Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and Its People Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and Its People Book

Russia is a massive book: sprawling, ambitious and richly detailed. Jonathan Dimbleby's subtitle is A Journey to the Heart of a Land and its People, and fears that he might have bitten off more than he can chew (both in this book and its accompanying TV series) are quickly allayed. What is most impressive about the book is its canny synthesis of a variety of genres: travelogue, history, social document: Russia is all of these and more, with the personal voice of the narrative by Dimbleby particularly illuminating, as he struggles to come to terms with the contradictions in this fascinating and infuriating country. It is, as the author says, a country that straddles half the globe, and contains a daunting amount of cultural and religious diversity. All of this is examined here, but any sage judgements are never delivered in sober-sided fashion -- we're always caught up in the drama of Dimbleby's journeys. The author crossed eight time zones and covered 10,000 miles, from Murmansk in the Arctic Circle to the Asian city of Vladivostok. He travels by every available method: rail, road and sea, and manages to experience all the splendours and the miseries of this amazing country. But although the contours of the locales are conjured up with maximum vividness, there are also fascinating portraits of all the Russians that Dimbleby encounters, from intellectuals and struggling peasants to the new breed of fantastically successful entrepreneurs (many of whom, of course, are now making their home in London). The colour illustrations are well chosen, but it's the text that succeeds in taking the reader on this epic journey -- a journey that will transform completely most people's apprehension of the country. --Barry Forshaw.Read More

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    Winston Churchill famously described Russia as 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma'. Even today it remains a country little understood by the West. But as a resurgent world power with an energy-rich economy we ignore Russia at our peril. In this timely and revealing portrait distinguished author and broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby crosses eight time zones and covers 10 000 miles from Murmansk in the Arctic Circle to the Asian city of Vladivostok in an attempt to get beneath the skin of modern Russia. Travelling by road rail and boat his epic journey takes him from the neo-classical splendour of St Petersburg to remote and inaccessible parts of Siberia. At the heart of this magisterial account are Jonathan's encounters with a diverse range of ordinary Russians - from urban intellectuals and the new class of entrepreneurs to impoverished peasants and Russia's ethnic minorities struggling to cling to their distinctive identities.Jonathan was the only British television journalist to interview President Gorbachev during the Cold War and returning to Russia for the first time since those days he discovers a land transformed.But despite economic progress he finds aspects of Russian society deeply troubling and takes an unflinchingly critical look at the way Russia has been run during the Putin years. For Jonathan crossing the immense Russian landmass became as much an interior journey as an exterior one and the book contains painfully honest passages as he struggles to meet the challenges of an arduous film trip against the backdrop of great turbulence in his personal life. Filled with a dazzling array of historical and literary references "Russia - A Journey to the Heart of a Land and Its People" is a riveting and illuminating account of modern Russia.

  • ASDA

    Offers a critical look at the way Russia was run during the Putin years. This book contains honest passages as the author struggles to meet the challenges of an arduous film trip against the backdrop of great turbulence in his personal life. It contains an array of historical and literary references and offers an account of modern Russia.

  • Blackwell

    In this timely and revealing portrait, distinguished author and broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby crosses eight time zones and covers 10,000 miles, from Murmansk in the Arctic Circle to the Asian city of Vladivostok, in an attempt to get beneath the...

  • 0563539127
  • 9780563539124
  • Jonathan Dimbleby
  • 1 May 2008
  • BBC Books
  • Hardcover (Book)
  • 576
  • Reprint
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