The Shield - Softcover

“The Shield is not merely a book about the Russian Jews. It is a marvelous revelation of the Russian soul. It shows not only that the overwhelming majority of the Russian intellectuals, including nearly all of her brilliant literary geniuses, are opposed to the persecution of the Jews or any other race, but that they have a capacity for sympathy and understanding of humanity unequalled in any other land. There is no book in Russia or abroad where the genius and heart of Russia is better displayed. Not only her leading litterateurs but also her leading statesmen and economists are represented - and all of them speak as with a single voice.”

“We cannot hope to understand the new Russia unless we understand the character and point of view of the Russian "intelligentsia," and this is nowhere so clearly, succinctly and interestingly set forth as in The Shield.” -- William English Walling

The Shield was edited by Maxim Gorky, Leonid Andreyev and Fyodor Sologub:

Maxim Gorky (1868-1936) was one of the greatest Russian writers. He inherited the best traditions of 19th century classical Russian literature and was at the same time the creator of a new art, socialist realism; he laid the foundations of the young Soviet Literature.

Between the two Revolutions of 1905 and 1917 Leonid Andreyev was without a doubt the foremost writer in Russia. His name was always spoken with veneration, in mysterious whispers, as a grim portentous magician who descended into the ultimate depths of the nether side of life and fathomed the beauty and tragedy of the struggle.

Fyodor Sologub was a novelist and poet - a considerable portion of his prose works has been made accessible to the English reader. Sologub’s poetic output includes lyrical pieces of rare beauty. He was born in 1864.