This is the incredible account of Thubron's 15,000-mile journey, by train, river and truck, among the people most damaged by the breakup of the Soviet Union. It is the story of a people moving through the ruins of Communism into more private, diverse and often stranger worlds.In the early 1980s, Colin Thubron wrote a book about his travels around the Soviet Union in an old Morris Minor. In the late 90s, post–Soviet Union, he decided to explore Siberia—this time by truck, by bus, by boat. The result is an evocative account of an extraordinary region. He travels through exotic cities and deserted villages, meets nostalgic old Stalinists and aggressive Orthodox churchmen, and generally interweaves Siberia's fascinating history with a description of the place today.