1 comments about The Jews of St. Petersburg: Excursions Through a Noble Past.

1. Excellent source of resource material on famous Jewish personalities and institutions in Russia - the Soviet Union, especially St. Petersburg at the turn of the century. Few such books exist in English. Expecting more such books.

No comments about The Soviet Mind: Russian Culture Under Communism.

No comments about Wallpaper City Guide: St. Petersburg (Wallpaper City Guide).

5 comments about Off the Map: Bicycling Across Siberia.

1. Seems like the author is trying to pretend to be this geat hero riding his iron stallion across the frozen reaches of Siberia.

   I found him to be a true bore. Out running and out smarting Soviet KGB agents on a bicycle? Oh please!

   If you want to read a true adventure, read Miles From Nowhere by the late Barbara Savage.




2. Mark Jenkins clearly did not like Russia and the system. I agree on his view of the old system, but my thoughts were again and again: What does he do there. He don't like it at all. In spite of all the trouble of Mark Jenkins, the fact is that a Russian biker crossed Russia one sea to another in 1967, 22 years before Jenkins. The first do cross all of Russia was a Dane, me, who did it in 1997 from Magadan to Kaleningrad (more to the East and more to the West than Jenkins route). The brother of Fjordor Koinikov (who followed Jenkins), Nikolai, tried to do it before me. He failed because of cold. I succeed because I loved Siberia. Jenkins hated it.



3. Jenkins does an excellent job of conveying the feelings he experienced during this trip. Sometimes spirits were low and sometimes they were high. His writing captures the reality of the trip and reveals the spirit of the Russian people with great emotion. I disagree with the review above that states Jenkins hated Siberia. He clearly had a great appreciation for the people he met there and valued his experience. It was obvious that he had a problem with Communism, and hence did not understand the Soviets. This is a book about people. Who cares whether they were the first group to ride across the country? The objective of the book was to describe a journey, and that has been done very well.



4. This is an excellent book. It offers a brief peek into the vast Russian hinterland that plodded along under the Soviet shroud. Russia is not Moscow. It's written sometime in the late 80's, not long before the USSR collapsed, and shows us people who's main priority is survival, not Communism. Jenkins writes in a rambling style that paints a vivid picture. Having gone to Russia since reading it for the first time, I can say the picture is very accurate.



5. The title says it all. This book is filled with intriguing stories filled with symbolism and philosophy. Also a great book to read if you like biking or want to learn some history about Russia and the Soviet Union.

5 comments about Ukraine (Culture Shock! A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette).

1. This book is somewhat helpful but hopelessly outdated. Ukraine is changing rapidly and this book just is not of much use at all! See if you can buy it used, but don't waste your money on a new copy.



2. This book is fine if you are just starting out. I found it useful but you'll need more after this. There are many areas where even the un-educated will realized topics are outdated.



3. CULTURE SHOCK: UKRAINE ranks as one of the best installments of the Culture Shock series. Straightforward and very thorough, it gave this American reader a helpful introduction to Ukrainian culture. Written by an American, Meredith Dalton, who lived in Kyiv for some time, the book tells expatriates what they need to know for a smooth transition to living and working in Ukraine.

   Ukraine is a very different country from the U.S., and things that Westerners would see as corruption and inefficiency are normal matters there. Dalton is very frank about how to deal with Ukrainian bureaucracy, how to maintain patience, and how to refrain from comparing everything to life back home. While she emphasizes to the reader that Ukraine may be a difficult and sometimes infuriating country for outsiders, she is always respectful of the Ukrainian culture and way of life. This is one of the few books in the Culture Shock series that are so admirably dedicated to preventing culture shock.

   Meredith Dalton also tackles the delicate issue of ethnicity in Ukraine, and explains how, for some people, the country is polarised into a Ukrainian-speaking half and a Russian-speaking half. However, she also shows how the country is in most respects a united culture in spite of language differences.

   I felt the section on Ukrainian cuisine could have been a bit more in-depth. Also, the book is geared towards future residents of Kyiv or Lviv, the two cities to which foreigners are most likely to move. As a result, Ukrainian village life is hardly mentioned. However, the meagreness of these topics left Dalton ample room for discussion of Ukrainian custom, etiquette, and superstition.

   All in all, CULTURE SHOCK: UKRAINE is an essential resource for anyone vacationing in Ukraine or moving there. One of the best Culture Shock guides.




4. this is a really good book about Ukraine. It talks about everything you can imagine-customs, laws, people, even jokes. Its very accurate and definately brought back some memories for me. If you are traveling to Ukraine and want some insights into ukrainian lifestyle and people this is the book for you.



5. Although some of the information is outdated in places like Kyiv, great insight to some of the other places. I wish she had more to say about the Western (Traditional Ukrainian) half, but still well worth it.

No comments about Moscow Architecture & Design (And Guide).

No comments about Russia/CIS Map (Country Road & Touring).

