Background
BILLINGTON, James was born on June 1, 1929 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Nelson Billington and Jane Coolbaugh.
( In the turbulent decade since the collapse of the Sovie...)
In the turbulent decade since the collapse of the Soviet Union, conditions have worsened considerably for many Russians, and a wide-ranging debate has raged over the nature and destiny of their country. In Russia in Search of Itself, James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress and a noted expert on Russia, examines the efforts of a proud but troubled nation to find a post-Soviet identity. The agenda has not been controlled from the top-down and center-out as in Russia's past. Nor has it been set by any intellectual giant such as Sakharov or Solzhenitsyn. Billington describes the contentious discussion occurring all over Russia and across the political spectrum. He finds conflicts raging among individuals as much as between organized groups and finds a deep underlying tension between the Russians' attempts to legitimize their new, nominally democratic identity, and their efforts to craft a new version of their old authoritarian tradition. After showing how the problem of Russian identity was framed in the past, Billington asks whether Russians will now look more to the West for a place in the common European home, or to the East for a new, Eurasian identity. Billington sees three elements shaping Russian culture: Orthodox Christianity; a special feeling for nature; and an intermittent, sometimes excessive passion for imported innovation. Out of this mix, he suggests, Russia must find its own moral anchor for its venture into democracy if it is to avoid falling back on a negative and authoritarian nationalism in order to recreate some sense of common purpose in society. The prospects for world peace in the twenty-first century depend in large measure on the way Russians decide to define themselves in the next few years. Drawing on his vast knowledge of Russian history, his frequent visits to Russia in the past decade, and his longstanding relationships with Russians from many different regions and segments of society, Billington provides an authoritative exploration of one of the world's most pressing issues.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0801879760/?tag=2022091-20
(Written to accompany the Library of Congress bicentennial...)
Written to accompany the Library of Congress bicentennial exhibition, this lively biography of Thomas Jefferson explores the private and public life of the former president and author of Declaration of Independence, candidly confronting the conflicts between his ideals and his lifestyle. 25,000 first printing.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670889334/?tag=2022091-20
(Explores Russia's art and culture in relation to the coun...)
Explores Russia's art and culture in relation to the country's political processes
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1575001047/?tag=2022091-20
BILLINGTON, James was born on June 1, 1929 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Nelson Billington and Jane Coolbaugh.
Princeton University and University of Oxford.
Fellow, Russian Research Center 1958-1959, Assistant Professor, of History 1958-1961. Association Professor, of History, Princeton University 1962-1964, Professor 1964-1973. Director Woodrow Wilson Institute Center for Scholars, Washington, District of Columbia 1973-1987.
Librarian of Congress, Library of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia since 1987.
Visiting Research Professor Institute of History of Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics Academy, of Sciences 1966-1967, University of Helsinki 1960-1961, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris 1985, 1988. Visiting lecturer to various universities in Europe and Asia et cetera
Guggenheim Fellow 1960-1961.
Beginning as a student of Russian history he became director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and later the 13th Librarian of Congress. During his tenure at the Library of Congress, Billington doubled the size of the Library's traditional analog collections.
Billington pioneered the reconstruction, using privately raised funds, of Thomas Jefferson's original library. He enlarged and technologically enhanced public spaces of the Jefferson Building into a national exhibition venue, and hosted over 100 exhibitions, most featuring materials not previously displayed publicly in the United States.
He received the Gwangwa Medal of the Republic of Korea in 1991, the Woodrow Wilson Award from Princeton University in 1992, and the Knight Commander's Cross of Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany in 1996. He was awarded the Order of Friendship by the President of the Russian Federation (2008), the highest order that a foreign citizen may receive.
(Written to accompany the Library of Congress bicentennial...)
( In the turbulent decade since the collapse of the Sovie...)
(Explores Russia's art and culture in relation to the coun...)
American Academy, of Arts and Sciences, Council on Foreign Relations.
Married Marjorie A. Brennan in 1957.
