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Are you excited about planning your next trip? Do you want to try something new while traveling? Would you like some guidance from a local? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this book is just for you. Greater Than a Tourist - Nizhny Novgorod Russia by Linh Le offers the inside scope on Nizhny Novgorod. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. Although there's nothing wrong with that, as a part of the Greater Than a Tourist series this book will give you tips and a bunch of ideas from someone who lives at your next travel destination. You'll discover local advice that will help you throughout your stay. Greater Than a tourist is a series of travel books written by locals. Travel like a local. Get the inside scoop. Slow down, stay in one place, take your time, get to know the people and the culture of a place. Try some things off the beaten path with guidance. Patronize local business and vendors when you travel. Be willing to try something new and have the travel experience of a lifetime. By the time you finish this book, you will be excited to travel to your destination. So grab your copy today. You'll be glad you did. Read more

A fascinating collection of medieval Arabic travel writing in an important new translationBetween the ninth and fourteenth centuries, Arab explorers journeyed widely and frequently into the far north, crossing territories that now include Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. Ibn Fadla-n's chronicles of his travels are one of the most important documents from the period, and this illuminating new translation offers insight into the world of the Arab geographers and the medieval lands of the far north. Based on an expedition to the upper Volga River in 922 AD, Ibn Fadla-n and the Land of Darkness provides a rare and valuable glimpse of Viking customs, dress, table manners, religion, and sexual practices, including the only eyewitness account ever written of a Viking ship cremation.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. Read more

A stirring account of one momentous week that would unleash fifty years of tyranny for half of Europe and plunge the world into the Cold War, as seen through the eyes of three young women. Catherine Grace Katz’s debut book, The Daughters of Yalta, is a marvelous and extraordinary work that reveals the human experience of the conference, with all its tragedy, love, betrayal, and even humor. She defines the relationships that shaped our world, and continue to shape our future.” —Julian Fellowes, Oscar-winning writer and creator of Downton Abbey The untold story of the three intelligent and glamorous young women who accompanied their famous fathers to the Yalta Conference in February 1945, and of the conference’s fateful reverberations in the waning days of World War IITensions at Yalta threatened to tear apart the wartime alliance of Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin just as victory was close at hand. Catherine Grace Katz uncovers the dramatic story of the three young women who were chosen by their fathers to travel with them to Yalta, each bound by fierce family loyalty, political savvy, and intertwined romances that powerfully colored these crucial days. Kathleen Harriman, daughter of U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union Averell Harriman, was a war correspondent and champion skier. Sarah Churchill, an actress-turned-RAF officer, was devoted to her brilliant father, who depended on her astute political mind. Roosevelt’s only daughter, Anna, chosen instead of her mother, Eleanor, to accompany the president to Yalta, arrived there as keeper of her father’s most damaging secrets. Situated in the political maelstrom that marked the transition to the postwar world, The Daughters of Yalta is a remarkable story of fathers and daughters whose relationships were tested and strengthened by the history they witnessed and the future they crafted together. Read more

A land of enormous proportions, countless secrets, and incredible history, Central Asia was the heart of the great Mongol empire of Tamerlane and scene of Stalin's cruelest deportations. A remote and fascinating region in a constant state of transition—never more so than since the collapse of the Soviet Union—it encompasses terrain as diverse as the Kazakh steppes, the Karakum desert, and the Pamir mountains. In The Lost Heart of Asia, acclaimed, bestselling travel writer Colin Thubron carries readers on an extraordinary journey through this little understood, rarely visited, yet increasingly important corner of the world. Read more

