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
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
Тоже решил замутить список нонфикшна :) Ван Клиберн и И.П. Павлов, Романовы и Чернобыль, Советский цирк и поющая шпионка Сталина, Русский Хадж и охота за подлинниками русского авангарда: сделал подборку интересного не переведенного ещё нонфикшна о нашей стране, изданного за последние 5 лет - https://mirsoglasnomne.livejournal.com/603197.html #книги #книга #нонфикшн #научпоп #россия #ссср #история #чточитаешь #чточитать #книжныйшкаф #bookstagram #nonfiction #book #history #russia #ussr
Livejournal
24 интересные не переведенные англоязычные книги о России/СССР/РИ последних 5 лет
Россия и СССР по-прежнему сильно волнуют англоязычных писателей и книгоиздателей (и, очевидно, читателей) нонфикшна. Книг о всевозможных аспектах нашей истории, культуры да и просто житье-бытие выходит много. Фокус у меня, конечно, смещён каналами получения…