Ainu, Spirit of a Northern People  •  William Fitzhugh ARCHAEOLOGY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES A magnificently illustrated, handsomely produced overview of Ainu history, art and culture. Dozens of experts contributed to this companion volume to the Smithsonian exhibition, edited by William Fitzhugh. (JPN101, $49.95)
Alaska, An American Colony  •  Stephen Haycox HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 372 PAGES An engaging, scholarly history, neatly divided into Russian exploration and the American period. The author is a professor of history at the University of Alaska in Anchorage. The book takes as its theme the economic exploitation of the state and fate of the indigenous people of the region through Russian and American exploitation and colonization. (ALA160, $18.95)
American Traveler, The Life and Adventures of John Ledyard, the Man Who Dreamed of Walking the World  •  James Zug EXPLORATION •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 277 PAGES The biography an intrepid early American soul, and friend of Jefferson, who sailed with James Cook, trekked across Siberia and was among the first Americans to visit Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. (WLD54, $25.00)
Antler on the Sea, the Yup'ik and Chukchi of the Russian Far East  •  Anna Kerttula CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2000 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES A portrait of the daily life, culture and economy of a typical village along the Chukotka Peninsula. Yup'ik hunters of sea mammals, nomadic Chukchi reindeer herders, and Russian newcomers live and work side-by-side in the village of Sireneki, where the author, an anthropologist, lived for 18 months. Sireniki, like many villages in chukotka, was originally inhabited by the Yup'ik but today accommodates the Chucki that were settled in cooperative Reindeer farms along with the Russian teachers and administrators who came from outside the region, an instructive cultural mix. An insightful portrait of contemporary life for those lucky enough to travel to Provideniya and villages along the Bering Sea. (RUS100, $22.95)
Arctic Dreams, Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape  •  Barry Lopez NATURAL HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 417 PAGES • FAVORITE One of the best books we've read on any destination, this celebrated meditation on the Arctic draws on Lopez's travels throughout the North, including Baffin Island, Siberia and Greenland. A dazzling writer and compassionate observer, Lopez weaves biology and history into his storytelling, including extended chapters on the polar bear and narwhal. (ARC11, $15.00)
Arctic Mirrors: Russia and the Small Peoples of the North  •  Yuri Sleskine CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1996 •  PAPER  • 456 PAGES A Russian term, the "small peoples" were historically the 26 ethnic groups of the north: the circumpolar hunters and gatherers, trappers, fishers and reindeer herders. For better or worse, the Lapps, Eskimos, Aleuts, Uralic and Turkic nomads were all outsiders in Russia. Unbaptized and illiterate, these traditional peoples became a target for Russification. This Russian view of the non-Russian inhabitants of half its territory is interesting for its perspective -- and a good introduction to Siberia's little-known ethnic groups. (ARC22, $24.95)
Arctic Superstars  •  William Putnam EXPLORATION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES An American Alpine Club centennial celebration of two of it's original honorary members, both Arctic explorers: Adolphus Washington Greely and George Wallace Melville. Greeley, a career army officer, established Fort Conger on Ellesmere Island. Greeley is also the subject of Ghosts of Cape Sabine, The Harrowing True Story of the Greely Expedition. Melville, a navy man, sailed with George W. De Long aboard the ill-fated Jeanette, trapped in the ice. Melville was aboard the Navy ship that rescued the surviving members of the Greely expedition. (ARC144, $19.95)
The Art of the Russian North  •  Anne Odom ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 72 PAGES This illustrated collection of essays on the art of the Russian North includes contributions by William Brumfield on churches, Anne Odom on chests and plates, and Allison Hilton on distaffs and paintings. (SIB49, $18.00)
The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, Region of Wonders  •  Terry Johnson NATURAL HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 191 PAGES An up-to-date, fact-filled illustrated primer on the region, its geography, marine and terrestrial life, mineral resources, industry and culture. With good color photographs of seabirds, marine mammals and marine life. (ALA197, $25.00)
