of political and administrative power. Nicolae Ceauescu named it the House of the Republic (Casa Republicii), but many Romanians call it the People's House (Casa Poporului). The Palace measures 270 m by 240 m, 86 m high, and 92 m under ground. It has 1,100 rooms, 2 underground parking garages and is 12 stories tall, with four additional underground levels currently available for the general public and in use, and another four in different stages of completion. The structure combines elements and motifs from multiple sources, in an eclectic neoclassical architectural style. The building is constructed almost entirely of materials of Romanian origin. Estimates of the materials used include one million cubic meters of marble from Transylvania, most from Ruchia; 3,500 tonnes of crystal 480 chandeliers, 1,409 ceiling lights and mirrors were manufactured; 700,000 tonnes of steel and bronze for monumental doors and windows, chandeliers and capitals; 900,000 m³ of wood (over 95% domestic) for parquet and wainscotting, including walnut, oak, sweet cherry, elm, sycamore maple; 200,...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=352844 ... Read more

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This study examines the relationship betweenglobalization, culture and identity. The study wasconducted in the City of Cluj, Romania, with themain problem lying partly in the concurrentrelations in the locality, partly in the culturalelements coming in from the "outside". Boththeoretically and empirically the study isstructured around the distinct but interacting viewsand roles of the past, the present and the future - features around which identities are constructed.The question at issue throughout this study is inwhat ways the constructions of identities areaffected by globalization/ transformation, and whatdifferences in the constructions depend on.Methodologically a qualitative triangulatingapproach is used, combining interviews, observationsand a qualitative informative survey. Theconclusions of the study are that the constructionof identities ¿ based on the interactions betweenthe individual and his/ her surrounding ¿ revolvearound the two factors of the conception of the pastand the ideas and hopes for the future. ... Read more

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This book examines an unexpected outcome of post-socialist land reform. Contrary to the initial expectations of Neoliberal transition policy-makers, various forms of agricultural associations emerged following land privatization. The research question that frames this study is: Why do farmers still persist in joining associations despite perceived collective action problems and the availability of leasing as a close substitute? While earlier literature focused on explaining why landowners choose to farm the land individually, the choice between associations and leasing has not been previously examined. Going beyond the capital constraints argument, I examine the role of institutional legacies and the effect of collectivization in explaining regional differences in land reallocation.The findings suggest that theories of institutional change do not fully capture the interdependencies between factors that shape individuals¿ responses to incentives and constraints imposed by transition. In addition, I argue that farming associations should be strongly emphasized as a channel for achieving land consolidation. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Turks are an ethnic minority in Romania, numbering 32,596 people according to the 2002 census and hence making up 0.2% of the total population.As the entire Balkan Peninsula become an integral part of the emerging Ottoman Empire (a process which concluded with the fall of Constantinople to Sultan Mehmed II in 1453), Wallachia became engaged in frequent confrontations and, in the final years of Mircea the Elder's reign, became an Ottoman subject. Mircea (reigned 1386-1418), initially defeated the Ottomans in several battles (including that of Rovine in 1394), driving them away from Dobruja and briefly extending his rule to the Danube Delta, Dobruja and Silistra (ca.1400-1404). ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Before World War II, Romania was overwhelmingly agrarian. In the late 1940s, roughly 75 percent of the population was engaged in agriculture. It was a poor and backward peasant agriculture; inferior yields were eked from plots of land that grew ever smaller as the rural population increased. Although a fair amount of industrial activity was nurtured by state contracts and foreign investments, industrial development was slow and failed to create alternative employment opportunities for the overpopulated and impoverished countryside. The bourgeoisie was weakly developed. Atop the low social pyramid stood a disproportionately powerful social elite, a remnant of the nobility that had once owned most of the land in the Old Kingdom. Although reforms between 1917 and 1921 had stripped them of all but 15 percent of the arable land, this aristocracy remained a puissant voice in political affairs. ... Read more

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The closer the past is, the less penetrable itbecomes for the historian. The scholar's task is torecollect possible surviving data and to make themintelligible. This book explores some of the mostimportant ¿existential programs¿ of the artists wholived in communist Romania. My main attempt in thisstudy is to correct the canon of visual arts of thecommunist period by including some neglected¿unofficial¿ artists in. I hope that the greatmajority of artists who have been at history¿smargins will be acknowledged and remembered, and Ialso hope that this rehabilitation will create adifferent panorama of the ¿new history¿. I am surethat here are many other artists and cultural workersof that time waiting to be discovered. It is the taskof their contemporaries to make their stories visibleand useful. It is a duty as well. In this sense, Ibelieve that artists, art historians and culturalhistorians will find this book quite interesting. ... Read more

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Cluj-Napoca. Castra, Socialist Republic of Romania, Municipium, Hungarian People, Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Transylvanian Saxons, Protestant Reformation, Personal Union, Unio Trium Nationum, Kingdom of Romania, Babe?-Bolyai University, Snowmaking, Ski Resort, Continental Climate, Public Transport, Children's Rights. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Honorific Sign "The Vulture of Romania" (Semnul onorific "Vulturul României") is a special decoration, part of the National Decorations System, awarded to Romanian Parliamentarians, members of the Senate orof the Chamber of Deputies. It also can be awarded to foreign parliamentarians for its special contribution in the development of parliamentarian relations with Romania. According to the Law no. 29/2000, the honorific sign "The Vulture of Romania" is assimilated to the Order of the Faithful Service, at equal ranks. ... Read more

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Reading science fiction was a favourite pastime for many young people in communist Romania, a taste that was not significantly developed before that. While the SF imported from the Soviet Union talked about the best of the possible futures, the communist one, the youth was dreaming about it. However, few were aware that what they passionately read about the scientific and technological progresses of the next years was, at least at the beginning of this literature in Romania, nothing but an active pedagogical and propagandistic instrument meant to shape the new communist citizen. This book analyzes the relationship between politics, society and SF in communist Romania for the period 1955-1974. The main historical source used is the magazine Colectia Povestiri Stiintifico Fantastice, (Science Fiction Stories Collection) the only SF magazine published in Romania at that time. Approaching the history of communism through the analysis of SF represents an uninvestigated area, one with considerable research potential. For a historian, an analysis of SF and its related fandom could offer important insights into the intellectual, political and social history of this period. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Reason, published by Reason Foundation on October 1, 2005. The length of the article is 5160 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The second Romanian revolution will be televised: the TV show Dallas helped overthrow Ceausescu. Now gangsta rap and pop culture are driving out corrupt post-Soviet thugs.
Author: Matt Welch
Publication: Reason (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2005
Publisher: Reason Foundation
Volume: 37Issue: 5Page: 38(10)

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