The earliest surviving instance of sustained first-person travel narrative in ArabicMission to the Volga is a pioneering text of peerless historical and literary value. In its pages, we move north on a diplomatic mission from Baghdad to the upper reaches of the Volga River in what is now central Russia. In this colorful documentary from the tenth century, the enigmatic Ibn Fadlan relates his experiences as part of an embassy sent by Caliph al-Muqtadir to deliver political and religious instruction to the recently-converted King of the Bulghars. During eleven months of grueling travel, Ibn Fadlan records the marvels he witnesses on his journey, including an aurora borealis and the white nights of the North. Crucially, he offers a description of the Viking Rus, including their customs, clothing, body painting, and a striking account of a ship funeral. Together, these anecdotes illuminate a vibrant world of diversity during the heyday of the Abbasid Empire, narrated with as much curiosity and zeal as they were perceived by its observant beholder.An English-only edition. Read more

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisherAdmirers of Russian literature claim that the 'Slavic soul' of writers such as Chekhov or Tolstoy can't be fully appreciated in translation. For the less ambitious, the language will bring you closer to deciphering the 'riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma' that is Russia. Get More From Your Trip with Easy-to-Find Phrases for Every Travel Situation! Lonely Planet Phrasebooks have been connecting travellers and locals for over a quarter of a century - our phrasebooks and mobile apps cover more than any other publisher! Order the right meal with our menu decoder Never get stuck for words with our 3500-word two-way dictionary We make language easy with shortcuts, key phrases & common Q&As Feel at ease, with essential tips on culture & manners Coverage includes: Basics, Practical, Social, Safe Travel, Food! Lonely Planet gets you to the heart of a place. Our job is to make amazing travel experiences happen. We visit the places we write about each and every edition. We never take freebies for positive coverage, so you can always rely on us to tell it like it is. Authors: Written and researched by Lonely Planet, James Jenkin, and Grant Taylor. About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in. 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) Read more

A Library Journal 2020 Title to Watch"Terrific - and an amazing achievement to cover so much ground in such a short and wonderfully readable book." -Peter Frankopan, bestselling author of The Silk RoadsRussia’s epic story told in an accessible, lively and short form, using the country's fascinating history to help us understand its actions today and what the future might hold A country with no natural borders, no single ethnic group, no true central identity, Russia has mythologized its past to unite its people, to justify its military decisions, and to signal strength to outsiders. Mark Galeotti takes us behind the myths to the heart of the Russian story, covering key moments such as:the formation of a nation through its early legends, including Ivan the Terrible and Catherine the Greatthe rise and fall of the Romanovs, the Russian Revolution, the Cold War, Chernobyl and the Soviet Unionthe arrival of an obscure politician named Vladimir Putin and his ambitions for RussiaA Short History of Russia explores the history of this fascinating, extraordinary, desperate and exasperating country through two intertwined issues: the way successive influences from beyond its borders have shaped Russia, and the way Russians came to terms with this influence, writing and rewriting their past to understand their present and try to shape their future. In turn, this self-invented history has come to affect not just their constant nation-building project but also their relations with the world. Read more

Don’t just see the sights—get to know the people. Discovering the Russian soul is like opening a matryoshka, a Russian doll, revealing the many layers. The Russian orthodox religion is unique; Russian history is tragic; and the people are unpredictable. Russia s military and political power, as well as the rich contribution of its art and culture, is the result of an inner dynamic not always understood by outsiders.Culture Smart! Russia sets out to help you to become a more perceptive traveler, and to make your trip more personally fulfilling. It explores the connections between Russia s turbulent past and its paradoxical present; it describes present-day values and attitudes, and offers practical advice on what to expect and how to behave in different social circumstances.Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas. Read more

This is the first English translation of the famous Risala, letters by the tenth-century traveler Ibn Fadlan, one of the great medieval travelers in world history, akin to Ibn Battuta. Ibn Fadlan was an Arab missionary sent by the Caliph in Baghdad to the king of the Bulghars. He journeyed from Baghdad to Bukhara in Central Asia and then continued across the desert to the town of Bulghar, near present Kazan. He describes the tribes he met on his way and gives an account of their customs. His is the earliest account of a meeting with the Vikings, called Rus, who had reached the Volga River from Sweden. His detailed description of the Rus, or Rusiya as he calls them, has produced much discussion about their origins, sexual moral standards, customs, treatment of slaves and women, burial traditions, and trading habits. The story of his travels has fascinated scholars and even prompted Michael Crichton to write the popular novel Eaters of the Dead, which was made into a film entitled The 13th Warrior. Read more

