No comments about Russia (Travel Through).

No comments about Eastern Europe: Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria (Fodor's Travel Guides).

No comments about The Russians on the Amur; Its Discovery, Conquest, and Colonisation.

No comments about The Companion Guide to St Petersburg (Companion Guides).

No comments about The Great Siberian Railway from St. Petersburg to Pekin.

4 comments about Cracks in the Iron Closet: Travels in Gay & Lesbian Russia.

1. as a student in russia and eastern european studies, Tuller's book casts much needed light on the stuggles of gays and lesbians in Russia. it has helped me to more fully understand the russian mind and soul. thank you



2. Tuller gives remarkable insights into the modern world of Gay and Lesbian Russia. He takes the reader to a world of transexual lesbians, weekends in the country, and a sexual identity just gestating, waiting to be born. It was very enjoyable reading, and even for the heterosexual reader, it gives excellent insights into the dramatic changes that occured in Russia after 1991 -- all of it explained on a personal level.



3. Through a lovely, personal account, Tuller invites the reader to see the West from a Russian point of view. Here, a gay reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle came to Russia to study the so-called gay and lesbian movement there only to fall in love with Ksyusha, a mercurial lesbian. As we too fall in love, Tuller, a sensitive and insightful writer, subtly liberates, allowing human experience to be more mysterious, comic, delicious, and tragic than the acceptance of appearances or the application of trite, political labels permit.



4. Dave Tuller captures the essence of our experience but you sort of had to be there. Remember, this was 1992 Russia. We were followed by KGB the whole time because we dared have a "kiss-in" in front of Moscow City Hall. A whole bunch of gay/bi/straight radicals demanding fair treatment in that environment, it was crazy. He also misses the visit to the AIDS ward where we met people who had not been touched, hugged or kissed since they were locked up. It was heartbreaking.
   
   Dave's a good friend, a good writer, and a great photographer. Well worth reading.

No comments about Russia and Iran in the Great Game: Travelogues and Orientalism (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Historyá).

4 comments about Waiting for Winter to End: An Extraordinary Journey Through Soviet Central Asia.

1. If you want a view of Central Asia from someone who knows nothing about it, then here's your book. Valuable only for its laughable idiocy. More exoticizing garbage.



2. Georgie Anne Geyer is one of the world's great intrepid reporters. She has logged hundreds of days and miles throughout Eurasia in the last three decades. In this poignant book, she arrives in Central Asia (including Tatarstan) during the moment of its liberation from the Soviet Empire. Few observers could capture both the intoxication and ambiguity of this moment so well. Her keen eye for the nuances of culture and politics are, as always, evident in this small masterpiece.



3. You know you have made a bad deal when you pay a penny for a book and think you overpaid. While this is an admittedly old book, and events have overtaken much of what she observed in her short trip to an admittedly difficult part of the world that I myself have visited several times, this was a bad book even when it was written. There are a few interesting observations about the people and cultures of this region, but her whining about traveling in an area not known for too many 5-star resorts overwhelms the few insights she has.
   The only book I have read recently that is worse than this was Albright's "Madam Secretary" which was far more shallow, but she was in important government positions unlike Geyer who is just part of the Washington chattering class.



4. Putting people down is not my favorite sport. I like to write glowing reviews and get thank you notes from authors. Sure, why not ? Georgie Ann Geyer is intelligent for sure and she has a lot of very insightful things to say about Russia and the damage that the USSR did, not in the world, but to its own land and people. I've never read any of her columns in the newspapers, but I'm sure she is a talented journalist.
   
   However. I don't care how sharp you are, but three days in Tatarstan does not really qualify you to write a book about it. Ditto 5 days in Kazakhstan, and a mere handful of days in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. To top that off, you decide to write your travel experiences in a folksy style, putting up a phoney note of "Gosh, what's an unsophisticated Chicago girl like me doing here ? Will I ever reach home again ?" Let's note that the author graduated from Northwestern and was a Fulbright Scholar in Vienna, speaks four languages besides English. "Unsophisticated ?" I don't think so. We get a lot of hotel descriptions, plus portraits of the local interpreters and go-betweens who helped her do the political interviews she came for (and did not much include). This book needed a lot more history and culture and a lot less cutsiness. Who was it written for ? Perhaps for people whose knowledge is minimal and whose desire for useful knowledge is at about the same level. The single map may stand as a metaphor for the book. It tells you almost nothing. The author did not have enough material for a real book on Central Asia. If you want a good contemporary travel book on Central Asia see Thubron's "Lost Heart of Asia" or Bissell's "Chasing the Sea". If you want an older one, try Maillart's "Turkestan Solo". If you want a more serious book of journalism, try one of Robert Kaplan's or Karl Meyer's "The Dust of Empire". There are, of course, numerous academic studies as well.
   