Bering, The Russian Discovery of America  •  Orcutt Frost HISTORY •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 330 PAGES The first modern biography of the great explorer -- and an excellent account of still little-known regions of Kamchatka and the Russian Far East. The author draws on new evidence to reinvigorate the life and adventures of the seafaring Dane, including his relationship with naturalist Georg Steller. Frost covers the two extraordinary Kamchatka expeditions in detail. Bering and his men discovered the strait (named after Bering) separating Asia and America -- and the expedition was the first to map the west coast of North America. Frost, an authority, also edited Steller's account of the voyage, Journal of a Voyage with Bering, 1741-1742 (RUS63). He quotes extensively from Stellar's account, who emerges as one of the book's stars. (SIB33, $35.00)
The Birds of Heaven, Travels With Cranes  •  Peter Matthiessen  •  Robert Bateman NATURAL HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES • COMING IN Matthiessen traveled with the cranes to Siberia, Japan, Mongolia, North America, China, Bhutan, East Africa, Australia, India and Texas for this handsomely illustrated, informative book. Organizing the book geographically, he interweaves his travels with insightful commentary on the conservation, ecology, and the significance of the crane in art and culture. With color paintings by Robert Bateman. (BRD11, $16.00)
Clara's Grand Tour, Travels With a Rhinoceros in Eighteenth-century Europe  •  Glynis Ridley HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES The entertaining history of a most unusual eighteenth-century European celebrity. Clara the Indian rhinoceros was brought to Europe in 1741 by the Dutch sea captain Douwemout Van der Meer, and toured for seventeen years, to the delight of heads of state such as Louis XV and Frederick the Great. A marvelous and unique look at the introduction of Eastern wildlife into the Western world. (FRN536, $12.00)
Coming into the Country  •  John McPhee CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1976 •  PAPER  • 438 PAGES • FAVORITE An outstanding portrayal of frontier life in Alaska circa 1976, this is among the finest of this gifted writer's works. Beautifully written, it's an even-handed look at environmental issues, as well as a hilarious portrait of some unforgettable Alaskan characters. Originally published in "The New Yorker." (ALA04, $17.00)
Commonwealth of Independent States Map  •  Freytag & Berndt MAP A double-sided map of the entire CIS, divided into Western Russia (at a scale of 1:2,000,000 and eastern Russia (1:8,000,000). The map of Western Russia is the same plate as that for Eastern Europe (Item EUR36). (RUS133, $12.95)
A Concise History of the Russian Revolution  •  Peter Dimock  •  Richard Pipes HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 431 PAGES A scholarly analysis of the Russian revolution by Harvard Scholar Richard Pipes, from the events that catalyzed the revolution, to its conclusion and aftermath. Includes glossary, chronology, and photographs of important players of the Revolution. (RUS98, $17.00)
The Cruise of the Corwin  •  John Muir  •  William Frederic Bade EXPLORATION •  2000 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES Pieced together from Muir's diaries, published accounts and letters by his literary executor, this book is an account of an 1881 voyage in search of the lost Jeanette Expedition. It's an eyewitness report of little-known lands including the Chukchi Peninsula, Diomede, Wrangel and Herald islands. (ALA76, $16.95)
Culture Smart! Russia, A Quick Guide to Customs and Etiquette  •  Anna King GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 168 PAGES A concise, no-nonsense guide to local customs, etiquette and culture with a short overview of the land and people along with practical travel advice. (RUS361, $9.95)
The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Empire: Forty Years that Shook the World, from Stalin to Yeltsin  •  Fred Coleman HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES Having spent three years in Russia as a correspondent for the Associate Press, Coleman provides an insightful account of post-Stalin Russia. Coleman's main argument is that the disintegration of communism was inevitable with the death of Stalin. He also argues that the US overestimated Soviet power and Western influences could have facilitated the fall of the Soviet Union, prior to 1990. (RUS97, $19.95)
