AMONG THE RUSSIANS

Colin Thubron, who established a reputation with such books as Mirror to Damascus and Journey into Cyprus, decided that he wanted to travel as freely as possible in Russia and meet and talk with people of all kinds. He learned Russian and entered the Soviet Union in an old Morris Marina in which he camped and drove for almost ten thousand miles between the Baltic and Caucasus. Everywhere he went, whether in the cities like Leningrad, Moscow, Smolensk, Kiev and Tbilisi, or in the villages in the mountains or steppes or Crimea, in the cold north or on the shores of the Black Sea, he encountered and listened to people of all ages, occupations and interests. He met dissidents and was eventually dogged by the KGB. The result is a fascinating and revealing picture of the many races who inhabit a giant country, for it is the human side rather than the political - humans exploiting or enduring a ubiquitous system - that has been captured in this remarkable book. 'In this perceptive travel book the Soviet Union is seen through a glass brightly. It will surely replace Laurens Van Der Post's deservedly popular but now dated Journey into Russia as essential reading... What makes the book so readable is Mr Thubron's combination of an artist's aesthetic sensitivity with the literary craftemanship to convey it. He sees things with the freshness of an innocent and the erudition of a scholar.' The Daily Telegraph 'The Thubron approach to travelling has an integrity that belongs to another age. And this author's way with words gives his books a value far transcending their topical interest: it is safe to predict that they will still be read a century hence.' Dervla Murphy, The Irish Times