The Road of Bones: A Journey to the Dark Heart of Russia

The Road of Bones: A Journey to the Dark Heart of Russia

by JeremyPoolman (Author)

Synopsis

The Road of Bones is the story of Russia's greatest road. For over 200 years, the route of the Vladimirka Road has been at the centre of the nation's history, having witnessed everything from the first human footsteps to the rise of Putin and his oil-rich oligarchy. Tsars, wars, famine and wealth: all have crossed and travelled this road, but no-one has ever told its story. In pursuit of the sights, sounds and voices both past and present, Jeremy Poolman travels the Vladimirka. Both epic and intimate, The Road of Bones is a record of his travels - but much more. It looks into the hearts and reveals the histories of those whose lives have been changed by what is known by many as simply The Greatest of Roads. This is a book about life and about death and about the strength of will it takes to celebrate the former while living in the shadow of the latter. Anecdotal and epic, The Road of Bones follows the author's journey along this road, into the past and back again. The book takes as its compass both the voices of history and those of today and draws a map of the cities and steppes of the Russian people's battered but ultimately indefatigable spirit.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
Published: 03 Feb 2011

ISBN 10: 1847376479
ISBN 13: 9781847376473

Media Reviews
'If you really want to get to know a place, ask a local - and in Red Square, Moscow, that means taking tips from Uncle Joe' My Travels, Guardian 12/2 'The Road of Bones is informative, poetic and eerily beautiful; a dreamlike, slightly feverish journey through the road's history and reality (whatever that 'reality' may be; officially the gulags are gone but many of the Russians the author meets seem to believe otherwise)... his words weave a haunting spell' Metro, 4 stars 16/2 Praise for Jeremy Poolman 'A writer of considerable verbal dexterity and razor-sharp insight' Washington Post Book World 'Poolman's writing has sheer chutzpah' Sunday Herald 'Poolman keeps his reader on the rack with taut, paranoid sentences' Daily Telegraph 'a moving personal homage' Waterstones Books Quarterly