Drawing Shadows to Stone  •  Laurel Kendall CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1997 •  PAPER  • 112 PAGES • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE Featuring 83 photographs, this book is a record of the 1897 American Museum of Natural History expedition to Alaska and Siberia under Franz Boas. It illuminates the anthropology of peoples on both sides of Bering Strait. (ARC34, $22.50)
A Dream in Polar Fog  •  Yuri Rytkheu  •  Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 337 PAGES A lyrical tale of life in the Arctic, traditional ways, and cultural encounters, this absorbing novel follows the fate of a young Canadian explorer stranded among the Chukchi people on the edge of the Bering Sea. Rytkheu, the author of many novels and short stories, was born in Uelen and his stories introduce the reader to the landscape, traditions and people of the Russian Far East. (SIB44, $14.00)
Empire and Odyssey: The Brynners in Far East Russia and Beyond  •  Rock Brynner HISTORY •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 348 PAGES Rock Brynner, the son of movie star Yul (best known for his Academy Award-winning role as the Siamese emperor in The King and I), traces his family history back to his great-grandfather Jules, a Swiss merchant living in East Asia, and follows the history through four generations of life in the Russian Far East, Europe and Central Asia. (RUS287, $29.95)
Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse  •  Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin  •  Vladimir Nabokov LITERATURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 362 PAGES In this translation of Pushkin's epic poem set in 19th-century Russia, the great novelist Nabokov brings the spark of Pushkin's original words to life. (RUS290, $22.95)
Farewell to Matyora  •  Valentin Rasputin  •  Antonina Bouis  •  Kathleen Parthe LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 227 PAGES A classic novel by Valentin Rasputin, the acclaimed Siberian writer and environmentalist who advocates a return to traditional, rural ways of life. (SIB22, $16.00)
First Class, Legendary Train Journeys around the World  •  Patrick Poivre D'Arvor ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 360 PAGES An illustrated celebration of the elegance and regency of great trains of the past and present, including the Orient Express, the Trans-Siberian and the California Zephyr. (WLD126, $35.00)
First Fish, First People, Salmon Tales of the North Pacific Rim  •  Meg McHutchinson  •  Judith Roche  •  One Reel ANTHOLOGY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 204 PAGES An anthology of essays, poems and histories by a pan-Pacific cast of writers whose various cultures -- including Ainu (Japan), Coast Salish (British Columbia), Spokane (Washington) and Ulchi (Siberia) -- have traditionally identified with the salmon. It's a lovely book, illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs, and made the more poignant by the salmon's decline in the coastal regions. (PNW116, $24.95)
From Nyet to Da: Understanding the Russians  •  Yale Richmond CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2003 •  PAPER  • 219 PAGES A cultural portrait of the Russians for the traveler, covering Russia's geography and culture, character, state and society. With chapters on "Personal Encounters" and "Negotiating with Russians." Richmond is a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer who spent 20 years in Russia. (RUS96, $23.95)
God Lives in St. Petersburg, and Other Stories  •  Tom Bissell LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 212 PAGES Bissell (Chasing the Sea) returns to his years in Central Asia as a Peace Corps volunteer in these sharp, witty fictionalized accounts. His six fast-paced tales are set in Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and the Aral Sea. (CAS117, $13.95)
The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral  •  Robert A. Scott ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 307 PAGES Scott, whose interest in the history of cathedrals began when he first saw the magnificent Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salisbury, England, takes his reader on a historical, architectural and sociological tour of the magnificent spires and stained-glass windows that dot the landscape of Europe. It's an accessible, personable overview. (EUR190, $17.95)
The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: Vol. I  •  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn  •  Thomas Whitney LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 672 PAGES A masterpiece of literature and history, this novel documents the horrors of Russia's prison system under communism. Based on Solzhenitsyn's first-hand experiences, it is a powerful and unforgettable work of suffering and redemption. This is the first volume in "The Gulag Archipelago" trilogy. (RUS113, $21.95)