The acclaimed author of Sovietistan travels along the seemingly endless Russian border and reveals the deep and pervasive influence it has had across half the globe.Imperial, communist or autocratic, Russia has been—and remains—a towering and intimidating neighbor.  Whether it is North Korea in the Far East through the former Soviet republics in Asia and the Caucasus, or countries on the Caspian Ocean and the Black Sea.  What would it be like to traverse the entirety of the Russian periphery to examine its effects on those closest to her? An astute and brilliant combination of lyric travel writing and modern history, The Border is a book about Russia without its author ever entering Russia itself.  Fatland gets to the heart of what it has meant to be the neighbor of that mighty, expanding empire throughout history. As we follow Fatland on her journey, we experience the colorful, exciting, tragic and often unbelievable histories of these bordering nations along with their cultures, their people, their landscapes. Sharply observed and wholly absorbing, The Border is a surprising new way to understand a broad part our world. Read more

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Lonely Planet: The world’s leading travel guide publisherLonely Planet Moscow is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Gawk at Red Square and the city’s countless glittering domes, lose yourself in a performance at the Bolshoi, or brush up on your Cold War history -all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Moscow and begin your journey now!Inside Lonely Planet’s Moscow Travel Guide:Colour maps and images throughoutHighlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interestsInsider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spotsEssential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, pricesHonest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks missCultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, art, literature, music, architecture, performing arts, Moscow todayCovers the Kremlin and Red Square, Tverskoy, Presnya, Arbat, Khamovniki, Zamoskvorechie, Meshchansky, Basmanny, and moreThe Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Moscow, our most comprehensive guide to Moscow, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled.Looking for just the highlights of Moscow? Check out Pocket Moscow & St Petersburg, a handy-sized guide focused on the can’t-miss sights for a quick trip. Travelling further afield? Check out Lonely Planet’s Russia guide for a comprehensive look at all the country has to offer; St Petersburg for a guide to the city’s most popular attractions, andTrans-Siberian Railway, focused on the can’t-miss sights for a trip of a lifetime.About Lonely Planet: Since 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel media company with guidebooks to every destination, an award-winning website, mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travellers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves. Read more

100 authentic Russian recipes thoughtfully organized by region, guiding you through a culinary adventure from the Baltic to the Pacific.Photos for every recipe: Immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of Russian cuisine with stunning, high-quality photographs accompanying each recipe, bringing the diverse landscapes and culinary traditions of Russia to your kitchen.Easy-to-follow instructions tailored for both American and European measurements, ensuring precision and success with every dish, from hearty borscht to delicate blini.Experience the diverse influences that shape Russian gastronomy, from the hearty meat dishes of Siberia to the seafood specialties of the Far East, and the unique flavors of the Caucasus region. Each recipe is a celebration of Russia's multicultural heritage.Embrace flexibility with ingredient substitutions, making these tantalizing Russian flavors accessible and adaptable to your kitchen and taste preferences, whether you're crafting pelmeni or perfecting your beef Stroganoff.Whether you're a seasoned chef or an eager novice, our Russian Cuisine cookbook promises to captivate your senses and transport you to the heart of Russia's vast and varied culinary landscape, from the bustling streets of Moscow to the remote villages of the Ural Mountains. Read more

