In Search of the Russian Bear: An American Writer's Odyssey In The Former Soviet Union Kindle Edition

Great book a must read

This is a simple travel journey of a two week trip to the Soviet Union that the author made in 1983. Smith provides detailed accounts of his daily activities, what he saw, who he met, and what he ate during each day of the trip. Compared to other travel books, there is relatively little analysis or commentary. Smith comes across as having minimal prior experience or knowledge of the Soviet Union (or foreign travel in general) before the trip. The book is illustrated with low resolution black and white tourist quality photographs.Smith was invited to the Soviet Union by the Soviet Writers Union possibly because his fiction works on American social issues including Seminole Indians and migrant farm workers presented an image of American society that the Soviet authorities of the time wanted to promulgate. Indeed, from Smith's descriptions, these works of his seemed to be quite well known in the Soviet Union. In the beginning of this journal, Smith and his wife are met at the airport by a representative of the Soviet Writers Union and treated to a tour of Moscow, Uzbekistan, and Leningrad, all with luxury accommodations. Smith comments constantly on his tour guide's infatuation with the fresh vegetables available in the Uzbekistan markets and fancy hotels where they were staying. In doing so, he seems to be ignorant of how rare fresh vegetables were for common Soviet citizens, even those with good connections like his tour guide. Details like this could indicate a deeper ignorance of the conditions he was being shown, or perhaps Smith simply wanted to put a positive light on the tour since he went as a respected guest. In any case, despite the author's blinders, the book still has some interest today in its description of how general society seemed to be functioning ok in places like Tashkent back then, in contrast to the situation today after the demise of the Soviet Union (see Eastward to Tartary by Robert Kaplan, for example).