The Hundred Thousand Fools of God: Musical Travels in Central Asia and Queens, New York Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

The Hundred Thousand Fools of God: Musical Travels in Central Asia and Queens, New York Book

When a Princeton-trained ethnomusicologist returns to follow up his studies in the Central Asian nations east of China and north of Afghanistan, he stumbles into a cornucopia of music, history, and religion. With a trusty guide called OM, Theodore Levin travels back and forth through the newly liberated cities and countryside of an ancient land that is home to such exotic names as Tashkent and Samarkand. Levin writes not only about his successes in identifying and recording the musical traditions of the area but also of the experiences of the people under Soviet rule, the myths that are kept alive through music, and the healers that use music as therapy. Levin finds a complex and colorful mix of ethnic and religious traditions where music unites Jew, Muslim, and shaman. The Hundred Thousand Fools of God is more than just a travel diary: it is a snapshot of an evolving culture. And the accompanying CD is divine. --Brian BruyaRead More

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    "This erudite, absorbing volume chronicles the travels of ethnomusicologist Theodore Levin through urban and rural Transoxania . . . He writes in evocative, imaginative, personalized prose that vividly captures the flavor of his everyday experiences, providing plush visual detail, trenchant character profiles, attention to perplexing local hospitality codes and the shaping hand of gender, throughout." --Slavic Review

    ". . . extremely informative, using music as a platform for a much wider discussion of cultural and political issues." --Times Literary Supplement, London

    "The subject is music, but Levin uses it to cast a wider light, revealing places of considerable sorrow long hidden in the shadows of Soviet power, and to create a travelogue with wide potential appeal. . . . Candor about his own uncertainties and personal struggles helps make this a personal as well as a scholarly adventure." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

    "Not to be missed by those interested in music and world culture . . . " --Library Journal

    ". . . may be destined to become the definitive work on the music of this newly accessed region." --Dirty Linen

    The Hundred Thousand Fools of God assembles a living musical and ethnographic map by highlighting the fate of traditions, beliefs, and social relationships in Muslim and Jewish Central Asian cultures during and after seventy years of Soviet rule. Theodore Levin evokes the spectacular physical and human geography of the area and weaves a rich ethnography of the life styles, values, and art of the musical performers. Photographs, maps, and an accompanying CD (featuring 24 on-site recordings) make The Hundred Thousand Fools of God a unique reading and listening experience.

  • 025321310X
  • 9780253213105
  • Theodore Levin
  • 1 March 1999
  • Indiana University Press
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 352
  • New edition
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