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

1. This is by far one of the best books I have ever read in my short life. It tells the story of a... well I'm sure you already have a basic gist of what it is about. I digress. It is an increadible read. From page one you are captivated and it is difficult to set down. A great story. As a side note you should most definately read the preface.



2. I really enjoyed this book. although i have read many other concentration camp books, this one is by far the greatest journey. it really puts you in the perspective of this poor man and when something bad happens to him you seem to feel it for yourself! very descriptive!!
   P.S. whoever said "just a story" is utterly wrong and has no brain at all!! it is "just" a gripping story of a man making his way form a concentration camp, all the way down to india. so i do not see how tis can be "just a story"



3. Sunday, March 26, 2006
   "The Long Walk" by Slavomir Rawicz, © 1956
   This is an amazing story. It is incredible that the torturers in the U.S. Army did not read this or take lessons from the KGB, because some of their tortures are very similar to what is described in this book. But that is only in the first two chapters. The rest of the book is the story of Mr. Rawicz's walk with his cohorts from United Soviet Socialist Republic labor camp in Siberia to India. The walk starts with advise to walk south, not east, to avoid the obvious route and, therefore, obvious pursuit.
   The oddest part of this story is that one of the particpants is known only as Mr. Smith. He is an American of unknown origins. No one on this trek is cognizant of the reason of their incarceration, but Mr. Smith is so unknown that even his Christian name is never known. The next oddest part of this story is in the preface. It was supposed to be a story about people who have encountered Yeti. These fellows saw some on their walk through the Himalayas, so the assistant to the author, Ronald Downing, reseaching for a story about the Yeti, came across this amazing story.



4. I bought this book with great anticipation, having read and enjoyed other survival tales such as "Endurance" and "In the Heart of the Sea." I've been slogging through the uninspired language for the past month with great difficulty. The lack of passion Rawicz brings to his writing is perhaps a clue that this is not a true story, as some have attested. Or maybe it's a problem with the translation. Either way, I don't find this to be the gripping tale it could have been.
   
   I should add that I have been reading this under the assumption that it was true. So discovering now that it may not be true has not in any way affected my review; I thought it was boring before then. I wish I had known about the controversy and had picked a different book. Other reviewers have stated that it is an exciting and remarkable story, true or not. I disagree. If it is true it is a dull and lifeless transcription of a remarkable feat. If it is fiction than the author has not only lied but written a boring book.



5. "The Long Walk" is Polish Army officer Slavomir Rawicz's gripping account of an escape from a Soviet labor camp in Siberia in 1941. According to his story, Rawicz and his comrades walked South across the interior of Asia to freedom in British India. This journey across a winter landscape in Siberia, the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, and the mountains of western China and Tibet, is, if true, an unparalleled acount of suffering and human endurance. The BBC claims to have found records indicating that Rawicz was in fact released by the Soviets to a refugee camp in Iran during the Second World War. If these records are accurate, the main event of "The Long Walk" is an enthralling work of fiction. Readers will have to make their own judgement.
   
   Rawicz was a young Polish Cavalry officer taken prisoner by the Soviets when Hitler and Stalin divided Poland in 1939. He is tortured by the Soviets and sentenced as a spy to 25 years in a labor camp in Siberia. The suffering of the winter journey to the labor camp is bad enough, but once there, Rawicz and six of his fellow prisoners hatch an escape plan. One night, they slip away, carrying a small amount of food, a hand axe, and an improvised knife. They will travel cross-country South to Mongolia, along the way picking up a young Polish female who has also escaped from detention. The eight will dare unbelievable hazards, including a chronic lack of food, water, and shelter, to steer more or less South toward India. Only four people will reach safety in India.
   
   Rawicz's narrative is rather bare bones, possibly the result of translation from his native Polish. Traveling by the sun, the small group never has much more than a general sense of where they are or what is in front of them. Their survival is the incredible result of ingenuity and pluck, as the travelers plumb the absolute limits of human endurance and receive timely help from strangers along the way. The reader cannot help but be caught up in the terrible suspense of the story.
   
   Other reviewers have commented that Rawicz's story seems a little too good to be true. Certainly the hazards of the journey would have killed many parties far better prepared; Rawicz and his comrades seem to enjoy astonishingly good luck. "Mr. Smith", the Russian-speaking American in the group, seems especially mysterious and preternaturally self-possessed in the face of their many obstacles. The alleged encounter with two Yeti in the Himalayas strains credibility. Perhaps the best advice for readers is to put aside their skepticism and enjoy the story as presented.

No comments about Hedonist's Guide To Moscow 1st Edition (Hedonist's Guide to..., A).

1 comments about The Siberian BAM Guide: Rail, Rivers & Road: North-East Russia's Siberian BAM Railway, Lena River & Kolyma Highway (Trailblazer Guides).

1. This book contains very concise information about the route, cities and history. Such information is difficult to obtain in other books, and so very precious.
   The book is also fun for train lovers to read.