In the summer of 1991, the author organized an expedition from the source to the mouth of the longest and most pristine of Siberia's great rivers, the Lena. Eight Americans and four Russians made the 2,700-mile journey to the Arctic Coast.
As they rode the great current north, they met and spoke with coal miners, reindeer herders and people living hard lives in villages huddled on the river's bank
Returning from the Arctic to Moscow on August 18, they woke to the rumble of tanks through the city's streets, and were there to witness and report the failed coup that brought the collapse of the Soviet system.
Thirty-two full color plates capture the adventure on the river and the drama of the historic events at the journey's end.
