"a fascinating, mind expanding, highly informative magical mystery tour of a distinctive school of New Age thinking." -- ew York Journal of Books"The Cosmists were a peculiarly Russian group: they were all very Russian, and they were also, frankly, peculiar. In The Russian Cosmists, George M. Young charts in detail the influences that shaped an unusual coterie of thinkers, and explores how the mystical and scientific offspring of this movement to conquer death and traverse the cosmos have reverberated from the late nineteenth century to the dawn of the twenty-first."--Michael D. Gordin,Professor of History, Princeton University"George Young has given us a gift in this well-written and utterly engaging view of Russian Cosmist theories and their connections to the history of Western Esoteric thought. The book opens a doorway into another way of thinking that both challenges and expands contemporary perspectives on esotericism, magic, cosmology and 'active' evolutionary theory. The remarkable fact is that little of this material is recognized within the general history of esotericismand the Russian Cosmist perspective adds tremendous nuance and alterity to current paradigms.

Not only is this a sweeping historical survey, it also offers a rich selection of primary sources, citations,and persons that demonstrate the unique conceptual scientific and mystical frame for much Cosmist esoteric speculation. In terms of Russian esotericism, it is a unique and rare publication and deserves careful study and assimilation. Highly recommended!"--Lee Irwin, Professor of Religious Studies, College of Charleston"Cosmism and its quirky prophet, Nikolai Fedorov, are practically unknown in the West, but no understanding of spiritual trends in post-collapse Russia is complete without knowledge of them. George Young masterfully contextualizes Cosmist ideas, explains Fedorov's theory of humanity's 'Common Task' (overcoming death), and follows the evolution of his ideas in the work of religious, artistic, and scientific thinkers who came after him. Anyone wishing tounderstand the contemporary Russian mind must read Young's richly-contextualized study of Russian Cosmism and its representatives."--Maria Carlson, author of 'No Religion Higher Than Truth': A History of theTheosophical Movement in Russia, 1875-1922.