5 comments about Behind the Urals: An American Worker in Russia's City of Steel.

1. John Scott gives us the reader an interesting point of view of Stalin's Soviet Union. His epic journey is not one to bew taken lkightly. He was in an era when disillusionment was high -- the Great Depression and he believed in the fream of work, even in the figid vastlands of the Urals. Scott gives a good account of what wlife was like, but the book goes by either very quickly or very slowly and does not capture a medium of speed that is accpetable to some readers. However, it is a brittlant account of first hand experence if you are looking for suh an account, Scott is your man.



2. This is a great first hand accont of Stalinism at work. John Scott five year experience in Russia gives us a fairly good overview of some of the accomplishments (such as increase production of pig iron three fold in a decade) and also the problems usually involving poor planning or lack of materials. Scott as an American working in Russia gives us an unusual perspective that is quite refreshing. His writing is easy to read and includes many entertaining and revealing anecdotes. Also his writing is not bogged down by the didactic language and relentless facts that plague most works of history. True there is a history of Magnitogorsk that drags a bit but it is over soon enough. Generally, this is considered the definative work on everyday Stalinism



3. This book is a first-person account of work life in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Disenchanted with opportunities in Depression America in 1931, Scott takes off for the Workers' Paradise. He finds a job as a welder building the massive steelworks in the new Soviet city of Magnitogorsk in the Ural Mountains. Altogether, he spent six years living and working in Magnitogorsk until he lost his job due to Stalin's purges.

   The conditions that Scott found himself working in are simply incredible. He rose well before dawn and went to work outdoors in -30 degree temperatures with no breakfast. Lunch, the major meal of the day, was a hunk of bread and some watery soup with perhaps a slice of tough meat. Work place injuries were extremely common, due to the cold, lack of food and lack of training or safety equipment. For example, Scott describes an incident where he was working high above the ground and saw something, or rather, somebody, go sailing past only to the pipes below. As a foreigner, Scott knew some first aid, so he was always called on to care for such injuries when they occurred at the work site. In addition to describing work life and living conditions, Scott also discusses the educational and training systems that were in place and spare time activities such as vacations. He also includes some anecdotes about ex-pat workers who he met in Magnitogorsk.

   Scott remains objective throughout the book, making the message of the book extremely powerful, much more so than if he had pressed political arguments or personal viewpoints. A particularly interesting facet of the book is its discussion of the purges of the 1930s and speculation on their cause. Few other outsiders were living inside Soviet society at the time, so Scott's views can be uniquely enlightening about how Soviets perceived what was happening to their society and why. Scott identifies several possible causes for the purges, but seems to place great emphasis on the fear of foreign saboteurs and does not mention Stalin's personality at all as a possible cause. Area specialists and historians will find much of interest in this book, as will casual readers.




4. Other reviewers have done a good job pointing out the positives of this book; it's a unique look at a moment in history in a region most westerners have never heard of. One issue that needs to be made clear, however, is that this book is under no circumstance to be considered unbiased. In reference to Stalin's purges, John Scott makes such statements in as "Often they tried the wrong people, but in Russia this is relatively unimportant" and "Most of these people were innocent, but some were guilty, and some might have become excellent Nazi fifth-columnists. Stalin considered this investment a good one" without a hint of remorse. He plays the apologist, by constantly citing figures like pig iron production or cement tonnage, which are somehow supposed to negate the Stalinist terrors. Yes, the author is a victim of that same blind denial that kept Jews in concentration camps and the Gulag full of innocent Soviets. After reading Eugenia Semyonovna Ginzburg's "Journey Into the Whirlwind", her account of her life in Stalin's prison system, I almost felt physically ill when I reexamined "Behind the Urals". I can not blame Scott for what so many other Soviets fell victim to, the Cult of Stalin, but you have to go into this book with the mindset you would an uncritical book about the wonders of arms production in Nazi Germany. "Behind the Urals" is full of history, but it needs a liberal dose of critical interpretation, and an understandings that his political views should best be taken as an historical curiosity.



