The Lost Pianos of Siberia

The Lost Pianos of Siberia PDF Author: Sophy Roberts
Publisher: Grove Press
ISBN: 0802149308
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 443

Book Description
This “melodious” mix of music, history, and travelogue “reveals a story inextricably linked to the drama of Russia itself . . . These pages sing like a symphony.” —The Wall Street Journal Siberia’s story is traditionally one of exiles, penal colonies, and unmarked graves. Yet there is another tale to tell. Dotted throughout this remote land are pianos—grand instruments created during the boom years of the nineteenth century, as well as humble Soviet-made uprights that found their way into equally modest homes. They tell the story of how, ever since entering Russian culture under the westernizing influence of Catherine the Great, piano music has run through the country like blood. How these pianos traveled into this snowbound wilderness in the first place is testament to noble acts of fortitude by governors, adventurers, and exiles. Siberian pianos have accomplished extraordinary feats, from the instrument that Maria Volkonsky, wife of an exiled Decembrist revolutionary, used to spread music east of the Urals, to those that brought reprieve to the Soviet Gulag. That these instruments might still exist in such a hostile landscape is remarkable. That they are still capable of making music in far-flung villages is nothing less than a miracle. The Lost Pianos of Siberia follows Roberts on a three-year adventure as she tracks a number of instruments to find one whose history is definitively Siberian. Her journey reveals a desolate land inhabited by wild tigers and deeply shaped by its dark history, yet one that is also profoundly beautiful—and peppered with pianos. “An elegant and nuanced journey through literature, through history, through music, murder and incarceration and revolution, through snow and ice and remoteness, to discover the human face of Siberia. I loved this book.” —Paul Theroux

Soul Hunters

Soul Hunters PDF Author: Rane Willerslev
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520252179
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Book Description
Basing his study on firsthand experience with Yukaghir hunters, Rane Willerslev focuses on the practical implications of living in a 'hall of mirrors' world, one inhabited by humans, animals and spirits, all of whom are understood to be endless mimetic doubles of one another.

The Reindeer People

The Reindeer People PDF Author: Piers Vitebsky
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618773572
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 500

Book Description
Cambridge anthropologist Piers Vitebsky, the first westerner to live with the Eveny of Siberia since the Russian revolution, brings readers an extraordinary case of survival in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth. of photos.

Siberian Odyssey

Siberian Odyssey PDF Author: Frederick Kempe
Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
From the Berlin Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal--author of Divorcing the Dictator--comes a dramatic account of an expedition to an almost mythical place, the land of Russia's grandest dreams and cruelest nightmares. In a place where contradictions arise at ever turn, Kempe found not only an adventure but an unparalleled window into the Russian soul. 8 pages of photographs.

Great Soul of Siberia

Great Soul of Siberia PDF Author: Sooyong Park
Publisher: Greystone Books Ltd
ISBN: 1771641134
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
In The Great Soul of Siberia, renowned tiger researcher Sooyong Park tracks three generations of Siberian tigers living in remote southeastern Russia. Reminiscent of the way Timothy Treadwell (the so-called Grizzly Man) immersed himself in the lives of bears, Park sets up underground bunkers to observe the tigers, living thrillingly close to these beautiful but dangerous apex predators. At the same time, he draws from twenty years of experience and research to focus on the Siberian tigers' losing battle against poaching and diminishing habitat. Over the two years of his harrowing stakeout, Park's poignant and poetic observations of the tigers draw a fiercely compassionate portrait of these elusive, endangered creatures.

Siberia Bound

Siberia Bound PDF Author: Alexander Blakely
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 360

Book Description
Recounts the adventures of an American entrepreneur in Siberia, where he and Russian partner built a multi-million dollar company, and offers insightsnto the life in Novosibirsk.

