Into Siberia
George Kennan's Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia
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Narrated by:
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Daniel Henning
About this listen
In the late nineteenth century, close diplomatic relations existed between the United States and Russia. All that changed when George Kennan went to Siberia in 1885 to investigate the exile system and his eyes were opened to the brutality Russia was wielding to suppress dissent.
Over ten months Kennan traveled eight thousand miles, mostly in horse-drawn carriages, sleighs, or on horseback. He endured suffocating sandstorms in the summer and blizzards in the winter. His interviews with convicts and political exiles revealed how Russia ran on the fuel of inflicted pain and fear. Prisoners in the mines were chained day and night to their wheelbarrows as punishment. Babies in exile parties froze to death in their mothers' arms. Kennan came to call the exiles' experience in Siberia a "perfect hell of misery."
After returning to the United States, Kennan set out to generate public outrage over the plight of the exiles, writing the renowned Siberia and the Exile System. He then went on a nine-year lecture tour to describe the suffering of the Siberian exiles, intensifying the newly emerging diplomatic conflicts between the two countries which last to this day.
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- By Kevin Potter on 05-30-19
By: Scott Lewis
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Flannery O'Connor and the Scandal of Faith
- By: Jessica Hooten Wilson, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Jessica Hooten Wilson
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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Across six revealing lectures, Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson will introduce you to one of the 20th century’s most fascinating and divisive writers in Flannery O’Connor and the Scandal of Faith. Beginning with an overview of her brief but remarkable life, Professor Wilson will then take you through an exploration of themes in O’Connor’s work and the hallmarks of her literary style. You’ll get a clearer picture of O’Connor’s historical and geographical context while digging into how her stories can transcend time and place.
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The author reading her own book.
- By James T Casey on 12-16-24
By: Jessica Hooten Wilson, and others
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The Pagan World
- Ancient Religions Before Christianity
- By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Hans-Friedrich Mueller
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Original Recording
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In The Pagan World: Ancient Religions Before Christianity, you will meet the fascinating, ancient polytheistic peoples of the Mediterranean and beyond, their many gods and goddesses, and their public and private worship practices, as you come to appreciate the foundational role religion played in their lives. Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller, of Union College in Schenectady, New York, makes this ancient world come alive in 24 lectures with captivating stories of intrigue, artifacts, illustrations, and detailed descriptions from primary sources of intriguing personalities.
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The Pagan World
- By arnold e andersen md Dr Andersen on 03-28-20
By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, and others
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The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome
- By: Gregory S. Aldrete, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
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The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome traces the breathtaking history from the empire’s foundation by Augustus to its Golden Age in the 2nd century CE through a series of ever-worsening crises until its ultimate disintegration. Taught by acclaimed Professor Gregory S. Aldrete of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, these 24 captivating lectures offer you the chance to experience this story like never before, incorporating the latest historical insights that challenge our previous notions of Rome’s decline.
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Gregory S. Aldrete is a treasure
- By Laurel Tucker on 02-04-19
By: Gregory S. Aldrete, and others
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Fingerprints of the Gods
- The Quest Continues
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Fingerprints of the Gods is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of listeners throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.
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Classic in Historical Mysteries
- By Kelly on 09-05-19
By: Graham Hancock
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The incredible true story of one of the most extraordinary and inspirational prison breaks in history. Boston, 1869. Members of the Clan na Gael - agitators for an Irish republic - hatch a daring plan to free six Irish political prisoners from the most remote gaol on earth, Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. Under the guise of a whale hunt, Captain Anthony sets sail on the Catalpa, risking his life to rescue the men from the prison, known among the inmates as 'a living tomb'.
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What listeners say about Into Siberia
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- V.B.
- 12-16-24
The Cold and Cruel
Very good book. The narrator is very hard to get used to. Before you read this or even in the middle, look up GK. He had a long career after thet time covered in this book. If you like explorers,strange lands and differentsocieties, this is a must read!
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-15-24
Dry and boring
Learned that the new leader was as bad as the old one. It sounded like the book was written in 1895. Minimal research went into this book. It was if this is a book about Kennen's book.
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- M. Barnett
- 07-02-24
Decent in-depth history
The history and description of the landscape was interesting. Unfortunately I had a hard time with the narration. It was a little too upbeat and cheery for the dark suffering that was going on. 4 for the story. 3, maybe 2 for the narration.
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- David
- 03-15-24
History and Adventure
When we were kids, some parents threatened to send misbehaving children to the salt mines, or to Siberia. This book shows how scary that threat could be. Siberia in the 19th Century became a harsh prison for Russian exiles. These were not just criminals, but often political exiles, wealthy nobles and intellectuals who were thought to have criticized the tsar.
George Kennan exposed the horrors of the Russian exile system after a lengthy 1885 expedition into Siberia with his artist friend George Frost. Until his expedition, Kennan believed the exile system was humane. But as he toured the overcrowded, disease-infested prisons and met with wretched exiles across Siberia, he realized the cruelty and horror of their punishment. He changed his mind about the exile system, and he changed the minds of the American public through his articles in popular magazines of the day.
This is a stirring book, and it’s also a remarkable adventure story. Kennan traveled twice to Siberia, once as part of an 1865 team considering a telegraph route, then in 1885 for his investigation of the Russian exile system. Both trips were hazardous and thrilling. Kennan confronted wild bears, blinding blizzards, out-of-control sleigh rides, suspicious officials and his own physical and mental exhaustion. Frost appeared to suffer a nervous breakdown. But they didn’t stop their investigation.
I would recommend this book for those interested in Russian and Siberian history, but also for those who like adventure and survival stories. The narration was well done.
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13 people found this helpful