5. A very good account of life in 1930s Russia under the Bolshevik regime led by Lenin and then Stalin. Stalin's policies of collectivism of agriculture and rapid industrialization is very apparent throughout the book. What stands out is the dim view held by many Russian citizens of the capitalistic society of western nations including the United States which is clearly exploited by Stalin to pursue his objectives of social engineering and absolute power. You even find yourself buying into Stalin's propoganda as seems to be the case with the author, John Scott. But Stalin's brutal tactics must not be overlooked. He does create impressive cities and a very strong army, but at a great cost to the Russian people.

2 comments about Berlitz Moscow and St. Petersburg Pocket Guide (Berlitz Pocket Guides S.).

1. So our first day in Moscow we lost our dictionary and our big travel guide and had to resort to this little thing I had picked up. It was full of everything we needed and got us through 2 weeks of trolling around Moscow and St. Pete on student budgets.
   
   The train maps were extremely useful. I was constantly pulling this thing out of my back pocket to find out what exit we needed to take. The city maps are pretty good too.
   
   All the suggestions were great and pretty easy to find. Thanks to this book, I was finally able to see a Russian circus with dancing bears and bears driving motorcycles with dogs on the back, which is really the only thing anybody ever wants to do over there.
   
   The vocabulary section is kinda useful, but you may have to resort to just showing them the words. If you're ordering food, I reccommend the shotgun approach we took: just point to stuff on the menu. It'll all work out in the end.
   
   I wouldn't say that this should be your only resource for preparing your trip, but it's definitely the only thing you'll need on you while you're actually walking around the country. That and your passport. Those Russian cops are crooks.



2. The guide was exactly what we needed to get a basic familiarity for an upcoming trip to Russia.

5 comments about The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom.

1. This book was impossible to put down. If I hadn't known it was a true story, I would have thought it fiction. The human spirit and longing for freedom is truly the basis for their endeavor.



2. After reading snippets of this book for years, I finally got it. The story was interesting and entertaining from the initial captivity in the European prisoner camp, through the trek to the Siberian camp, until the end of the long walk that led from Siberia to freedom.



3. Well, the story itself may be untrue, and come to a point where it's even farcical in what it tries to put over on readers (seeing a pair of menacing yetis in the Himalayas while crossing the mountains in winter with all of rusty wire and animal dung as provisions). But! This is a moot point, because as a tale, it's first-rate. If you can allow the fraud (and there's no real reason to get upset about it), there are large rewards to be had from The Long Walk. The story of the trek to freedom is incredible and very compelling, page b' page. The prose isn't the best, but it serves its singular point well in keeping the action moving and gripping. It's entirely designed in this way, to be a terrific story, and true or not, it only assists itself with all its narrative tendencies.



4. This book has been thoroughly reviewed on Amazon already. I add this review in the hopes on contributing something to the discussion.
   
   This is the story of Slavomir Rawicz, a Polish cadet who was arrested by the Soviets on false charges and sentenced to prison in Siberia for 25 years, and of his amazing escape south, across 4,000 miles past Lake Baikal, through Mongolia, across the Gobi Desert, over the Himalayas, and finally into British India. The book is engaging, extremely well-written, heart-breaking and inspiring.
   
   The problem is that it may not be true. I agree with other commenters that the book loses all of its value as an inspirational story if it was fabricated. My five-star review assumes that it is true.
   
   Critics of the book can rely on two types of evidence: internal and external. (I reject objections that such a journey is impossible. Modern adventurers have retraced Rawicz' steps; granted, they were much better equipped, but they also weren't fleeing for their lives).
   
   The external evidence shows that Rawicz was released from prison and sent back to Poland; that the British (probably) have no record of Rawicz or his companions arriving from the Tibetan plateau; that no one has ever located or identified his companions. The first objection can be met by pointing out that the Soviet Cheka was not necessarily above forging documents, especially if necessary to avoid a humiliating admission that seven prisoners escaped. The second objection is undermined by the history of the book's criticisms -- for years, people pointed out that the Soviets had no record of Rawicz' imprisonment at all. The discovery of his papers is a dramatic illustration that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
   
   The final point is simply a mystery. One would expect that Rawicz's companions would try to contact him after the book was published. But that assumes his companions survived long enough to do so -- they arrived in India in 1942, and the book was not published until 1956. It is possible they died, or returned to their homes in communist countries and never saw the book, or were imprisoned again. Of course, all we can do is speculate.
   
