Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski (1876–1945)
Author of Beasts, Men and Gods
About the Author
Image credit: From Wikipedia
Works by Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski
Tchar Aziza 2 copies
Slaves of the Sun 2 copies
Asie fantôme : Le pays du tigre - A travers la Sibérie sauvage 1898-1905 (grands caractères) (2008) 2 copies
PÅ DE STORA VIDDERNA 1 copy
Wanko z Lisowa 1 copy
Mas Allá de la Gran Muralla 1 copy
El Capitán blanco 1 copy
Lidé, zvířata, bohové 1 copy
Za čínskou zdí : román 1 copy
Bílý kapitán 1 copy
Asie fantôme : L'île fantôme suivi de A l'ombre du Grand Altaï - A travers la Sibérie sauvage 1898-1905 (grands… (2009) 1 copy
Biesy : powieść 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Ossendowski, Antoni Ferdynand
- Other names
- Tschertwan, Mark
- Birthdate
- 1876-05-27
- Date of death
- 1945-01-03
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Poland
- Birthplace
- Lucyn, Poland
Ludza, Latvia - Place of death
- Żółwin, Poland
- Occupations
- journalist
traveller
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Statistics
- Works
- 37
- Members
- 301
- Popularity
- #78,062
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 12
- ISBNs
- 85
- Languages
- 9
Given how it came into my possession, you can imagine my surprise that Ungern isn't even mentioned until page 83, and then only in passing. The first part of the book is the adventure of how its author escaped eastern Russia in 1922. It was a brutal time. General Kolchak had already been captured and executed, his body slipped beneath the ice of the Angara River along with the bodies of so many others. The Whites had lost Russia, and the Reds were hunting men like dogs. Ossendowski intended to flee east, through China to freedom. And so much of the book is a telling of his escape from Russia and his initial failures at fleeing further east. Along the way, he tells a few strange stories of lamas he met, and the miracles they worked.
Ultimately he arrives in Baron Ungern's capital, Urga, where Ungern ruled alongside the living Buddha, the blind Bogd Khan, the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, then the third most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Ossendowski reports long conversations with Ungern and documents reported oracles from the Bogd Khan, when he retreated into his inner temple to talk with the gods. The book closes with a section on Agharti and the King of the World. One wonders how accurate all of this is, whether Ossendowski would really have such access and whether members of Bogd Khan's court would really translate for a wandering Pole. I don't know how any of it compares to authentic Buddhist teaching, although in these days, when anyone who can afford to can hear the Dali Lama speak in a college amphitheater, one could probably find out. But it made for interesting and enjoyable reading that influenced twentieth century thinking in the west, even if it was false.
Throughout the work Ungern is aware of his impending death. Not long after Ossendowski finally fled Urga, Ungern was betrayed to the Reds and shot.
Ossendowski has much to say about the awakening east. He was right in a way. The east did awaken, but it did not unite under the old leaders. Instead, Mongolia created its own Soviet Socialist Republic. After another few decades China fell to Mao. Rather than unite behind a mysterious local religious leader the east adopted a weird foreign millennialist cult, Communism.
The Bogd Khan was allowed to live out his reign, which lasted only two more years. I wondered if the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu reincarnated because, unlike the Dali Lama and the drama surrounding the abduction of the Panchen Lama, I hadn't heard of this office. As it turns out, the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu secretly reincarnated in 1933, but his existence was kept secret until 1990, when, after the collapse of the USSR, the Dali Lama considered it safe to reveal him. The ninth Jebtsundamba Khutughtu passed away in 2012, and the Dali Lama reportedly began searching for his reincarnation in Mongolia in 2016.
In short, not the book I went out looking for, but enjoyable nonetheless. I might read more Ossendowski, but will keep looking for a book on Ungern.… (more)