   Look, I'm not a Central Asia scholar and I've never been there. But even I could find a large number of mistakes in Geyer's book, not to mention some dubious use of the English language. She mentions the "Sakhalin Islands"; speaks of the "tundra" of Kazakhstan instead of the steppe. She writes "Allah Akhbar" instead of "Allah hu-akbar". On page 216, she refers to Tajiks as a "tribe", on page 209 she refers to Turks as being one-fifth of the world. Armenia adopted Christianity in 301, not 314 and it's the "Armenian Apostolic Church" not the "Armenian Orthodox Church". She calls it the "Zarafsha" River instead of "Zarafshan". She mentions Islam coming to Central Asia in the ninth and tenth centuries (p.149) but it was in the eighth. This is not the complete list. All in all, I'd say it was a rush job by a person who didn't know her facts and didn't check them either. The area had just opened up for Western journalists and, as a Russian speaker, she rushed in, spent a few days, came home and wrote a book as fast as she could. It shows.

5 comments about Running With Reindeer: Encounters In Russian Lapland.

1. Touted as Europe's "last true wilderness", Russian Lapland (which goes by a number of names, including the Kola Peninsula and Murmansk Region) lies mostly north of the Arctic Circle and is generally unknown to the West. This combination of undeveloped wilderness and mystery proved to be an irresistible destination for British art historian and fisherman Took, who made a number of trips there during the early to late 1990s. This book is the result of these trips he took to the region as well as a capable synthesis of the literature available on its inhabitants. It follows no distinct narrative pattern, hopscotching around in time and subject matter, as Took weaves his own travel narrative in with the history of the place.

   Although a glance at a map might lead one to think otherwise, this is no arctic tale. Due to a surprisingly beneficent gulf stream, the climate is much more temperate than one might expect. Which is why a great deal of Took's travel involved backpacks, camping, and industrious plodding through wildernessónot to mention decrepit planes, trains, and automobiles, and the odd helicopter or ex-Army tracked vehicle. Indeed, despite the title, he actually spends very little time with reindeer herders, as most of his visits involve trekking to remote villages and hanging out with the locals. As Took recounts, the traditional nomadic reindeer herding culture underwent profound system shocks under Soviet rule, when the Saami (the correct term for Laps) were forced to settle and their herds were collectivized. The parallels to the American conquest of Native American tribes all too striking, right down to the forced education of Saami children at boarding schools where they would be beaten if they used their native tongue. And just as in many Native American communities, modern Saami settlements have extremely high rates of alcoholism. His encounters and friendships with these native fishermen and foresters is engrossing, especially when he delves into the issue of fishing rights, which are tightly regulated. There's a very illuminating chapter on the establishment of luxury fishing camps for wealthy Westerners.

   Took's presentation of the area's history is quite fascinating as well, and he tries as much as possible to link it to people living there today. The region first came to prominent attention in the West in the 16th century, when trade routes were established, primarily seeking furs. Just after the turn of the century, an amazing wealth of minerals were discovered there, and mining became a large concern. Still, like Alaska, the area mostly remained a hinterland ó although it was a popular locale for gulag work camps. World War II saw the establishment of a front against German and Finnish troops, and the enlistment of thousands of native Saami to the Soviet Army ranks. Following the war, it acquired strategic significance with the advent of the Cold War, and much of it was militarized and placed off limits as numerous naval bases were built, and much of the Soviet nuclear submarine fleet was housed here.

   Which brings me to the book's one problematic area. In his zeal to explore every square mile of the peninsula, Took continually butts up against restricted military zones. Now, these areas are generally little more than crumbling decommissioned bases, many housing nuclear submarines that area literally falling apart into the sea. Still, they are patrolled by special services, and they are explicitly no-go areas. Took repeatedly scoffs at the notion that these areas are still off-limits, and finally deliberately crosses into one for a period, going so far as to get close enough to a base to observe its workings. This strikes me as the height of Western arrogance as well as the height of stupidity. First of all, he's lucky not to have gotten shot by some nervous conscript, or trigger-happy patrol. Second, his actions immediately endanger everyone who assisted him on his various trips, placing them under suspicion. Thirdly, I wonder what he would make of a Russian adventurer who decided to poke his nose around some military zones in the UK? Yes, the rules about these areas may appear stupid and arbitrary, but it incumbent on all who travel to respect the laws of the country we are traveling in. Otherwise, we not only endanger ourselves, but those travelers who come after us. This is the one aspect of the book that really upset me.