The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: Vol. III  •  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn  •  Thomas Whitney LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 570 PAGES A masterpiece of literature and history, this novel documents the horrors of Russia's prison system under communism. Based on Solzhenitsyn's first-hand experiences, it is a powerful and unforgettable work of suffering and redemption. This is the third volume in "The Gulag Archipelago" trilogy. (RUS114, $21.95)
Hell on Ice, The Saga of the Jeanette  •  Edward Ellsberg EXPLORATION •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 421 PAGES A dramatic fictionalized account of the fateful 1879 Jeannette expedition to the North Pole, as told through the eyes of chief engineer George Wallace Melville. First published in 1938, the vivid tale was adapted as a radio broadcast by Orson Welles for the Mercury Theater (who famously went on to produce War of the Worlds). This limited edition includes a CD of the memorable radio play. The outspoken Ellsberg, who attained the rank of Rear Admiral, was a noted navy salvage expert, diver, and prolific author. (ARC138, $27.95)
Here Is Where We Meet  •  John Berger LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. "The dead don't stay where they are buried," the protagonist's mother tells him, and this becomes the mantra for this most unusual journey through Europe's history and people. (EUR189, $14.00)
The History of Russia  •  John Lawrence HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES A concise popular history of Russia from its pagan roots through the Tsarist period, revolution and post-Soviet realities. Seventh edition. (RUS289, $17.00)
House of the Dead  •  Fyodor Dostoevsky  •  David McDuff LITERATURE •  1986 •  PAPER  • 362 PAGES Dostoyevsky's semi-autobiographical novel of a man forced to endure ten years in a Siberian prison for the murder of his wife. Accused as a political subversive, Dostoyevsky himself spent four years in a prison camp. (RUS261, $12.00)
The Ice Master, The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk  •  Jennifer Niven EXPLORATION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 402 PAGES A well-researched and detailed account of the ambitious Canadian Arctic Expedition. Nivens draws on diaries, journals and letters to reconstruct, month by month, the fate of the expedition, which included scientific leader Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Captain Bob Bartlett (who published his own account), James Murray and Alistair Forbed Mackay (both of whom also served with Shackleton) and William McKinlay, who devoted his long life to setting the record straight on the tragic events of 1913-1914. The charismatic, scene-stealing Stefannson (who blamed Bartlett and leaves the ship as soon as it is trapped in the ice) gets a good drubbing by Niven. (ARC130, $14.95)
Ice Window: Letters from a Bering Strait Village, 1892- 1902  •  Kathleen Lopp Smith  •  Verbeck Smith BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  PAPER  • 488 PAGES A chronicle of daily life, customs and struggles on the Bering Strait at the turn of the century. With 350 letters, more than 90 period photographs, maps, drawings from the letters, and reproductions of the five issues of "The Eskimo Bulletin, " as edited by the granddaughter of Ellen Kittredge and Thomas Lopp, two Christian teachers in a small village facing Little Diomede on the Bering Strait in Northwest Alaska. (ALA152, $45.00)
In the Land of White Death, An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic  •  Valerian Albanov  •  David Roberts  •  Jon Krakauer EXPLORATION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 243 PAGES A spare account of Albanov's 90-day trek over the open pack to Cape Flora. After drifting helplessly north for over a year, Albanov and ten colleagues abandon ship, and set out on foot for Franz Josef Land with a sledge, makeshift boat -- and only the map from the endpaper of Nansen's Farthest North. Of the original crew of the "Saint Anna," only Albanov and one colleague survived the ordeal. Originally published in 1917 and translated here for the first time into English. (SIB16, $14.95)
In the Soviet House of Culture, A Century of Perestroikas  •  Bruce Grant HISTORY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 225 PAGES A study of the Nivkhi people of Sakhalin Island and their experince under the Soviet Union. (RUS76, $27.95)
