Interestingly written and brimful of insights, this book still left me with mixed feelings. I tried to learn more about the Iranians and learn i did in spades, but what was it that i learned? Probably the outcome of reading the book could be best illustrated by comments of my fellow travelers, who said that my inquisitive questions on terrorism, sexual and familial misfortunes, regime's abuses etc., with which i pestered my hospitable and eager to please Iranian hosts, made them wince. 

Surely i got a better understanding of all those unsavory things, but i have feeling that i was deprived of 80% sunny percents of the Iranians' daily lives. And the impression i got of the society is very skewed. I recognize this from my own experience of talking to foreigners in Russia, who come wide-eyed, well-versed in country's multiple shortcomings, and throughly suspicious. Yes, maybe 100% of what they read is true, but it somehow apparent that i live in a parallel world, mostly blissfully unscathed by all these demonic stories, fed to hapless foreigners. Question is -who's life is real then? #bookstagram #books #book #nonfiction #gonzo #iran #книга #книги #книжнаяполка #чточитаешь #нонфикшн #путешествие #travel #travelogue #иран #тегеран #tehran #мир

Oh, my! I'd love to read a more even-handed treatment of the same journey. What puzzles me too is how on Earth he conducted his multiple in-depth interviews, recording innermost outpourings of the Russians from all walks of life, while not speaking the language? Make no mistake - only a handful of people he talked to commanded some degree of fluency. His profile at The Economist says he speaks English, French and German. No Russian or Chinese whatsoever.

The way he treated the material makes it a valuable anti-Russian propaganda piece. All is filth, greed, hate, decrepitude, drunkenness, etc. Vast majority of warm and compassionate words are addressed to the wildlife of the area and somewhat grudgingly to China, when compared to Russia.

Don't take me wrong, I'm not an apologetic of Russian chauvinism or Putin, but this work could be vividly contrasted with another book I'm reading at the moment, the one that covers another much maligned Russian misdeed - 'Afghan' by Sir Roderic Braithwaite. He deals with a far more controversial topic, yet manages to produce an unbiased narrative, finding bad and good in actions of all sides, even tangentially involved in the conflict. Not that he forcefully balances good with evils, but he tries to be objective: he calls sadists sadists, but he never slaps labels and cliches left and right. Being able not to ride through on a high moral horse is apparently a talent not everyone's born with.

I gave it 3 stars mostly for driving attention to this God forsaken region. It's a unique and beautiful area, rich in wildlife and cultures. #bookstagram #books #history #russia #travelogue #china #mongolia #river #geography #история #россия #китай #монголия #книга #книги #нонфикшн #чточитать #тревел #путешествие #река #амур #книга

This book is a rather rare case, when a view on another culture through personal experience reads well, entertains and conveys quite a lot of curious and useful information. The 'I's in it were just enough, pleasingly peppered with witty self-irony. Study of the new culture was with eyes wide open and non-judgemental, though a good measure of comparison and interpretation attempts was always there. All conclusions were verified with actual Neapolitans.

Although the book addresses a number of episodes from female standpoint I still learned a lot. And while in Naples I ate quite a few of meals mentioned in the story. Too bad I didn't remember quite as many of those cool Neapolitan regionalisms the author introduced.

All in all an excellent book for anyone to read before going to Naples or Italy. #italy #bookstagram #books #book #cooking #travelogue #книга #книги #книжнаяполка #италия #неаполь #naples #еда #готовка #кухня #путешествие #море #море🌊 #замуж #итальянцы #настроение #нонфикшн

“There’s a strict hierarchy of drivers, depending on what they haul and how they’re paid. The most common are the freighthaulers. They’re the guys who pull box trailers with any kind of commodity inside. We movers are called bedbuggers, and our trucks are called roach coaches. Other specialties are the car haulers (parking lot attendants), flatbedders (skateboarders), animal transporters (chicken chokers), refrigerated food haulers (reefers), chemical haulers (thermos bottle holders), and hazmat haulers (suicide jockeys). Bedbuggers are shunned by other truckers. We will generally not be included in conversations around the truckstop coffee counter or in the driver’s lounge.” “We’re OK with being outside the fellowship because we know we’re at the apex of the pyramid. In or out of the trucking world, there are very few people who have what it takes to be a long-haul mover.” #book #bookstagram #travelogue #trucker #книги #сша #америка #americana #usa #america #дальнобой #транспорт #transport #социология