Stephen Leach. A Russian Perspective on Theoretical Archaeology: The Life and Work of Leo S. Klejn (Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2015, 221pp., 11 figs., ISBN 978-1-62958-138-5)

Abstract

Having started working in archaeology, he turned to broader issues such as philosophy, specifically epistemology. Given Klejn's scholarship in archaeological theory and philosophy, a better candidate for writing this book can hardly be imagined. A Russian Perspective is composed of two parts and two appendices. In Part One ('Life Story'), comprised of three chapters (Chs 1-3, 'Before Prison', 'Prison', and 'After Prison'), Leach details Klejn's background and intellectual upbringing, as well as some of the major events shaping his life and thinking, such as his imprisonment for homosexuality in 1981 for political reasons at a time when he was gaining international recognition. Part Two ('Life's Work') discusses Klejn's work on eight key themes: 'Anthropology' (Ch. 4), 'Homeric Studies' (Ch. 5), 'The Resurrection of Perun' (Ch. 6), devoted to Slavic paganism, 'Ethnogenesis' (Ch. 7), 'Histories of Archaeology' (Ch. 8), focused on the 'New Archaeology',