Lonely Planet: The world’s leading travel guide publisherLonely Planet PocketMoscow & St Petersburgis your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Gawk at Red Square and St Basil’s Cathedral, lose yourself in a performance at the Bolshoi, or be dazzled by the wealth of imperial art at the State Hermitage Museum -all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Moscow & St Petersburg and begin your journey now!Inside Lonely Planet’s PocketMoscow & St Petersburg Travel Guide:Colour maps and images throughoutHighlightsand itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interestsInsider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spotsEssential infoat your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, pricesHonest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks missCultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, art, literature, music, architecture, performing arts, Moscow & St Petersburg todayCovers Kremlin & Kitay Gorod; Presnya & Tverskoy; Arbat, Khamovniki & Zamoskvorechie; and Meshchansky & Basmanny in Moscow, plus St Petersburg’s Historic Heart; Sennaya, Kolomna & Vasilyevsky Island; Smolny & Vosstaniya; and Petrograd & Vyborg SidesThe Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet PocketMoscow & St Petersburg is a handy-sized guide focused on the can’t-miss sights for a quick trip.Need more detail? Check out Lonely Planet’s Moscow and St Petersburg for in-depth guides to the cities, perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled. Travelling further afield? Lonely Planet’s Russia guide gives a comprehensive look at all the country has to offer; andTrans-Siberian Railway is focused on the can’t-miss sights for a trip of a lifetime.About Lonely Planet: Since 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel media company with guidebooks to every destination, an award-winning website, mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travellers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves. Read more

Lonely Planet: The world’s leading travel guide publisherLonely Planet Russiais your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Brush up on your Soviet and imperial history in Moscow and St Petersburg, explore European Russia and its gingerbread cottages and golden domes, or lose yourself in the wilds of Siberia and the east -all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Russia and begin your journey now!Inside Lonely Planet’s Russia Travel Guide:Colour maps and images throughoutHighlightsand itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interestsInsider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spotsEssential infoat your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, pricesHonest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks missCultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, art, literature, music, architecture, performing arts, landscape, wildlife, environment, religion, Russia todayCovers Moscow, St Petersburg, the Golden Ring, Kaliningrad, the Urals, Volga, Sochi, Caucasus, Siberia, the Russian Far East, and moreThe Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Russia, our most comprehensive guide to Russia, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled.Looking for a guide focused on Moscow or St Petersburg? Check out Lonely Planet’s MoscowandSt Petersburg guides for a comprehensive look at all these cities have to offer; or Pocket Moscow & St Petersburg for a handy-sized guide focused on the can’t-miss sights for a quick trip. Travelling further afield? Check out Lonely Planet’s Trans-Siberian Railway, focused on the can’t-miss sights for a trip of a lifetime, or Eastern Europe, for extensive coverage of the whole region.About Lonely Planet: Since 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel media company with guidebooks to every destination, an award-winning website, mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travellers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves. Read more

Ryszard Kapuscinski's last book, The Soccer War -a revelation of the contemporary experience of war -- prompted John le Carre to call the author "the conjurer extraordinary of modern reportage." Now, in Imperium, Kapuscinski gives us a work of equal emotional force and evocative power: a personal, brilliantly detailed exploration of the almost unfathomably complex Soviet empire in our time.He begins with his own childhood memories of the postwar Soviet occupation of Pinsk, in what was then Poland's eastern frontier ("something dreadful and incomprehensible...in this world that I enter at seven years of age"), and takes us up to 1967, when, as a journalist just starting out, he traveled across a snow-covered and desolate Siberia, and through the Soviet Union's seven southern and Central Asian republics, territories whose individual histories, cultures, and religions he found thriving even within the "stiff, rigorous corset of Soviet power."Between 1989 and 1991, Kapuscinski made a series of extended journeys through the disintegrating Soviet empire, and his account of these forms the heart of the book. Bypassing official institutions and itineraries, he traversed the Soviet territory alone, from the border of Poland to the site of the most infamous gulags in far-eastern Siberia (where "nature pals it up with the executioner"), from above the Arctic Circle to the edge of Afghanistan, visiting dozens of cities and towns and outposts, traveling more than 40,000 miles, venturing into the individual lives of men, women, and children in order to Understand the collapsing but still various larger life of the empire.Bringing the book to a close is a collection of notes which, Kapuscinski writes, "arose in the margins of my journeys" -- reflections on the state of the ex-USSR and on his experience of having watched its fate unfold "on the screen of a television set...as well as on the screen of the country's ordinary, daily reality, which surrounded me during my travels." It is this "schizophrenic perception in two different dimensions" that enabled Kapuscinski to discover and illuminate the most telling features of a society in dire turmoil.Imperium is a remarkable work from one of the most original and sharply perceptive interpreters of our world -- galvanizing narrative deeply informed by Kapuscinski's limitless curiosity and his passion for truth, and suffused with his vivid sense of the overwhelming importance of history as it is lived, and of our constantly shifting places within it. Read more