   For me, the more interesting question concerns the internal evidence. Is Rawicz' description of a Soviet prison camp consistent with actual practice? When Rawicz crossed the border into Mongolia, he described a series of signs marking the border -- is his description accurate? He describes the clothing, houses and certain material culture in Mongolia, China and Tibet -- is it consistent with local practice at that time?
   
   Adventurer Peter Fleming supposedly challenged the internal evidence as unrealistic shortly after the book was published, but I have not found a copy of Fleming's specific charges, so I cannot evaluate them. In addition, according to a wikipedia article on Rawicz, Fleming supposedly discovered military records that contradicted Rawicz' claims. One must wonder why Fleming would bother with such external evidence if he thought the case against the internal evidence was so clear.



5. Rawicz's trek is an amazing story, and a great read. His voice comes through so strongly, and authentically that you find ourself with him almost every step of his journey.

1 comments about A Journey to the End of the Russian Empire (Penguin Great Journeys).

1. Anton Chekhov never sat down and wrote a discrete book titled A JOURNEY TO THE FAR END OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, but he did take an eventful journey from Moscow to the island of Sakhalin, the eastern most reach of the empire, in 1890, which he recorded in letters to family and friends and in the report he was commissioned to write regarding the island settlement. Penguin editors have excerpted the letters to describe Chekhov's journey to his destination and draw on the report for what he found at his destination. Together, these parts create a satisfying, often astonishing travelogue and social statement.
   
   Chekhov left Moscow in April and the letters begin with his arrival a month later in Tomsk, on the western side of Asiatic (Siberian) Russia. The letters are full of the humor, insights, wonder and conventions that are prized in the genre. Chekhov's narrative voice is addictive. It becomes clear that the route he follows, first by land and then by boat on the Amur, the river that borders China, that late 19th century Asiatic Russia had more than a little in common with the American Wild West of the same period. The Russians pushed eastward usurping land and natural resources from native tribes. Sakhalin, a long desolate island north of Japan, was taken for penal colonies and its coal deposits. In his report, Chekhov ehcoes Dickens and presages Orwell as he considers the condition of the prisoners, those who imprison them and the native Gilyaks. It is an incredible statement about humanity and inhumanity in an inhospitable place far from civilization.

5 comments about Tuva or Bust! Richard Feynman's Last Journey.

1. A peculiar book: Ralph Leighton's TUVA OR BUST isn't really about Richard Feynman, who, the more one reads about him, begins to seem a genius, yes, but more than a little insufferable. He does instigate this whimsical notion of visiting Tannu Tuva (which had become Tuvinskaya of the U.S.S.R. [the book takes place from the late 1970s to Feynman's death in 1989]), but the ball is picked up by Leighton, and Feynman is merely a supporting actor in the book.
   
   The quest carries itself through many frustrations, mostly having to do w/ the hermetic paranoia of the Soviet Union, which seems to work like an enormous rural county: If you know someone, then things can be smoothed out; if not, then the official channels will be little help.
   
   I'm not sure why anyone would read this book. There's no reason to if you're interested in Feynman, because, besides his concoctions to fit in at Esalen, amongst the New Age mumbo-jumbo, his mind is absent from the book. His personality & his drumming are there on occasion, but Feynman's thinking, no.
   
   Leighton is not intrinsically interesting, and though a fluent writer, gives little sense of character. All the foreigners are forgettable, so the index is very handy. When a name turns up on page 150, say, then one can look it up to see which person this is.
   
   As one reads, one begins to have the same thoughts about oneself that one has about Leighton's attempts to visit Tuva: Why am I going on?. Moreover, I think that one comes up with the same answer: Just to get through the damn thing. By the time that Leighton reaches Tuva (without Feynman, who died just a smidgen too soon), the appearance is anti-climactic, and the land is colorless: A Nevada trailer-park suburb, but with yurts instead of double-wides.
   
