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Books > History > Asian / Middle Eastern history
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To the Edge of the World (Paperback, First Trade Paper Edition)
Loot Price: R564
Discovery Miles 5 640
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To the Edge of the World (Paperback, First Trade Paper Edition)
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Loot Price R564
Discovery Miles 5 640
Expected to ship within 10 - 15 working days
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To the Edge of the World is an adventure in travel--full of
extraordinary personalities, more than a century of explosive
political, economic, and cultural events, and almost inconceivable
feats of engineering. Christian Wolmar passionately recounts the
improbable origins of the Trans-Siberian railroad, the vital artery
for Russian expansion that spans almost 6,000 miles and seven time
zones from Moscow to Vladivostok. The world's longest train route
took a decade to build--in the face of punishing climates, rampant
disease, scarcity of funds and materials, and widespread
corruption. The line sprawls over a treacherous landmass that was
previously populated only by disparate tribes and convicts serving
out their terms in labor camps--where men were regularly starved,
tortured, or mutilated for minor offenses. Once built, it led to
the establishment of new cities and transformed the region's
history. Exceeding all expectations, it became, according to
Wolmar, "the best thing that ever happened to Siberia." It was not
all good news, however. The railroad was the cause of the
1904--1905 Russo-Japanese War, and played a vital--and at times
bloody--role in the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Civil
War. More positively, the Russians were able to resist the Nazi
invasion during the Second World War as new routes enabled whole
industries to be sent east. Siberia, previously a lost and distant
region, became an inextricable part of Russia's cultural identity.
And what began as one meandering, single-track line is now,
arguably, the world's most important railroad.
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