Islands of the Arctic  •  Julian Dowdeswell  •  Michael Hambrey NATURAL HISTORY •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 280 PAGES A nicely illustrated overview of the physical geography of the Arctic, especially the role of glaciers and ice in shaping the land and history of northern islands across the Arctic from the Canadian Archipelago, Greenland and Svalbard to the Russian Arctic. The authors, glaciologists both, have worked throughout the circumpolar north with 40 years of field work between them. With 242 color photographs by the authors, illustrating a wide variety of Arctic phenomena, including glaciation, frost action, sea ice, coastal features, and life of the icy seas and tundra. The book concludes with chapters on human habitation and the future of the Arctic. (ARC122, $50.00)
Journal of a Voyage with Bering, 1741-1742  •  Georg Wilhelm Steller  •  O. W. Frost EXPLORATION •  1994 •  PAPER  • 252 PAGES The original journals of Commander Vitus Bering's German naturalist. Editor and co-translator Frost also contributes a 30-page appreciative overview of Steller's life and work. Written in part on Bering Island in 1742 -- and published posthumously -- the journal includes Steller's original descriptions of the sea otter, fur seal, sea lion and the North Pacific sea cow. It's an invaluable record of the European discovery of Alaska, a detailed account of the disastrous voyage, the people and nature of Kamchatka, Siberian coast and Aleutians. (RUS63, $23.95)
Journey into the Mind's Eye  •  Leslie Blanch BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2005 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES In this gorgeous book, first published in 1968 and subtitled Fragments of a Biography, Blanch writes of her obsession with all things Russian, the mysterious Russian figure of her youth she calls The Traveller, and of her journey to confront her past. It's a quest, travelogue and love story, in which Blanch's Russian romance unfolds against the backdrop of Siberia. (SIB47, $33.95)
Kamchatka Peninsula Map  •  Avacha Bay 2003 •  MAP A full-color map of Kamchatka, based on satellite imagery and USGS data, at a scale of 1:1,000,000. With good topographic detail, contour lines at 200 M intervals, bathymetry and key features. The reverse features satellite images of volcanoes and reserves. (SIB35, $12.99)
The Karluk's Last Voyage  •  Capt. Robert Bartlett EXPLORATION •  2001 •  PAPER  • 378 PAGES A personal account of the Karluk expedition by its captain, who set out for help with an Eskimo colleague after the ship was crushed in the ice. Bartlett went on to lead another 17 expeditions into the Ice, never again losing a man. The record of explorer and scientific leader Stefansson, who blamed Bartlett for the tragedy, is not nearly as good. (ARC129, $18.95)
The Last Imaginary Place  •  Robert McGhee BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2007 •  PAPER  • 296 PAGES In this wide-ranging portrait of the Arctic, McGhee combines a lifetime of archaeological field work, history and travel, touching on whalers and ivory-hunters, explorers, fur-traders, Viking farmers and, most particularly, the native peoples in a series of illuminating essays. With 37 black-and-white illustrations, 31 color photographs and nine maps. Published in conjunction with the Canadian Museum of Civilization, where McGhee is curator of Arctic archaeology. (ARC164, $18.00)
Libby: The Alaskan Diaries and Letters of Libby Beaman, 1879-1880  •  Libby Beaman  •  Betty John BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1998 •  PAPER  • 206 PAGES • FAVORITE The engrossing memoir of an American woman who accompanied her husband to Alaska's Pribilof Islands in 1879, just after American acquisition of the region. Libby was the first non-native woman to live on St. Paul, which lies just south of the Arctic Circle in the Bering Sea. As edited by Libby's granddaughter, the book is a plainly told and wonderfully evocative tale of a pioneering life in remote Alaska -- with much attention paid to the natural history of the Pribilof Islands. From her storm-bound arrival at St. Paul to her reception by the local population to her near-death of cold and malnutrition, it's a great story. (ARC07, $16.95)
Literary Russia, A Guide  •  Anna Benn  •  Rosamund Bartlett GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 528 PAGES Back in print! Organized geographically, this guide and literary companion includes the homes, museums and literary landmarks of Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Nabokov and other Russian masters. (RUS45, $37.50)