   TUVA OR BUST! becomes a critique of bureaucracy. The slow, spirit-killing, mind-numbing bureaucracy of the Soviet Union ensured that Feynman would die without reaching Tuva. Our world, in which stupid little men can control our lives, is death to the spirit, and is death to the spirit of Feynman, insufferable though he may be, and inexplicably kow-towed to by everyone (you get the feeling that Feynman never opens a door for anyone or shuts one for himself).
   
   TUVA OR BUST!, in its pedestrian prose, preaches, unwittingly, I think, for a freedom for whimsy, for the spirit, for the individual. At the same time, excepting the author and his male friends (his wife is also colorless), the book has no individuals. So, by the end, nothing: No Tuva to speak of, no more Feynman, nothing but an accomplishment to scratch off the list.



2. I would never had read this book had I not recently had the chance to see Huun Huur Tu, a throat-singing voice from Tuva. But now that I am fascinated by this little-known, remote area along the Russian-Mongolian border, I found this book very entertaining. It chronicles the enormous challege of trying to visit such a remote land in the days before Glasnost and a fascinating cast of characters at its heart.
   I think my only complaint is that the book loses steam at the end, which I guess is understandable, given the fate of its main protagonist. But overall, it is a wonderful testament to a group of brilliant folks, who spend years trying to follow through on a quest.



3. If you are a fan of Richard Feynman, the nuclear physicist that dreamed of going to Tuva, you will just love this video. If you know nothing of Mr. Feynman, you will still enjoy it. It tells the story of Paul Pena's visit to Tuva in a delightful way. You will like seeing the culture of these peaceful, music-loving people.



4. It was all just accidental. I stumbled upon this book through a documentary that I rented, called Ganghis Blues. I like all types of music and thought "A documentary about Blues music, cool..." After realizing what a fortune of life I had found in this movie, I was drawn to everything TUVA. SO, to the book I go. The book of course came before the documentary, and obviously was an influence in the boys who produced it. When was the last time a book did something for your soul? This one touches your soul, your heart and your longing to achieve a goal or live out a dream. Aaaah. I loved it.



5. I am a confirmed Feynman fan and even met him a couple of times. I was eager to learn more about him and his travels. The subtitle promised details of his "last journey", which, it turns out, he never made. Instead, I was bored with insipid details of the author's attempts to arrange a trip to the USSR and other assorted junk. It did not even spend much time on Tuva itself, but on unrelated trivia. It was apparent that the author was immensely more interested in the trip than Feynman, and that even he wasn't interested enough to stay at it to fruition. The author trades on the Feynman name to shamelessly promote the book and con the reader into plodding through endless drivel. Don't bother.

No comments about Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and its People.

4 comments about Russia & Belarus (Lonely Planet Travel Guides).

1. So you have already seen the present (Moscow) and former (St. Petersburg) capital, and now you would like to see the "real Russia", or you have an airplane conference to attend in Kazan, or you have adopted a child from Murmansk, or you are meeting a prospective bride from Magadan (don't laugh--whenever I answer questions from people who are traveling to regions outside of Moscow/St. Petersburg, 80% are going for adoption or marriage!). There are almost no current guidebooks to regions such as Perm, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Volgograd, Crimea, Minsk, and the Far East. The 'Lonely Planet Russia and Ukraine' has the largest area coverage of any guide currently published in English.

   It is also ideal for those taking a river cruise between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

   The coverage of the famed Trans-Siberian route is ok, although I think the 'Trans-Siberian Handbook' and 'Siberian Bam Guide : Rail, Rivers & Road' do a better job for those particular regions.

   The Moscow/St. Petersburg sections are ok as well, although anyone spending more than a few days in each of those cities should look into guides that cover only those cities.

   Restaurant, hotel and travel information are good, although could use more details. The history sections are adequate considering the scope of the book. Also, the twice-yearly updates at Lonely Planet's web site, although lacking in breadth and depth, provide some more timely information than what appears in the book.

