The Conquest of a Continent: Siberia and the Russians [Hardcover]

W. Bruce Lincoln (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 1993

An account of the history of Siberia describes the actions of the rulers, statesmen, explorers, and convicts whose destinies were shaped there and chronicles the human depravity that existed there for four centuries. 20,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Russia's conquest of Siberia, begun in 1582 with Cossack chieftan Ermak Timofevich's crushing of the Tatars, transformed the obscure kingdom of Muscovy into the world's larget contiguous empire. To Siberia's native nomads, hunters and reindeer herders, the conquest brought cruel exploitation, torture and corruption under military governors. Three and a half centuries later, the industrial complex that Stalin built east of the Urals manufactured the tanks, planes and guns that defeated Hitler, and Stalin's Siberian slave labor camps swallowed up millions of innocents. Its fragile ecology devastated by industrializers Khrushchev and Brezhnev, Siberia is today one of the world's worst environmental disaster zones. In Lincoln's ( In War's Dark Shadow ) compulsively readable epic narrative, Siberia's dark history comes alive as a vast human drama of greed, adventure, exploration, ambition, persecution and protest. Tamerlaine, Danish explorer Vitus Bering (in the service of Czar Peter the Great), Dostoevsky, Lenin, rogues, reformers and Siberia's natives people this prodigiously researched tapestry. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Lincoln ( Red Victory , LJ 2/15/90) chronicles Siberia's role in Russian history, from the formation of the state to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The author uses primary and secondary documents to create this basic text, which is written for the undergraduate and general reader. Lincoln treats Siberia's resources as a measure of Russia's greatness. He traces Siberia's conquest and colonization; the search for its wealth; its role as an outlet for excess, criminal, and dissident labor; its industrial development and the development of the railroad; its part in the wars and upheaval of the 20th century; and, finally, the recognition of widespread pollution and environmental problems. Historians may still long for a scholarly, comprehensive study of Siberia, but this well-written and -researched book fills a void and belongs in general collections.
- Rena Fowler, Humboldt State Univ., Arcata, Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (December 28, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067941214X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679412144
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Siberia from a Russian point of view, December 7, 2008

By 

Benjamin Trovato (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Conquest of a Continent: Siberia and the Russians (Paperback)

In contrast to Forsyth's History of the Peoples of Siberia, this semi-popular book emphasizes the Russians. It is a better read, has more human-interest material and has a better account of the Amur region, but has less infromation.

In the first 30 pages we learn that by 1200 the Chinese had been cultivating maize for thousands of years, that 'Budapest' flourished during the middle ages, that Tamurlane was a Mongol and that Tokhtamysh was the nephew of the 'khan of Kazakhstan'. Later we are told that the moment the 'discovery' of the mariner's compass 'made it possible to sail beyond the sight of land', Europeans began dreaming of a sea route to China. He also thinks that the English were on the California coast in 1715. I have never seen so many obvious mistakes in a book from an acedemic publisher. One hopes that he is more accurate in the areas he has researched directly.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Literate, June 24, 2008

By 

Leclerc (Houston) "Leclerc" (Houston) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Conquest of a Continent: Siberia and the Russians (Paperback)

A rather thorough history of the Russian annexation and subjugation of Siberia and its peoples. The number of people who died in this conquest is unbelievable partcularly considering the somewhat sparse population. The toll rivals the European conquest of the Americas. However, Lincoln spares the reader from considerable graphic detail. If the subject matter were not so grim, the book would be almost enjoyable due to Lincoln's easy style. Worth reading.