   By the end, Took has done much to dispelling the mystery of the region with his exhaustive travels and research. Ironically then, it is the sudden appearance of wealth in the go-go days of the late '90s that confounds him. In less than a decade, the Murmansk he first came to, with virtually no consumer culture or tourist infrastructure, is transformed into a fashion-concious city with boutiques aplenty, and heartbreaking child prostitutes. And upon reflection, this bleak end to the book is fitting for a region which, despite it's natural beauty, has seen a great deal of human and environmental catastrophe over the last century.




2. Who frequently tresspasses into closed military zones in Russia - sometimes for the purpose of viewing the wildlife and wilderness, other times for the purpose of viewing closed military and nuclear facilities? Roger Took, that's who. I'm certainly glad that he did, as it allowed for the creation of the fabulous book that is Running With Reindeer... but seriously, the man's got to be a tad nutty. I've done my share of crazy things in Russia, but did I ever sneak into any closed military zones? No. However, I suppose whether or not Took's actions have a bearing on his sanity doesn't really affect the outcome here, which was his creation of a stellar book.
   
   Running With Reindeer chronicles Took's adventures in the Kola Peninsula, a frigid bit of land in the northwest corner of Russia, over the course of a decade. Took interacts with the remnants of the native Saami (Lapp) and Komi tribes. Took addresses in detail their force relocation during collectivization, and the impact it had on their formerly nomadic lives. He traces the influx and impact of ethnic-Russian settlers in Tsarist and Soviet times - and the effects of their post-Soviet exodus from Kola. He examines the Allied invasion of Russia at the end of WWI (this chapter is actually one of best accounts of this occurrence that I have read; most historians have a tendency to gloss over this for some reason). Took addresses the enormous problem of pollution in the once pristine Kola Peninsula and its impact on the neighboring countries of Finland and Norway. He also spends a significant amount of time discussing the environmental and geopolitical impact of the decay of Russia's Northern (nuclear) Fleet. Apparently, the Kola Peninsula is full of nuclear products and biproducts just ripe for the taking - which is quite distressing given the current fears over what would happen should nuclear materials fall into the wrong hands.
   
   All in all, this book was fabulous. It provided an excellent glimpse into the lives and histories of the people of the Kola Peninsula, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Russia. My only complaint with the book was that I wish there had been more photographs!



3. I read this book some time ago and I did enjoy it, but upon learning now that Richard Took used his time in Russia while researching this book to abuse young children, including extremely young children/toddlers, I don't feel we should promote or buy a book that lines his pockets. Amazon should ashamed that they are still selling this book.
   
   He has been jailed in the UK (search on the Roger Took article in The Spectator newspaper), and as the crimes were so severe he may never get parole, but reading the passages in the book where he lived amongst the people to get his story while abusing their children, sickens me.
   
   Roger Took's abuse went much wider than just these Russian children, and involved serious abuse of children worldwide including his grandchildren, step grandchildren and a disabled child.
   
   Before you purchase this book, I strongly recommend you google him for the Spectator and BBC articles, and then decide if you really want to buy it.



4. No doubt an interesting book, but I feel any prospective reader should be aware that Roger Took as been sentanced to 9 years in prison for numerous offences of the most appauling child sexual abuse, it is quite possible that he was pursuing and committing this kind of crime whilst in the process of travels which provide the source material for this book. I suspect that most people would have no wish to give any kind of support to someone who as committed such crimes. Anyone wanting to inform themselves further can do so through BBC women's hour of 10th July or The Spectator of the same date.



5. As the previous reviewer points out, Roger Took is a convicted pedophile. See Spectator article (although be warned, it is hard to stomach the details of his atrocious activities). Amazon should withdraw this book from sale. I gave the book one star because this system doesn't allow you to give no stars.

1 comments about Lost Russia: Photographing the Ruins of Russian Architecture.

1. This book not only met my expectations, but exceeded them. The author took me to places i will never get to see, as well as provide me amazing pictures of these sites for my artistic reference library. as well as explaining about the sites themselves. Most saddeinig is the state of dissrepair of these historical sites, and the lack of funding to keep them up.
   
   This book held many a haunting image, weither you buy this to learn about architecture of a past Russian time, or photographic reference, or the state of these amazing landmarks fallen into disrepair... or if you have an explorer's streak within.. you will not be dissapointed. Worth every penny.