Midnight in Siberia

Far away from the trendy cafes, designer boutiques, and political protests and crackdowns in Moscow, the real Russia exists Midnight in Siberia chronicles David Greene s journey on the Trans Siberian Railway, a 6,000 mile cross country trip from Moscow to the Pacific port of Vladivostok In quadruple bunked cabins and stopover towns sprinkled across the country s snowy landscape, Greene speaks with ordinary Russians about how their lives have changed in the post Soviet years.These travels offer a glimpse of the new Russia a nation that boasts open elections and newfound prosperity but continues to endure oppression, corruption, a dwindling population, and stark inequality.We follow Greene as he finds opportunity and hardship embodied in his fellow train travelers and in conversations with residents of towns throughout Siberia.We meet Svetlana, an entrepreneur who runs a small hotel in Ishim, fighting through corrupt layers of bureaucracy every day Greene spends a joyous evening with a group of babushkas who made international headlines as runners up at the Eurovision singing competition They sing Beatles covers, alongside their traditional songs, finding that music and companionship can heal wounds from the past In Novosibirsk, Greene has tea with Alexei, who runs the carpet company his mother began after the Soviet collapse and has mixed feelings about a government in which his family has done quite well And in Chelyabinsk, a hunt for space debris after a meteorite landing leads Greene to a young man orphaned as a teenager, forced into military service, and now figuring out if any of his dreams are possible.Midnight in Siberia is a lively travel narrative filled with humor, adventure, and insight It opens a window onto that country s complicated relationship with democracy and offers a rare look into the soul of twenty first century Russia. Read Midnight in Siberia – kino-fada.fr Spoilt by the author s cultural arrogance There is something off in the tone of this whole book.but this sentence encapsulates it I can t believe, looking backward twenty years, that I saw Russia as cold, oppressed, backward country, emerging from decades of terror amd on the cusp of enjoying the wisdom of America s way of life and system of government The author may respect the Russians and value their culture in his own way, but his mind set that the American way of life and governme Spoilt by the author s cultural arrogance There is something off in the tone of this whole book.but this sentence encapsulates it I can t believe, looking backward twenty years, that I saw Russia as cold, oppressed, backward country, emerging from decades of terror amd on the cusp of enjoying the wisdom of America s way of life and system of government The author ma...You ve watched American talk shows, right The author and narrator of this book is now host of NPR s Morning Edition Before that he was NPR s Moscow bureau chief for 2.5 years After concluding his post as bureau chief he took a second cross country trip on the Trans Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok, the basis for this book He also throws in a few tidbits from his earlier travels Tidbits, that is the word to be emphasized The whole book reads as a talk show program Chatty, humoro You ve watched American talk shows, right The author and narrator of this book is now host of NPR s Morning Edition Before that he was NPR s Moscow bureau chief for 2.5 years After concluding his post ...I wanted to like this so muchthan I did.First, it surprises me that someone who is educated, well traveled, and who has lived several years in Russia can start from so strong a basic premise that of course all Russians should want their country to be just like America Throughout the narrative, Greene seems continuously surprised when every Russian he meets doesn t instinctively seem to feel that America is better than Russia, and American democracy is better than any...This book describes a train journey across Russia and the people met.The author works for Public Radio in the U.S and was stationed in Russia for a few years he made two trips from Moscow to Vladivostok There are interesting interviews but overall I felt this book like an introduction 101 course to Russia overall there was a lack of depth I became tired of the author s constant refer back to his own country such as comparing the landscape to Denver, to Pittsburgh also tiresome was hi This book describes a train journey across Russia and the people met.The author works for Public Radio in the U.S and was stationed in Russia for a few years he made two trips from Moscow to Vladivostok There are interesting interviews but overall I felt this book like an introduction 101 course to Russia overall there was a lack of depth I became tired of the author s constant refer back to his own country such as comparing the landscape to Denver, to Pittsburgh also tiresome was him viewing Russia through the lens of wanting to attain and become a liberal democracy Historically Russia ...I was disappointed that there was relatively little travel narrative involved perhaps 30% , with the rest portraits of