Marine Mammals of Alaska  •  Kate Wynne FIELD GUIDE •  2007 •  FLEXI-BOUND  • 75 PAGES A sturdy, spiral-bound field guide with range maps, color plates and brief text, including an introduction to whales and seals. Designed for use in the field, the book features large color photographs, profiles and helpful drawings. Carry it with you on deck. Third edition. (ALA08, $25.00)
Marine Mammals of the Eastern North Pacific  •  Sea Grant Alaska  •  Pieter Folkens FIELD GUIDE •  2000 •  PLASTIC CARD  • 8 PAGES A convenient, 8-panel waterproof card illustrating 50 species of whales, dolphins, sea otters and pinnipeds found in the North Pacific from Alaska and the west coast of North America to Hawaii. It's handsomely illustrated, and includes full-color panels with typical behaviors, whalewatching guidelines and identification tips. Co-sponsored by the Alaska Whale Foundation and the University of Alaska Sea Grant Program, It's an excellent, weatherproof identification guide. (ALA143, $8.95)
The Memoirs of Catherine the Great  •  Catherine the Great  •  Mark Cruse  •  Hilde Hoogenboom BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 352 PAGES Catherine The Great's rule lasted from 1762 until her death in 1796; this collection of her memoirs begins some years before, upon her arrival in Russia as a German princess in 1744. An intimate insight into the life of the world-renowned ruler and her often uneasy adjustment to the world of Russian royalty. (RUS277, $26.95)
Monster of God: The Man Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind  •  David Quammen NATURAL HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES In tracking the alpha predators, Quammen transports us to four of the world's great wild regions: the Gir forest in India, the Russian Far East, the coast of northern Australia and the mountains of Romania. Much like in his award-winning Song of the Dodo, Quammen combines scholarly insight, vivid prose and travel in this latest effort, a marvelous meditation on Indian lions, Australian crocodiles, European brown bears and Siberian tigers, man-eaters all. (BST84, $15.95)
Nature: Bears: Walking with Giants, Grizzlies of Siberia  •  Nature NATURAL HISTORY •  2003 •  DVD A double-feature from the award-winning Nature series. Walking with Giants features Canadian naturalists Charlie Russell and Maureen Enns's remarkable South Kamchatka Sanctuary (including their interactions with three now full-grown orphaned cubs who they fostered) . Showdown at Grizzly River, filmed at McNeil River Falls in Alaska, shows the bears gorging on salmon. 112 minutes. DVD (SIB46, $19.99)
Once Upon the River Lore  •  Andrei Makine  •  Geoffrey Strachan LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES In this richly evocative novel, three boys growing up in a Siberian backwater in the 1970's have their lives changed by watching a film starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. Looking back after 30 years, the novel follows its characters from the taiga to New York and Central America. (SIB45, $24.95)
The Portable Chekhov  •  Avrahm Yarmolinsky  •  Anton Chekhov LITERATURE •  1987 •  PAPER  • 634 PAGES The Viking Portable Library features a good selection of stories and plays, including "The Kiss," "Daydreams," and "The Peasants. " Translated by Avrahm Yarmolinsky. (RUS99, $18.00)
The Reindeer People, Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia  •  Piers Vitebsky CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2006 •  PAPER  • 496 PAGES • NEW A portrait of and tribute to the Eveny nomads, with whom the anthropologist author has lived and worked over the last 20 years. Vitebsky captures the many hardships, age-old rituals, and modern challenges of life on the taiga of northeastern Siberia, where the Eveny live in symbiosis with reindeer. With 16 pages of black-and-white photographs. (SIB48, $15.95)
River of No Reprieve, Descending Siberia's Waterway of Exile, Death and Destiny  •  Jeffrey Tayler TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 230 PAGES In his fifth book and the first back in Russia since Siberian Dawn, Tayler rafts 2,400 miles down the Lena from near Lake Baikal to the Arctic Ocean. It's gifted, no-holds-barred portrait of the region, its beleaguered and eccentric inhabitants, and the difficulties of travel in the remotest regions. (SIB53, $14.95)
Russia and the Russians, A History  •  Geoffrey Hosking HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 768 PAGES This ambitious history, the latest by a leading British University scholar, tackles with clarity the scope and breadth of the Russian empire from its Kievan beginnings through Imperial expansion, revolution and the Soviet period all the way to the 21st century. Hosking takes as his focus the Russian character, paying special attention to non-Russian ethnic groups scattered across Eurasia. This book follows and expands on Hosking's Russia: People and Empire, 1552-1917. (RUS208, $23.00)
