The New Revised Edition is a more potent translation, benefiting from a much deeper understanding of Anastasia's intent, gained over the 3-year translation process by the translator John Woodsworth and editor Dr Leonid Sharashkin.
In this new edition the emotional impact and feeling content of the original Russian has been more powerfully expressed for the English reader. The text of Book 1, Anastasia, has had over 500 subtle changes made to it – including the addition of more footnotes. The remainder of the volumes have had fewer revisions.
The First Edition covers were not commissioned works. The artist – an entomologist specializing in the study of butterflies – was inspired to produce these images after reading the books in the original Russian. The publisher – Dr Leonid Sharashkin – selected these images for their authenticity of feeling – especially the artist's obvious reverence for Nature.
People often judge a book by its cover. For example – many have assumed these books to be children's books or fantasy novels. The image of a “white” woman in a short dress was found to be offensive to some nationalities. Major international wholesalers said they would not distribute books with such covers because the “Russian look and feel” suggested a story not necessarily appealing or applicable to Western readers. The list goes on…
In summary, since the books contain such important and valuable information, relevant to readers everywhere in the world, the publisher has released the New Revised Edition in “new clothes”, with the hope that many more people will be able to enjoy these books.
An extraordinary amount of care and thought went into the preparation of this New Edition.
Because the energy encoded in these books has the power to deeply penetrate the psyche and awaken ancient memory – it was felt most desirable that the cover images should avoid setting up any pre-conceived images in the mind of a potential reader – that might distract or predjudice the opportunity for this experience. The Original Edition covers suffer from this to a certain extent – by just depicting certain events from the story – and making it easy for a potential reader to assume that the books are just that – a “story” – when in fact they are actually “a life-changing experience” – and thereby possibly miss the much deeper message that they contain.
New cover images were created to reflect the powerful energy coursing through and enlivening all of Nature – something that Anastasia repeatedly says we urgently need to reconnect with. Each image was chosen for it's underlying symbolism related to the content of the particular book. These images were set against a black background to further make them visually “pop” – like stars against an inky black sky.
The New Revised Edition books have also been printed on Forest Stewardship Council certified papers with vegetable (non-soy) inks. The soft flexible covers have a washable anti-scuff protective coating, and 4" return flaps, making them less prone to cover curl and edge damage, and should prove very robust, given that these books are reportedly being read, shared and re-read many times by lots of people.
There is a quote from Anastasia and a note about the symbolism of the cover image on the inside front flap, a brief “About the Ringing Cedars Series” on the inside rear flap and the back cover text conveys “a taste” of what awaits the reader in the book.
The New Revised Edition is available as a discounted full-set. This is the most economical way to access this amazing information. You may also order the New Revised Edition titles individually. It is recommended that you read them all in sequence.
The First Edition is now only available as a Complete Set of the 9 books. You can order it here while stocks last.