average Russians he met along the way That having been said, Greene does an excellent job in carrying out his intention of getting across how those encounters changed his perception of Russia and its likely future Critics of his American centric outlook fail to note that at the end he accepts that, unlike say post war Japan, it s not a matter of installing a western style d I was disappointed that there was relatively little travel narrative involved perhaps 30% , with the rest portraits of average Russians he met along the way That having been said, Greene does an excellent job in carrying out his intention of getting across how those encounters changed his perception of Russia and its likely future Critics of his American centric outlook fail to note that at the end he accepts that, unlike say post war Japan, it s not a matter of installing a western style democracy in up and running mode, but re...Unless you have an inordinate desire to read everything you can about Siberia, you probably don t want to read this book All too obvious is the fact that this is the author s first book While he heaps thanks to his editor for all of her help and guidance to find a voice, for instance , I kept wondering what the first draft looked like if this was the much improved version The voice David Greene found is naive, judgmental, and superficial The structure of the book each named after a person Unless you have an inordinate desire to read everything you can about Siberia, you probably don t want to read this book All too obvious is the fact that this is the author s first book While he heaps thanks to his editor for all of her help and guidance to find a voice, for instance , I kept wondering what the first draft looked like if this was the much improved version The voice David Greene found is naive, judgmental, and superficial The structure of the book each named after a person he meets along his way on the Trans Siberian Railway is formulaic The dialogue s insipid, description generic except when he is describing people s clothing , and the pace is tedious The cliches are particularly annoying.As a long time teacher of college writing, I had many students who could write circles around Greene Granted, Norton Publishers came to him after Greene did an NPR series on a previous Trans Siberian train trip and pitched the book to him ...I was a bit disappointed by this book One of my goals is to take the Trans Siberian railroad from Moscow to either Vladivostok or Beijing Despite the title, only 40% of the book takes place in Siberia and only about 10% or less on the train ...In my search for a book about Russia, I was delighted to come across this gem As an avid listener of public radio throughout my entire work day, I am greeted nearly every morning by the voice of David Greene After reading the synopsis, his travel memoir about his time traipsing through Russia and the myriad of people he meets on the Trans Siberian Railway, there was a strong feeling I could not pass this up.I wasn t, however, prepared for just how personal and heartfelt this memoir was Greene In my ...I was disappointed by Midnight in Siberia Having been to Russia, but only visited its two major cities Moscow and St Petersburg, I was keen to read about change in the rest of the country David Greene is an American journalist for NPR who had been working in its Moscow Bureau, so I expected him to be not only knowledgeable about the country, but also to be able to access people and places unavailable to mere tourists such as myself What I was not expecting was for him to use his book to snee I was disappointed by Midnight in Siberia Having been to Russia, but only visited its two major cities Moscow and St Petersburg, I was keen to read about change in the rest of the country David Greene is an American journalist for NPR who had been working in its Moscow Bureau, so I expected him to be not only knowledgeable about the country, but also to be able to access people and places unavailable to mere tourists such as myself What I was not expecting was for him to use his book to sneer at so much of Russian life in a way that was eerily reminiscent of Cold War tabloid journalism While we all know that Russia is in the news at the moment for all the wrong re...Both the title Midnight in Siberia and subtitle A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia are misleading This book is neither a travelogue nor a train story Rather, it is a kaleidoscope of encounters with ordinary Russians How a train journey along the Trans Siberian Railway makes the narrative special is not clear at all the author could have met the same group of characters in any park or caf in Moscow where he worked as an NPR bureau chief Siberia, so prominently featured on the cover, i Both the title Midnight in Siberia and subtitle A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia are misleading This book is neither a travelogue nor a train story Rather, it is a kaleidoscope of encounters with ordinary Russians How a train journey along the Trans ...

• English
• 12 April 2017
David Greene
• Hardcover
• 336 pages
• 0393239950
• David Greene
• Midnight in Siberia