Russia's Far East, A Region at Risk  •  Judith Thornton  •  Charles Ziegler HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 498 PAGES These 18 review articles, all by leading scholars on the region, offer a detailed analysis of economic and political conditions since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book brings together authors from the United States, Russia, China, Japan and Korea. They pay particular attention to the strategic importance of the Russian Far East in Northeast Asia. (RUS205, $30.00)
Russia, Experiment With a People  •  Robert Service HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 406 PAGES An authoritative survey of the transformation of Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, organized thematically. Service casts a wide net, looking at not just political and economic change but also the influence of society, culture and belief. (RUS284, $20.00)
The Russian Far East, A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development  •  Josh Newell GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 486 PAGES A fact-filled, interdisciplinary overview of the region, its resources, ecology and future, by a team of specialists as edited by Josh Newell. With accompanying tables, graphs, illustrations and 50 maps (many in color). Among his ventures in the region, Newell worked on the Russian Far East Biodiversity Hotspot study in Vladivostok, where he was based in the 1990s. (SIB40, $59.95)
A Russian Journal  •  John Steinbeck  •  Robert Capa TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES During the Cold War, amidst an abundance of paranoia, Steinbeck and Capa decided to gather un-propagandized information on the Russian way of life by traveling to the other side of the Iron Curtain. This is the result of their reporting project, an honest account of the people and everyday life, with striking photographs by the great Robert Capa. (RUS275, $15.00)
Russian Short Stories  •  Robert Chandler LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 396 PAGES • NEW Part of the Penguin Classics series, this anthology brings together literature from the most important Russian writers of the last two centuries, including well-known authors like Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Tolstoy and lesser-known greats like Zoshchenko (a Soviet satirist), Teffi (a female humorist who escaped after the October Revolution) and Varlam Shalamov (a Gulag survivor). (RUS288, $17.00)
The Russian's World, Life and Language  •  Geneva Gerhart CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2002 •  PAPER  • 419 PAGES A classic, scholarly introduction to Russian language, literature, history, and culture, from nineteenth century literature to contemporary society. (RUS320, $39.95)
Seals and Sea Lions of the World  •  Nigel Bonner FIELD GUIDE •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 224 PAGES An accessible, comprehensive overview of the pinnipeds. With wit and grace, Bonner outlines the evolutionary history, biology and ecology and behavior of seals, sea lions and walruses. Five chapters are devoted to a species-by-species account, superbly illustrated. The last chapters tackle the complex and sometimes controversial issues of the relationship of seals and humans. (FG05, $35.00)
Shamanic Worlds: Rituals and Lore of Siberia and Central Asia  •  Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer RELIGION •  1997 •  PAPER  • 260 PAGES An ethnographic account of Shamanism in Siberia and Central Asia with contributions by Russian researchers in the region. It includes chapters on Tuvan shamanic folklore, Evenk rituals and healing techniques, and religious practices among Turkic peoples of Siberia. (SIB18, $27.95)
Shamans Through Time: 500 Year on the Path to Knowledge  •  Jeremy Narby  •  Francis Huxley RELIGION •  2004 •  PAPER  • 354 PAGES An anthology of observations and writings on Shamanism from the 16th-century to modern day. The compilation offers a wide variety of views on the Shaman, religion and culture. (GEN202, $14.95)
Shanar, Dedication Ritual of Buryat Shaman in Siberia  •  Virlana Tkacz  •  Sayan Zhambalov  •  Wanda Phipps  •  Alexander Khantaev  •  Dashinima Dugarov RELIGION •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 192 PAGES Recorded by three translators of Buryat poetry, this is an intimate account of a dedication ceremony among the shamans of Buryatia, a region of Siberia located near Lake Baikal. The text is considerably enhanced by 175 color photographs depicting the step-by-step process of performing the rituals. (SIB32, $39.95)
