What readers said about the book

Well written, informative and engaging. I really enjoyed this unique recount of Russian history.

 

A great read – not only the extraordinary history of the railway from its conception to its finish but also, running alongside, a political and economic history of Russia. Segre’s skill is weaving it all together in such a condensed and readable way.

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A great read, briefly but effectively placing this extraordinary feat of engineering into the context of Russia's expansion into Siberia, the fascinating and often weirdly eccentric characters who made it possible and covering all the political and strategic background. Well produced, thoughtfully illustrated. Enjoy!

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Very enjoyable – I gobbled it up in two sittings. It moves along at quite a pace and covers a lot of ground. It's inspired me to make the journey – one day I hope!

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How did the Trans-Siberian Railway get built? Its history is told as a ripping yarn by someone who has travelled on it. Siberia was inaccessible and lawless, but there were mineral riches and timber, and if you carried on for long enough you reached China and the Pacific. It was a useful place to dump criminals and dissidents. But it was boggy and marshy; it froze in the winter and in summer the mud turned to dust. Roads made of logs sank into the mire. The story is bound up in Russian history– the Revolution, the execution of the Romanovs, and Helena Petrovna von Hahn, who married a Mr Blavatsky, became a spiritualist medium and founded a movement called Theosophy that influenced everybody from W.B. Yeats to the Italian futurists.

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Fascinating, brilliantly researched, well-written short history of the world's longest railway started by the Tsars and finished by Brezhnev. Phenomenal stories abound from Dostoevsky to Madame Blavatsky to US Vice-President Henry Wallace, it's all here.

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This was a great read. I learned about the Czech Legion and the Russian civil war, which I need to find a book on ASAP. And the story of the railway right up to modern times is absolutely fascinating.

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