A reissue of E. E. Cummings's long-unavailable, yet pointed and moving story of a journey through Soviet Russia. Unavailable for more than fifty years, EIMI finally returns. While sometimes termed a "novel," it is better described as a novelistic travelogue, the diary of a trip to Russia in the 1930s during the rise of the Stalinist government. Despite some contempt for what he witnesses, Cummings's narrator has an effective, occasionally hilarious way of evoking feelings of accord and understanding. As Ezra Pound wrote, Cummings's Soviet Union is laid "out there pellucidly on the page in all its Slavic unfinishedness, in all of its Dostoievskian slobberyness....Does any man wish to know about Russia? 'EIMI'!" A stylistic tour de force, EIMI is a mélange of styles and tones, the prose containing many abbreviations, grammatical and syntactical shifts, typographical devices, compounds, and word coinages. This is Cummings's invigorating and unique voice at its finest, and EIMI is without question one of his most substantial accomplishments. Read more

"A gripping read with fascinating political insight." (Sunday Times, London)"Elegant, elegiac and poignant...Thubron is an intrepid traveler, a shrewd observer and a lyrical guide... to the river, much of it along the border between these two powers at a time of rapid and tense reconfiguration of global geopolitics." (Washington Post)The most admired travel writer of our time—author of Shadow of the Silk Road and To a Mountain in Tibet—recounts an eye-opening, often perilous journey along a little known Far East Asian river that for over a thousand miles forms the highly contested border between Russia and China.The Amur River is almost unknown. Yet it is the tenth longest river in the world, rising in the Mongolian mountains and flowing through Siberia to the Pacific. For 1,100 miles it forms the tense border between Russia and China. Simmering with the memory of land-grabs and unequal treaties, this is the most densely fortified frontier on earth. In his eightieth year, Colin Thubron takes a dramatic journey from the Amur’s secret source to its giant mouth, covering almost 3,000 miles. Harassed by injury and by arrest from the local police, he makes his way along both the Russian and Chinese shores, starting out by Mongolian horse, then hitchhiking, sailing on poacher’s sloops or travelling the Trans-Siberian Express. Having revived his Russian and Mandarin, he talks to everyone he meets, from Chinese traders to Russian fishermen, from monks to indigenous peoples. By the time he reaches the river’s desolate end, where Russia’s nineteenth-century imperial dream petered out, a whole, pivotal world has come alive.  The Amur River is a shining masterpiece by the acknowledged laureate of travel writing, an urgent lesson in history and the culmination of an astonishing career.  Read more

In 1991, Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag, Iron Curtain and Red Famine, took a three-month road trip through the borderlands between the fallen Soviet Union and Europe—lands that became Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Moldova. In her iconic reportage, which has become indispensable history, she captures the harrowing story of a region that is once again threatened by Russia.An extraordinary journey into the past and present of the lands east of Poland and west of Russia—an area defined throughout its history by colliding empires. Traveling from the former Soviet naval center of Kaliningrad on the Baltic to the Black Sea port of Odessa, Anne Applebaum encounters a rich range of competing cultures, religions, and national aspirations. In reasserting their heritage, the inhabitants of the borderlands attempt to build a future grounded in their fractured ancestral legacies. In the process, neighbors unearth old conflicts, devote themselves to recovering lost culture, and piece together competing legends to create a new tradition. Rich in surprising encounters and vivid characters, Between East and West brilliantly illuminates the soul of the borderlands and the shaping power of the past. Read more