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| Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and Its People | 
 enlarge | Author: Jonathan Dimbleby
Publisher: BBC Books
Category: Book
List Price: £25.00
Buy New: £13.00
You Save: £12.00 (48%)
New (22) from £10.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 7977
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 576
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 2
ISBN: 0563539127
EAN: 9780563539124
ASIN: 0563539127
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-9 of 9 | | « PREV | | |
 Good Read June 9, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is an interesting guide to modern Russia. Very good for people like myself who had little prior knowledge of Russia and the history of its politics and the public opinion that surrounds that. Don't expect too much from this book if you consider yourself an expert as similar topics do reappear but in different regions of the country. Overall an interesting look at the cultural diversity of the worlds biggest country.
Disappointing May 30, 2008
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
I was initially enjoying this book, but Dimbleby's constant lecturing tone to his hosts and readers about anything related to politics or history becomes extremely grating after a while.."How dare you have something good to say about Putin!!"
 Disappointing and unimpressive May 24, 2008
14 out of 26 found this review helpful
A superficial and somewhat patronising take on Russia. Dimbleby's opinion's are uninsightful - he is not really worthy of the subject. Too many cliches and received opinions make this book seem amateurish. Ultimately a rather boring read.
 A rare look beyond the stereotypes May 23, 2008
22 out of 27 found this review helpful
I was pleased to see the BBC would be running a documentary and publishing this book looking at modern Russia from a perspective other than politics and war. This huge and diverse nation is an endlessly fascinating subject, which gets less than its fair share of coverage in the UK.
The book follows Jonathan's journey through a fairly representative series of geographical destinations across Russia, helping, I hope, to show people that the country is not just cold and bleak as many still seem to think!
My wife is from Novorossysk on the Black Sea coast which is just a couple of hundred miles from Turkey and where the climate is Mediterranean, not arctic, so it was good to see some of these regions covered, as well as the big cities of Moscow and St Petersburg.
Through his meetings with a variety of interesting people we cut through the prevailing stereotypes to show a warm and friendly people who are proud of their nation yet often not afraid to criticise it (although it's another thing to actually do anything about it for most people). However, their perspective on life, politics and their general philosophies often appear quite different to ours - well thought out but often much more fatalistic. There seems to be a realist expedience to much of what you hear - making the best of things as they are rather than imagining things can be made perfect. Perhaps the utopianism of the Communist years and its terrible failure has brought them to this way of thinking.
Jonathan's thoughts and questions can be a bit cringeworthy at times, but the subject matter and the interesting people he meets make this book worth a read for those who are new to this enormous subject, although it will fall well short for serious Russophiles.
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