Customer Reviews

The Conquest of a Continent: Siberia and the Russians

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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.

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.