Customer Reviews

Roaming Russia: An Adventurer's Guide to Off the Beaten Track Russia and Siberia

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I grew up in Russia but moved to the States when I was young so now I am planning to travel to places that I never had a chance to visit. Thus, I've been reading a lot of books on traveling in Russia and am always on a lookout for books that go beyond talking about basics and touristy places.

Jacobson's book was one of the best I've read so far - it is definitely the first one that describes with great care and knowledge places people typically don't think to go. I found sections on less known areas of Russia such as Tomsk, Aginskoe and the travel on Trans-Siberian railroad very interesting with a good thoughtfully-arranged mix of information. Even if you are not planning to go to any of these areas, this book is well-written guide to the regions peoples and customs.

Get this book - whether you are a fellow traveller to Russia and someone who is interested in learning about less known parts of this country!

Roaming Russia shows an attention to the little details that other travel guides lost long ago... where to get good vendor food on a one-hour train stop, etc. This book focuses on Siberia's people, not its monuments. Ms. Jacobson clearly knows how to interact with the local people, and the way she wrote about it makes me feel a bit more adventurous and confident about it as well. Half down-to-earth guide book, half travelogue, the book makes me feel as if I'd already been there, and I can't wait to try it out "in the field." Although I'll probably take a more conventional guidebook along for the "hard info," which Ms. Jacobson kept to a minimum (and rightly so, since they change so often and are unreliable even in the most "authoritative" guides). I wish there were more guides like this out there for the lesser-traveled regions of the world...

I have been researching travel guides for an upcoming trip, and agree that this book was very useful and easy to read. I would also recommend a book called A Tent Life in Siberia, by George Kennan, which seems to be one of the first accounts of travel in Siberia - great book.

The two previous reviewers found great worth in the book--I cannot disagree more strongly.

The book is filled with simple anecdotal information that leaves the impression of a quick visit to each of these places as the brevity of the text attests. There are no maps to help orient the reader. The book left me disorganized and certainly did not convey an urge to visit many of the cities, towns and villages found in the book.

I thought: will be quite a thin book, however with the title: Off the Beaten Track they will most likely just skip the usual places. THEY DON'T!
In this book you will find the MOST TOURISTY places in Russia, but you will get NO insight into real Russia and its wonderful nature! Let me take an example: I live in Irkutsk for a year so I take Irkutsk Oblast.
In Irkutsk oblast you find the whole western shore of lake Baikal, one of Russia's most famous and most beautiful natural areas. What does this book offer?: Irkutsk 2 pages (well if you take Irkutsk in there, it's far away from being enough. But to come to "Off the beaten track": Other places: Listvjanka and Sludjanka. Listvjanka is well known as the most touristy place in whole Siberia and most likly the ugliest place to find on beautiful lake Baikal! Sludjanka is a major stop at transsiberian Railway and is lying in one of the least spectacular areas of the Southern shore of lake Baikal. That's all! And Irkutsk oblast is not just a tiny region! it is bigger than France! Where is Olkhon island with one of the holiest buddist spots in the world and just wonderful nature? where is Buchta Peschanaja in the middle of rough cliffs only reachable in summer by boat? Where are the Banjas (Sauna) near lake Baikal from which you can jump inside the ice cold water of the lake? Where are the wonderful mountains in the south? and so on and so on.

I bought this book as in 7 months a had seen already a lot of the stuff you find in guides to the regions and thought by "An Adventurer's Guide to Off the Beaten Track Russia and Siberia" I might get one or even two new ideas where to go. Haven't been more disapointed about a book in my life. What's offered in there I had seen in the first week of being here.

If you want to do a 2 week transsiberian railway trip and just do it for the trip, but are not really interested in the country you are travelling in and just want to have some pics on the extremely very major spots buy this book, it will be your friend!
However if you love travelling, getting to know people, country and the real life take the chance and learn from my mistake, when I bought this book!

This book contains information about cities that are more uncommon to travel too. If you are looking for a glossy travel guide with nice pictures this is the wrong book for you to get. The book is very outdated now but still quite useful for some information about places not usually covered in travel guides.