The Sasquatch Paradox

The Sasquatch Paradox PDF Author: Levi Machovec
Publisher: Hangar 1 Publishing
ISBN: 1955471452
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Book Description
There is a problem in the scientific community. They are more than happy to debate those who believe the Earth is flat. Yet, when one brings up Sasquatch, they quickly ignore the subject and shun anyone in the scientific community who does look into the evidence. The Sasquatch paradox shows that the scientific community does not live up to its ideal. We should not be surprised at this fact as this has been the case since the scientific revolution. And so the question remains, and the scientists still haven't provided an adequate answer to this one fundamental question. What is leaving ape footprints in the woods of North America?

The Soul of Russia

The Soul of Russia PDF Author: Winifred Stephens Whale
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Guerra Mundial I, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 374

Book Description


The Secret World of Weather: How to Read Signs in Every Cloud, Breeze, Hill, Street, Plant, Animal, and Dewdrop (Natural Navigation)

The Secret World of Weather: How to Read Signs in Every Cloud, Breeze, Hill, Street, Plant, Animal, and Dewdrop (Natural Navigation) PDF Author: Tristan Gooley
Publisher: The Experiment, LLC
ISBN: 1615197559
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Book Description
Learn to “see” the forecast in the hidden weather signs all around you—from the New York Times–bestselling author of How to Read a Tree and The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs In The Secret World of Weather, bestselling author Tristan Gooley turns his gaze up to the sky, bringing his signature brand of close observation and eye-opening deduction to the fascinating world of weather. Every cloud, every change in temperature, every raindrop, every sunbeam, every breeze reveals something about our weather—if you know what to look for. Before you know it, you’ll be able to forecast impending storms, sunny days, and everything in between, all without needing to consult your smartphone. But The Secret World of Weather goes far beyond mere weather prediction, changing the very way we think about weather itself. Weather is not something that blankets an area; rather, it changes constantly as you walk through woods or turn down a street. The weather is never identical on two sides of a tree—or even beneath it. Take, for example, Gooley’s remarkable discovery that breezes accelerate beneath a tree. To Gooley, this is “weather,” a tiny microclimate that explains why people sit beneath a tree to cool down—not only for the shade but, subconsciously, for cooler breeze. And so Gooley shows us not only what the weather will be like five days from now, but also what to expect about the weather around every corner. By carefully observing the subtle interplay of wind, cloud, fog, temperature, rain and many other phenomena, we not only form a deeper understanding of weather patterns, but also unlock secrets about our environment. Weather forms our landscape, and landscape forms our weather. Everything we see in the sky reflects where we are. When we learn to read weather’s signs, Gooley shows us, the weather becomes our map, revealing to us how it has made our towns, cities, woods, and hills what they are. You’ll never see your surroundings the same way again.

The Great Soul of Siberia

The Great Soul of Siberia PDF Author: Sooyong Park
Publisher: William Collins
ISBN: 9780008156176
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
There are five races of tiger on our planet and all but one live in tropical regions: the Siberian Tiger Panthera tigris altaica is the exception. Mysterious and elusive, and with only 350 remaining in the wild, the Siberian tiger remains a complete enigma. One man has set out to change this. Sooyong Park has spent twenty years tracking and observing these elusive tigers. Each year he spends six months braving sub-zero temperatures, buried in grave-like underground bunkers, fearlessly immersing himself in the lives of Siberian tigers. As he watches the brutal, day-to-day struggle to survive the harsh landscape, threatened by poachers and the disappearance of the pristine habitat, Park becomes emotionally and spiritually attached to these beautiful and deadly predators. No one has ever been this close: as he comes face-to-face with one tiger, Bloody Mary, her fierce determination to protect her cubs nearly results in his own bloody demise. Poignant, poetic and fiercely compassionate, The Great Soul of Siberia is the incredible story of Parkâe(tm)s unique obsession with these compelling creatures on the very brink of extinction, and his dangerous quest to seek them out to observe and study them. Eloquently told in Parkâe(tm)s distinctive voice, it is a personal account of one of the most extraordinary wildlife studies ever undertaken.