Steller's History of Kamchatka  •  Georg Wilhelm Steller NATURAL HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER Steller's handwritten notes on Kamchatka and the Kamchadals, written in 1743-1744 after Bering's Second Kamchatka Expedition, are here translated into English for the first time. Number 12 in the University of Alaska Rasmuson Library Historical Translation Series. Steller also published Journal of a Voyage With Bering, 1741-42, admirably presented in English by Bering's biographer O.W. Frost. (SIB36, $34.95)
Syann am! Tuvan Folk Tales  •  Kira Van Deusen  •  Alexei Sedipkov LITERATURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 50 PAGES An entertaining collection of eight Tuvan tales, as related by a storyteller and ethnographer. With illustrations by Tuvan artist Alexiei Sepipkov, the book is a fanciful introduction to the traditional stories of the region, enjoyable for all ages. (SIB21, $9.95)
To a Distant Island  •  James McConkey BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER In this really rather extraordinary book, masquerading in part as a book of travel, McConkey weaves tales of Chekhov's 1890 jaunt from Moscow to Sakhalin, with insightful commentary on the great Russian writer, and an account of his own sabbatical year in Florence. McConkey's supple, quiet prose is captivating and his ability to re-imagine Chekhov's travels remarkable. Originally published in 1984. (RUS269, $14.95)
Track of the Tiger, Legend and Lore of the Great Cat  •  Maurice Hornocker NATURAL HISTORY •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 120 PAGES A celebration of the tiger, this handsome book edited by Siberian tiger biologist Maurice Hornocker presents thoughtful short essays by conservationists and 75 color photographs. (BST19, $30.00)
Tuva or Bust! Richard Feynman's Last Journey  •  Ralph Leighton TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 260 PAGES A humorous account of eccentric Noble Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman and his good friend -- and their obsessive quest for Tuva. They were originally inspired by its remote location in Central Asia, intriguing diamond-shaped stamps that Feyman remembered from his childhood, and the name of its capital, Kyzyl. (SIB20, $13.95)
Where Rivers and Mountains Sing: Sound, Music, and Nomadism in Tuva and Beyond  •  Theodore Levin  •  Valentina Suzukei MUSIC •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 312 PAGES An in-depth study of the hauntingly beautiful throat singing of Tuva and Central Asia, accompanied by a combination DVD and CD music sampler. Levin (A Hundred Thousand Fools of Gold), who has been intrumental in introducing the music of the regaion to a wider audience, follows the Tuva group Huun-Huur-Tu and their reception in America. (SIB51, $35.00)
Where the Sea Breaks its Back  •  Corey Ford EXPLORATION •  1992 •  PAPER  • 206 PAGES A gripping tale of naturalist Georg Steller and Bering's Second Expedition in 1741. Chronicling one of the great stories of exploration, Ford paints a vivid portrait of Steller and his first encounter with the wildlife of the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Alaskan coast. A classic, first published in 1966, it's subtitled "The Epic Story of Early Naturalist Georg Steller and the Russian Exploration of Alaska." (ALA07, $14.95)
White Sky, Black Ice  •  Stan Jones MYSTERY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 264 PAGES This first-rate murder mystery has as a considerable added bonus its authentic Arctic setting. In this book state trooper Nathan Active (star of the series) returns to Chukchi from Anchorage to confront a memorable cast of characters -- and figure out why two young men have killed themselves. Jones weaves serious cultural issues into his thoroughly engaging story. Nathan Active, a likeable guy born in Chukchi but raised in Anchorage, dances between native and transplanted cultures, skeptical of both. (ALA164, $13.00)
A Woman's Asia  •  Marybeth Bond ANTHOLOGY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 310 PAGES These thirty-five personal, often hilarious accounts of women's adventures from China to Sri Lanka to Turkey to Bhutan, not only illuminating the everyday, oft-overlooked cultural practices of Asia, but also giving a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of the female traveller. Featuring selections from Jan Morris, Pamela Logan and Alison Wright. (ASA49, $17.95)