The Siberian BAM Guide: Rail, Rivers & Road: North-East Russia's Siberian BAM Railway, Lena River & Kolyma Highway (Trailblazer Guides) [Paperback]

Nicholas Zvegintzov (Author), Athol Yates (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

Expanded from the first edition (Siberian BAM Railway Guide) this book now also includes other forms of transport in this fascinating but rarely-visited north-eastern corner of Russia, the Siberian BAM region. Note: this book covers a different area from the Trans-Siberian Handbook (also from Trailblazer).

* Practical information - full details of how to get to the region, where to stay, what to see and how to get around; plus 30 maps

* City guides and maps - Taishet, Bratsk, Zheleznogorsk-Ilimski, Ust-Kut, Lena, Severobaikalsk, Nizhneangarsk, Taksimo, Kuanda, Novaya Chara, Tynda, Novy Urgal, Komsomolsk-na-Amure, Amursk, Vanino, Sovetskaya Gavan, Khabarovsk, Kirensk, Magadan, Aldan & Yakutsk

* BAM Railway route guide - covering the 3400km of mountain railway, closed until 1991, from north of Lake Baikal to the Pacific, with detailed information on how to take the train and what to see

* Lena River route guide - the entire river from source to Arctic Ocean, including the 1988km served by steam-driven passenger boats

* Kolyma Highway route guide - the rugged land route from Yakutsk to Magadan, built by Stalin's political prisoners

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The year's most esoteric guide...an encyclopaedic companion'
The Independent (UK)

'Essential reading'
The Railway Magazine (UK)

'Engaging guide.'
The Railway Gazette (UK)

'If you are tempted by a region with white water rivers but no Western tourists Siberia has the potential. This book could even be called just a Siberian guide as it is packed with information on so many aspects of Siberian life and history right down to the complex and very time-consuming business of buying a railway ticket.'
The Canoeist (UK)

From the Back Cover

Expanded from the first edition, Siberian BAM Railway Guide, this book now also includes other forms of transport in this fascinating but rarely-visited north-eastern corner of Russia, the Siberian BAM region.
Inside you'll find practical information - full details of how to get to the region, where to stay, what to see and how to get around, plus 30 maps; city guides and maps; BAM Railway route guide - covering the 3400km of mountain railway, closed until 1991, from north of Lake Baikal to the Pacific, with detailed information on how to take the train and what to see; Lena River route guide - the entire river from source to Arctic Ocean, including the 1988km served by steam-driven passenger boats; Kolyma Highway route guide - the rugged land route from Yakutsk to Magadan, built by Stalin's political prisoners. (4 3/4 x 7, 384 pages, color photos, b&w photos, illustrations, maps)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Trailblazer Publications; 2nd edition (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1873756186
• ISBN-13: 978-1873756188
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,428,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Travel > Asia > Russia > Siberia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative, March 7, 2006

By 

ITARU DEKIO "midnight express" (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Siberian BAM Guide: Rail, Rivers & Road: North-East Russia's Siberian BAM Railway, Lena River & Kolyma Highway (Trailblazer Guides) (Paperback)

This book contains very concise information about the route, cities and history. Such information is difficult to obtain in other books, and so very precious.
The book is also fun for train lovers to read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great (albiet old) Guide, August 20, 2009

By 

Michael Goodine - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Siberian BAM Guide: Rail, Rivers & Road: North-East Russia's Siberian BAM Railway, Lena River & Kolyma Highway (Trailblazer Guides) (Paperback)

A great travel guide to a part of the world that is not often covered in such detail. The book is eight years old (as of 2009) and so not much good any more for prices and hotel recommendations, but this it is such a wonderful resource for planning a route and planning where to make stops on a BAM voyage.

The book also includes some great coverage of places north of the railway, including route planning information for a trip all the way to the Arctic Ocean.

Good stuff here.