{"product_id":"9781880100455","title":"Driving Down Russia's Spine","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn one level, this book is the story of an epic 6000-kilometer road trip from the frigid shores of the Barents Sea to Sochi, Russia’s southernmost tip on the Black Sea. Dubbed \"The Spine of Russia,\" the adventure tasked a mismatched duo of Russian and American journalists with capturing a view of Russia from the ground, to collect powerful images and honest human stories that offered a more subtle, complex picture of the world's largest country.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut this book is far more than just a travel essay. For it intertwines fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. It is a story told with humor and with the insight derived from the author’s three decades of intimate interactions with Russia. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmong the many interesting stories in the book:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eAn expedition to “The Well to Hell”\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eA music school in one of the most polluted towns on earth\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eAn energetic youth activist branded as a foreign agent\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eRussia’s largest manufacturer of barbells (who also makes cloudberry preserves)\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eA roadside berry seller recently paroled from prison\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eA blacksmith who is a Jehovah’s Witness\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eA bone-chilling trip to the foundation place of the Russian state\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eThe slightly off-kilter leader of St. Petersburg’s Cossack community\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eA retired village doctor who can’t stop working, because he won’t be replaced\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eA piece of Nebraska transplanted into the middle of Russia’s Black Earth region\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere were also craft beer makers, ballroom dancers, policemen, restaurant owners, an opera student, a priest, a single mother, an accessibility activist, teachers, docents, a best-selling author, soap makers, journalists, a sailor, a winemaker, and a woman taking on the male-dominated world of Russian hockey. And no trip to Russia would be complete without a run-in with security officials in leather jackets. So there is also that.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTaken together, the stories from this epic road trip create a compelling portrait of Russia and its people. The book could not be more timely; recent events show how vital it is for Americans to continue working to understand Russia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Russian Information Services, Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47043440378096,"sku":"9781880100455","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781880100455_p0.jpg?v=1763603513","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781880100455","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}