   Marc David Miller, Discovering Russia, New York




2. The only problem with this book is that if you're planning to travel just to an area of Russia, you won't need as much information of others. Russia is huge so the place you're travelling to, probably just will have a couple of paragraphs....



3. There is a wealth of information in this book but some of the information is way off. For example the restaurant Lechaim is said to be "excellent" and the cooking is "served in hearty portions". I got a small portion of fish, two soups and salad for an outrageous price of $50. LP warns that prices change but the book is only a few months old. Also the authors are overly sensitive about fitting in by suggesting that you use a plastic bag like the locals instead of a backpack to carry your things. First of all what is wrong with looking like a foreigner? Are they suggesting that Russians don't like foreigners? Anyway many locals use back packs. I also didn't get stopped by police outside the Moscow railway station. The book sanctions some level of paranoia possibly to protect themselves. Maps are accurate and so are many of the museum schedules. I would suggest trying some of the restaurants not mentioned in the book. You can find some good food that way.



4. What to say about Belarus? Well, we spent the day the White Russkis commemmorate the end of WWII there, so I've seen it in all of its "grandeur". Not much to recommend it, go and see Belarus if you missed out on the post WWII East European dictatorships, because Belarus is the last of its kind. A genuine personality cult around the president runs politics, and you can get a feel for what it was like in 1970's E. Europe. Guess what- you will not like it. Take some pics of Minsk & move on to Moscow. And if you can find a decent hotel in Minsk, you've done better than my wife and I did.

5 comments about Moscow (Lonely Planet City Guides).

1. I took this book with me to Moscow this summer. Except for prices and museum hours (which change rapidly), the guide was very accurate. It offers lots of great budget restaurants and shopping places. It has very clear and easy to follow maps of the center of Moscow. However, it has very poor, tiny, black and white maps (if any), of the outer sections of the city (Such as Sparrow Hills). If you plan to spend any time in the outer fringes of the city, you may want to consider purchasing an additional map. Overall, the guide was excellent and rarely left me stranded.



2. This has been replaced by an updated edition. Search for 1864503599, or look under "Our Customers' Advice" above. It is still a great guide for your journey of Discovering Russia.

   We always tell clients and other visitors to Russia that you should get the most current guidebook, as attractions, hotels, restaurants and transportation options do often change--AND THEN VERIFY THE INFORMATION!

   Marc David Miller, Discovering Russia, New York




3. The Lonely Planet Moscow guide was extremely enjoyable to read and provided excellent maps, though a magnifying glass was necessary to read the details. My only qualm with the book was that despite having a recent publication date of March 2003, some of the details were out-of-date. Specifically, the Metropol Hotel was listed as part of the Intercontinental chain with an intercontinental e-mail but when I called Intercontinental I was informed that they sold ownership of the hotel several years ago (current e-mail is metropol@metmos.ru). Thus, I recommend the book as good reading but for detailed planning caution is necessary.
   
   PS: This problem was not unique to this volume. We experienced a similar problem with other books in the series.



4. I traveled to Moscow in 2003 and 2004 and took this book both times. I honestly don't think I could have survived without it. Since I spent numerous weeks in Moscow I covered a lot of territory and especially took advantage of a lot of the information provided in LP, including the info on sites in outer Moscow. Moscow is a wonderful city, but can be confusing and sometimes a little dangerous. However, I found the maps very helpful for making my way around, and especially the map of the metro. The restaurant listings are helpful as well (the descriptions of Georgian food are dead on, it's really that good), though because I lived in dorms I didn't have much experience with the hotels. Prices for museums or other attractions are iffy since they do change a lot but this book was a must for both of my trips.



5. Good book to give you the general idea of what to expect in Moscow. The book did some what explain that the Russians have figured out how to milk you of your money part of capitalism The subay section is right on the money as well as the Arabat section. I stayed in the Arabat section of Moscow so I can not comment on the other location descriptions. However one would thing that the other sections were just as good. Pick up a week or two before you leave and spend an hour or so each day and read it and plot your days. Lots to see and not enough day or night in your time to see it all.

