Publishers Weekly
08/04/2014
In 2013, after several years serving as NPR’s Moscow bureau chief, Greene traveled 6,000 miles of the Trans-Siberian Railway in a quixotic attempt to understand the Russian soul. As Green journeyed across the Siberian landscape, he made frequent stops to interview ordinary Russians in a variety of situations to capture the everyday realities of post-Soviet Russia. The result is chronicled in this travelogue that reads like a series of episodic radio pieces in the NPR style, a collage of Green’s interviews and insights from scholars about Russian history that attempts to answer a few difficult questions: what do the Russians want? Why do they tolerate a corrupt and restrictive government? And, as the Arab Spring erupts in the Middle East, how close is Russia to (another) revolution? What Greene finds is complex and frequently contradictory but all the more thought-provoking: a small business owner who believes Russia must be patient and slowly “develop” towards democracy, a taxi driver who wishes for socialism, an anti-Putin activist who believes Russia needs an autocrat like Stalin (but more benign). Despite the poverty and repression he frequently encounters, Greene remains optimistic throughout his travels, and he reproduces the source of this conviction in this collection of vignettes. (Oct.)
Hedrick Smith
"In this picaresque story of adventure, David Greene reaches beyond Putin’s Kremlin across Siberia to show us Russian life in the Raw—the gritty stoicism, surprising warmth and generosity, black humor, and resilience of the narod, the average people. A storyteller with a human touch, Greene finds Russians tested by tragedy and war as he joins them in their cramped apartments, jammed trains, and gulping beer and pickled horse sausage in their steam baths, facing an uncertain future with an unexpected streak of inner wildness. His Russians are stolidly patriotic and, even now, drawn mostly to strong leaders, resigned to tough justice and preferring stability and harsh rule to the chaotic uncertainties of democracy, their personal lives ‘full of poetry, pain, and laughter.’"
Fiona Hill
"Beautifully written… The sharply observed vignettes, combined with the moving, elegiac quality of the prose make it a hard book to put down. David Greene’s travels provide insights and context for some of the more dramatic recent events in Russia that will appeal to both the casual traveler and the seasoned observer."
Seattle Times - Bruce Ramsey
"Describe[s] the Russia of the vast interior…. An impressionistic book, a book about people along the way."
Aaron David Miller
"Greene is a great storyteller, and what a story he has to tell. A fascinating and thought-provoking journey deep into Russia’s physical vastness and soul. Greene’s landscape is inhabited by a cast of characters that light up both and would have made Anton Chekhov proud. A first-rate tale that puts you aboard the Trans-Siberian Railroad on the journey of a lifetime."
Andrew McCarthy
"[An] epic journey by rail."
Associated Press - Kevin Begos
"A mesmerizing, confounding, comforting and thought-provoking book."
Library Journal - Audio
02/15/2015
Former NPR Moscow bureau chief Greene twice made the 6,000-mile trip from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Trans-Siberian Railway, using the travels to examine early 21st-century Russian society. In this audiobook, he presents a series of extended interviews with a cross section of Russian people outside the governing elite. Figuring predominately is Sergei, Greene's translator and close friend. Others appearing include members of Sergei's family, the parents of a hockey player killed in a plane crash, a young businessperson on the make, and a human rights activist. He contrasts the hard and cold personae many Russians present in public with warmth given to family and friends in private. Greene also explores the Russian people's attitude toward President Vladimir Putin. While many dislike him and his corrupt government, little desire for radical political reform exists, and many people possess a sense of nostalgia for the Soviet era. While harshly oppressive, the communists provided basic social services lacking in present-day Russia. Greene narrates this story with great humor and warmth toward the Russian people. VERDICT Highly recommended to listeners with an interest in Russia and Russian history. ["An impressive look at a complex country, this book brings the reader into direct contact with myriad Russians struggling and surviving in their snowy, expansive homeland," read the starred review of the Norton hc, LJ 9/15/14.]—Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Parkersburg Lib.
Library Journal
★ 11/01/2014
NPR's former Moscow bureau chief explains that his book is "a journey and an adventure, a wild ride on one of the world's epic train routes, 6,000 miles from Moscow to far East Asia taking us into the heart of a country and into the lives of its people, asking how their lives have changed in the post-Soviet years." Greene's journey enables him to get past the headlines and provide insightful observations about the politics and culture of Russia today. (LJ 9/15/14)
DECEMBER 2014 - AudioFile
David Greene, host of NPR's “Morning Edition,” sets out to discover the "real Russia" by heading cross-country on a train through Siberia, stopping along the way to visit the towns and speak with the people who inhabit them. Greene's narration is reflective and pleasantly relaxed. Since he spent two years based in the Russian bureau of NPR and is narrating his journey with his sidekick and translator, Sergey, Greene is able to impart additional emotion to the stories where appropriate, having lived through the experiences firsthand or listened directly to the people telling their stories. The result is an eye-opening look at modern-day Russia and the Russian character, both in the big cities and in the countryside. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2014-07-13
A former Russia correspondent for NPR ends his gig by taking a train across Siberia, generating new experiences and remembering earlier ones. Greene, who's still with NPR as a host with Morning Edition, debuts with a journey that is personal and emotional, both actual and metaphorical. He begins by explaining his history with Russia: He and his significant other, Rose, moved there in 2009; the inability to speak or understand Russian remained an issue for both of them—but one they were able to surmount with the aid of Sergei, a translator who became one of the author's best friends. During his journey of thousands of miles (Rose was with him only temporarily), Greene tells us about the hassles of traveling (security agents shadowing them), the explicit and tacit rules for behavior on trains, the charms of traveling third class (as circumstance occasionally forced them to do), and the people they encountered—both on the train and in the communities where they stopped. Greene had met some during other reporting excursions; others were strangers who shared rail compartments, managed hotels and drove public transportation. But traveling also provided Greene an opportunity to recall important experiences throughout his life. He recalls an intense conversation about hockey, a visit to a Holocaust memorial and a series of low points in his journalism career. In addition, the author offers quite a few quotations from other travelers and from Russian writers—Chekhov appears more than once. He also speculates continually about the Russian character: What do they really think about Vladimir Putin? Why does there seem to be lingering nostalgia for Stalin? How do they manage to deal with the almost Kafkaesque aspects of the Russian bureaucracy? Glowing in its profound affection for the Russian people, an affection Greene convinces readers to share.
