Running With Reindeer: Encounters In Russian Lapland [Hardcover]

Roger Took (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 2003

Russian Lapland, a region of amazing contrasts. Here lies the last true wilderness of Europe, a rich and pristine ecosystem teeming with bird and animal life. But here too lie the dark, satanic mills of the former Soviet Union and the rotting remnants of nuclear submarines. Running with Reindeer is the first account in over a century to describe life in this harsh but beautiful land. Living among remote reindeer-herding and hunting families, Roger Took spends a decade following the lives and traditions of the indigenous Lapps, or Saami. He meets pioneering villagers descended from medieval Novgorod fur-traders who are now learning to cope with the new economy, and the men and women originally forced north to mine Russian Lapland's fabulous mineral wealth but are now unemployed and stranded. Avoiding the still vigilant security services, he explores the naval bases where nuclear-powered submarines are lying dangerously neglected. His encounters with the land and its inhabitants are dramatic and comical as well as emotionally disturbing and physically dangerous. Moving between the lines of the official histories, coping with arduous Arctic conditions, he writes compellingly, offering a vivid account of a unique part of Europe.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wanting to explore Europe's last wilderness, Took, an art historian and museum curator, made numerous trips during the 1990s to the far northwest corner of the Russian Federation and evocatively recounts his journey. Traveling alone, he camped, stayed in deplorable hotels and lived with the few people in Russian Lapland who would invite a stranger into their homes. First he went to the interior to find the Saami, the indigenous people who have herded reindeer for thousands of years in a region that is still rich with wildlife. Then, ignoring warnings that the area was too dangerous, he went to the northern coast, a restricted military zone. Although he was not always successful at evading the patrols and border guards, he managed to see some of the decaying nuclear-powered submarines and nuclear reactors that are rotting along the grim coast of the Barents Sea. He also visited Monchegorsk, home to nickel-processing plants that have polluted thousands of square kilometers as far away as Finland, Sweden and Norway, and went on an expedition with an organization doing research on Soviet forced labor camps. His wide-ranging book encompasses thousands of years of Russian Lapland's history, from the time when the Saami lived in harmony with nature to today, when a region whose traditional ways were devastated by Soviet collectivism is now succumbing to the economic problems that beset modern Russia. This is a fascinating, albeit bleak, portrait of a largely unknown part of the world. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This is the first detailed description of life on Russia's Kola Peninsula in nearly 100 years. After the fall of Communism, the author, a British art historian and museum curator, read an article that described Russian Lapland (also known as the Murmansk Region) as a vast, uninterrupted, natural landscape. "I was hooked," Took writes. Armed with a crash course in Russian and some self-preservation training--he learned, among other things, "about killing people before they could kill me"--he set off into a region where there were few roads and where he knew no one, traveling alone in a military zone. Combining traditional travelogue with history, Took brings this little-known piece of Russia vividly to life, placing it in its political and social context. Lapland is a region struggling to enter the twenty-first century, with naval bases housing decrepit nuclear submarines, with villagers descended from medieval traders. Recommend this one more to readers of politics and history than to fans of lighthearted travel memoirs, although there are moments here that will appeal to the latter. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1St Edition edition (December 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813342104
• ISBN-13: 978-0813342108
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,552,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A good book but a despicable author, July 10, 2008

By 

Juliette (Richmond) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Running With Reindeer: Encounters In Russian Lapland (Hardcover)

I read this book some time ago and I did enjoy it, but upon learning now that Richard Took used his time in Russia while researching this book to abuse young children, including extremely young children/toddlers, I don't feel we should promote or buy a book that lines his pockets. Amazon should ashamed that they are still selling this book.

He has been jailed in the UK (search on the Roger Took article in The Spectator newspaper), and as the crimes were so severe he may never get parole, but reading the passages in the book where he lived amongst the people to get his story while abusing their children, sickens me.

Roger Took's abuse went much wider than just these Russian children, and involved serious abuse of children worldwide including his grandchildren, step grandchildren and a disabled child.

Before you purchase this book, I strongly recommend you google him for the Spectator and BBC articles, and then decide if you really want to buy it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Book written by condemned pedophile, July 25, 2008

By 

A. L. Wallace (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Running With Reindeer: Encounters In Russian Lapland (Hardcover)

As the previous reviewer points out, Roger Took is a convicted pedophile. See Spectator article (although be warned, it is hard to stomach the details of his atrocious activities). Amazon should withdraw this book from sale. I gave the book one star because this system doesn't allow you to give no stars.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential information on the Author, July 11, 2008

By 

ElicahouseDotcom - See all my reviews

This review is from: Running with Reindeer: Encounters in Russian Lapland (Paperback)

No doubt an interesting book, but I feel any prospective reader should be aware that Roger Took as been sentanced to 9 years in prison for numerous offences of the most appauling child sexual abuse, it is quite possible that he was pursuing and committing this kind of crime whilst in the process of travels which provide the source material for this book. I suspect that most people would have no wish to give any kind of support to someone who as committed such crimes. Anyone wanting to inform themselves further can do so through BBC women's hour of 10th July or The Spectator of the same date.