4 comments about Saint Petersburg: Museums, Palaces, and Historic Collections: A Guide to the Lesser Known Treasures of St. Petersburg (Museum Guides).

1. I began reading Cathy Giandrande's little guide to St. Petersburg with a great deal of skepticism. As I kept exploring the book, all my doubts quickly disappeared. That alone came to me as a surprise. Unlike most Russians who still suffer from a mild identity disorder, Petersburgers have a strong sense of local patriotism and know what they are and what their city is about. From time to time, their patriotism mutates into a peculiar kind of city chauvinism. It is taken for granted that no temporary visitor, be he or she from Moscow or Paris, can know the city or truly appreciate it. I am no different. As a Petersburger, I would never think that an outsider, least a foreigner, least someone from a culture many Russians perceive as hostile and extremely russophobic, would be able to put together a concise guide to the lesser known museums and landmarks of the city and do it in such a low key, friendly and unbiased manner, that the final work is a joy to read and is more useful from any practical standpoint of city exploration than many far weightier and thicker "serious" guides.

   Cathy Giangrande's St. Petersburg is a guide to the city museums and lesser-known landmarks. If the author "missed" any museums, then I have a feeling, that she excluded them deliberately because they are so obscure (like the Museum of Armed Forces Medical Academy) that almost no locals are aware of their existence. On the other hand, the guidebook contains information on some really obscure museums, such as the new private museum of toys.

   The book is a journey of exploration and is a pleasure to read "as is" from cover to cover. Alternately, it can be used as a helpful reference manual.

   The guidebook has its own share of minor irritants, such as the occasional misspelling of French and English words transliterated backwards, but they are not very significant.

   The book is beautifully printed on high quality paper and is richly illustrated with color photographs. It contains a helpful map or rather an outline plan of the central part of the city, a schematic plan of St. Petersburg region, and a well-designed plan of St.Petersburg "Metro" (or the city's subway system). All museum and landmark entries include detailed address and contact information, and indicate the nearest subway or suburban train station.

   Among all foreign languages guides and books on St. Petersburg, that I ever came across, this one is the only work that is worth translating into Russian. Even locals would find this book a great aid in exploring their own city.




2. I began reading Cathy Giandrande's little guide to St. Petersburg with a great deal of skepticism. As I kept exploring the book, all my doubts quickly disappeared. That alone came to me as a surprise. Unlike most Russians who still suffer from a mild identity disorder, Petersburgers have a strong sense of local patriotism and know what they are and what their city is about. From time to time, their patriotism mutates into a peculiar kind of city chauvinism. It is taken for granted that no temporary visitor, be he or she from Moscow or Paris, can know the city or truly appreciate it. I am no different. As a Petersburger, I would never think that an outsider, least a foreigner, least someone from a culture many Russians perceive as hostile and extremely russophobic, would be able to put together a concise guide to the lesser known museums and landmarks of the city and do it in such a low key, friendly and unbiased manner, that the final work is a joy to read and is more useful from any practical standpoint of city exploration than many far weightier and thicker "serious" guides.
   Cathy Giangrande's St. Petersburg is a guide to the city museums and lesser-known landmarks. If the author "missed" any museums, then I have a feeling, that she excluded them deliberately because they are so obscure (like the Museum of Armed Forces Medical Academy) that almost no locals are aware of their existence. On the other hand, the guidebook contains information on some really obscure museums, such as the new private museum of toys.

   The book is a journey of exploration and is a pleasure to read "as is" from cover to cover. Alternately, it can be used as a helpful reference manual.

   The guidebook has its own share of minor irritants, such as the occasional misspelling of French and English words transliterated backwards, but they are not very significant.

   The book is beautifully printed on high quality paper and is richly illustrated with color photographs. It contains a helpful map or rather an outline plan of the central part of the city, a schematic plan of St. Petersburg region, and a well-designed plan of St.Petersburg "Metro" (or the city's subway system). All museum and landmark entries include detailed address and contact information, and indicate the nearest subway or suburban train station.

