Midnight in Siberia

August 4, 2014
In 2013, after several years serving as NPR’s Moscow bureau chief, Greene traveled 6,000 miles of the Trans-Siberian Railway in a quixotic attempt to understand the Russian soul. As Green journeyed across the Siberian landscape, he made frequent stops to interview ordinary Russians in a variety of situations to capture the everyday realities of post-Soviet Russia. The result is chronicled in this travelogue that reads like a series of episodic radio pieces in the NPR style, a collage of Green’s interviews and insights from scholars about Russian history that attempts to answer a few difficult questions: what do the Russians want? Why do they tolerate a corrupt and restrictive government? And, as the Arab Spring erupts in the Middle East, how close is Russia to (another) revolution? What Greene finds is complex and frequently contradictory but all the more thought-provoking: a small business owner who believes Russia must be patient and slowly “develop” towards democracy, a taxi driver who wishes for socialism, an anti-Putin activist who believes Russia needs an autocrat like Stalin (but more benign). Despite the poverty and repression he frequently encounters, Greene remains optimistic throughout his travels, and he reproduces the source of this conviction in this collection of vignettes.

Starred review from November 1, 2014

NPR's former Moscow bureau chief explains that his book is "a journey and an adventure, a wild ride on one of the world's epic train routes, 6,000 miles from Moscow to far East Asia taking us into the heart of a country and into the lives of its people, asking how their lives have changed in the post-Soviet years." Greene's journey enables him to get past the headlines and provide insightful observations about the politics and culture of Russia today. (LJ 9/15/14)

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
Prior to his current job as Morning Edition host, NPR's Greene reported from Russia. This chronicle of a 2013, five-week-long train journey from Moscow to Vladivostok concerns life stories of individuals he met (their names title the chapters). Collectively, they furnish Greene's source material for presenting his general observations about contemporary Russia. Vitally aided by a translator (Greene's asides clearly indicate a limited fluency in Russian), Greene draws out a person's interests and circumstances. Often connecting his interlocutors with his own perplexities about Russia, chief among them popular acceptance of authoritarian and corrupt government, Greene alludes to Russian traits of fatalism and endurance as explanations. If those are not exactly new discoveries in the annals of trans-Siberian travel, his detection of a split between Soviet and post-Communist generations makes Greene optimistic that the latter, more entrepreneurial and less fearful than their elders, may yet push democracy forward in Putin's Russia. With abundant interpersonal detail, Greene delivers a lively, tangible feeling of meeting modern Russians on one of the world's famous railroads.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

August 1, 2014
A former Russia correspondent for NPR ends his gig by taking a train across Siberia, generating new experiences and remembering earlier ones. Greene, who's still with NPR as a host with Morning Edition, debuts with a journey that is personal and emotional, both actual and metaphorical. He begins by explaining his history with Russia: He and his significant other, Rose, moved there in 2009; the inability to speak or understand Russian remained an issue for both of them-but one they were able to surmount with the aid of Sergei, a translator who became one of the author's best friends. During his journey of thousands of miles (Rose was with him only temporarily), Greene tells us about the hassles of traveling (security agents shadowing them), the explicit and tacit rules for behavior on trains, the charms of traveling third class (as circumstance occasionally forced them to do), and the people they encountered-both on the train and in the communities where they stopped. Greene had met some during other reporting excursions; others were strangers who shared rail compartments, managed hotels and drove public transportation. But traveling also provided Greene an opportunity to recall important experiences throughout his life. He recalls an intense conversation about hockey, a visit to a Holocaust memorial and a series of low points in his journalism career. In addition, the author offers quite a few quotations from other travelers and from Russian writers-Chekhov appears more than once. He also speculates continually about the Russian character: What do they really think about Vladimir Putin? Why does there seem to be lingering nostalgia for Stalin? How do they manage to deal with the almost Kafkaesque aspects of the Russian bureaucracy? Glowing in its profound affection for the Russian people, an affection Greene convinces readers to share.

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from September 15, 2014

As an NPR host and correspondent, Greene has shared stories and political situations from all over the world. Here he narrates his experiences traveling across Russia on a 6,000-mile train journey with his faithful friend and translator Sergei, after living in Moscow for several years. So much more than a survey of the top sights, this is a close look at the people who embody the beautiful and chaotic spirit of Russia. Whether portraying the hyperattentive spa employee, Marina; Vasily, a veterinarian encountered over vodka in a Russian bath; or the paralyzed Alexei, who was wrongfully accused of a crime, Greene's tales of his encounters delve into the history, politics, and culture that make Russian people tick. His observations of the lingering effects of communism are particularly striking as he meets residents grappling daily with wanting to escape their communist past while hoping to retain their traditions, even at the cost of a more democratic future. VERDICT An impressive look at a complex country, this book brings the reader into direct contact with myriad Russians struggling and surviving in their snowy, expansive homeland. Recommended for NPR and travel fans as well as those interested in a more personal exploration [repeats above] of Russian politics. [See Prepub Alert, 4/14/14.]--Katie Lawrence, Chicago

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.