Tent Life in Siberia: An Incredible Account of Siberian Adventure, Travel

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602390452
• ISBN-13: 978-1602390454
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  

By : George Kennan
Price : $13.90
You Save : $4.05 (23%)

 

Tent Life in Siberia: An Incredible Account of Siberian Adventure, Travel, and Survival [Paperback]

 

Buyer Reviews

This book is the fascinating travel journal of George Kennan(1845-1924) who was employed by the Russo-American Telegraph corporation to explore Eastern Siberia in 1865. Leaving from San Francisco in July 1865 Mr. Kennan and 3 other men set out for Petropavlovski in Kamchatka. From there they began a march to the northwest, meeting the Sea of Okhotsk and then detouring West for a while till heading north, exploring Eastern Siberia as far as the Berings strait, to Anadyrsk. They navigated rivers, saw the Aurua Borealis in February 1867. In the end the exploration did not lead to the laying of telegraph cable, but nonetheless this account must rank with Twain's `Innocents Abroad' as a single of the awesome pieces of American travel literature of the 19th century.
Kennan has a dry sarcastic whit, like Twain, and he writes on quite a few points, from wildlife to flaura, to the individuals and the country. Most amazing is to look into the wonderful distances covered by such couple of many people. There are several exciting stories and insights into the tricky life of Russians in the far east. There are also descriptions of the plenty of native peoples, such as Koraks, Kamchatdals, Chookchees, Yookaghirs, Chooances, Yakoots and Gakouts, to the depth of describing rituals, marriages and the languages.
The greatest, virtually unforgivable, oversight in this book, one that is practically crippling, is lack of even 1 map in an account that begs to have many maps given that it is both a travel narrative and 1 that mentions many obscure areas and tribes that no longer exist in the very same form now. The reader is left to envision the position of the Samanka or Penzhina rivers, the villages of Genul, Okoota or Anadyrsk, or the most obscure villages in north Siberia, such as Geezhega or Shestakova.
A awesome piece of history.
Seth J. Frantzman

Wonderfully written account of a physically and emotionally demanding journey into the unfamiliar. The dark humor, along with the detailed and oftentimes surprising observations made by Kennan, tends to make this Siberian adventure tale a awesome read. I would suggest this book to any person interested in reading about Russian background and culture, or in travel literature.

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