   Among all foreign languages guides and books on St. Petersburg, that I ever came across, this one is the only work that is worth translating into Russian. Even locals would find this book a great aid in exploring their own city.




3. As the founder of a company devoted to business and cultural travel to Russia, it pains me that so many tourists come to St. Petersburg for a day or two and only visit the Hermitage, Peterhof, and a ballet. Russia is like a Fabergé egg-a beautiful exterior with a hard-to-open but spectacular hidden interior. Among the little known gems in St. Petersburg are the Museum of Theatrical and Musical Arts, the Nabokov Museum (former residence of Vladimir Nabokov), the Russian Ethnographic Museum, the Rimskii-Korsakov Memorial Apartment-Museum, the History of Religion Museum (formerly the "Anti-Religion Museum), the recently-opened Museum of Toys, and the Museum of Russian Vodka. All these treasures and more are fondly catalogued in Cathy Giangrande's Saint Petersburg: Museums Palaces and Historic Collections (Museums).
   
   To appreciate this book a traveler needs to understand the unintentional irony of the chapter titled "Also well worth a visit are ..." listing the Hermitage Museum, one of the world's premier cultural treasures (and the most popular tourist site in Russia). It makes a great companion to such guides as DK Eyewitness's St. Petersburg guidebook (far more sights and coverage of the Hermitage, but without lengthy descriptions of lesser-known museums).
   
   Its small size makes this a "laptray book", but for the visitor in body or spirit to St. Petersburg is just as enthralling as a five pound coffee table book. One-to-four pages are devoted to each of the over 40 lesser known attractions in St. Petersburg. Each listing had a clear address, directions, phone and web site (if available).
   
   Books like this will help St. Petersburg, and Russia, become one of the world's premier tourist destinations in the next 10 years. There are literally thousands of such treasures throughout Russia as these listed here, but few people know about them. Truly, this book will help anyone interested in truly discovering Russia.



4. I happened on this wonderful book by reading all the reviews written by one of its reviewers. It is small, light weight and so very easy to use. The pictures are beautiful. We went to St. Petersburg last December with the book in hand. Each night we decided where to go the next day. Planning is important because each museum is usually closed at least one day a week. Unfortunately the museums were so interesting, that we often stayed way longer than we planned to. We never would have gone to some of the museums had we not had this little book. We especially liked the maps showing the ocation of each museum in relation to the others. Because of this book, we will return to St. Petersburg in the off season and enjoy many more of its amazing little museums -- after all what better way is there to spend a cold December day?

5 comments about From Nyet to Da: Understanding the Russians (Interact Series).

1. Having lived and studied in Russia and being married to a Russian I am able to appreciate the tremendous understanding of the Russians by the author. this is a must read book if you intend to travel there, live there or marry someone who lives there; it will save you from making many mistakes or false assumptions. It is well written, concise , easy to read and inexpensive. Essential reading.



2. A client who lived throughout Russia for around ten years and still conducts most of his business with Russians recommended this book to me. This is a good book, but a little too reliant on history in explaining present day Russian culture. The book really shines when talking about the Russians outside Moscow, but more and more the Moscow business elite seem to take their cue more from the New York or London elite than from their peasant ancestors, as this book contends. Overall, however, this book is as good any for gaining a better understanding of Russians and the Russian bureaucracy.



3. My wife is Russian and this book really helped me understand the cultural issues that sometimes baffle both of us. It really helped to give me insight into her culture. This is an excellent read. I'd particularly recommend it to anyone that does business with Russians.



4. I began reading this book before leaving on my first mission trip to Russia. I finished it upon my return. The portion I read before the trip was helpful to me in my interaction with the Russian people. The remainder of the book was confirmed by my recent observations and experiences.
   
   This title is very good investment for anyone traveling to Russia or seeking to gain a better understanding of the Russian people.



5. In my opinion an accurate explanation of working with people, from a man experienced in Russia. It would seem this is common sense when dealing with ANY unfamiliar peoples or culture, but from this perspective an enjoyable and nicely written piece.