A Russian Journal

By: John Steinbeck

Narrated by: Richard Poe

Length: 7 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Steinbeck and Capa's account of their journey through Cold War Russia is a classic piece of reportage and travel writing.

Just after the Iron Curtain fell on Eastern Europe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Steinbeck and acclaimed war photographer Robert Capa ventured into the Soviet Union to report for the New York Herald Tribune. This rare opportunity took the famous travelers not only to Moscow and Stalingrad - now Volgograd - but through the countryside of the Ukraine and the Caucasus. Hailed by the New York Times as "superb" when it first appeared in 1948, A Russian Journal is the distillation of their journey and remains a remarkable memoir and unique historical document.

What they saw and movingly recorded in words and on film was what Steinbeck called "the great other side there... the private life of the Russian people." Unlike other Western reporting about Russia at the time, A Russian Journal is free of ideological obsessions. Rather, Steinbeck and Capa recorded the grim realities of factory workers, government clerks, and peasants, as they emerged from the rubble of World War II - represented here in Capa's stirring photographs alongside Steinbeck's masterful prose.

Through it all, we are given intimate glimpses of two artists at the height of their powers, answering their need to document human struggle. This edition features an introduction by Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw.

©1948 John Steinbeck (P)2014 Penguin Audio

An Excellent Account

Steinbeck with great insight and humor shows how we are all similar while simultaneously creating a longing to visit the land and people.

Great moments

Condensed Twain-like humor (A Tramp Abroad) which seems to model some of the writing, but the author seems to become exhausted and ends up in narration, and seems tired of his own book. The narrator is unflagging, and I, for one, liked the pacing.

Another delightful work by my favorite author

I like this book for several reasons.

One is that John Steinbeck’s writing never disappoints. It is clever, simple, precise, and oftentimes really funny.

Another reason is that the book glimpses a small but important slice of Russian/Soviet reality soon after the WWII.

The next reason is that Steinbeck traveled to different republics of then huge country of the USSR and wonderfully described his experiences.

The last reason is the feeling of pure joy that a reader gets from Steinbeck’s kind-hearted and often self-deprecating humor. He seems to have had a quality of contagious humanity. What can I say - that’s why he is one of my most beloved authors!
I do recommend this book. A lot.

a great story, well read worth a listen

its a great story, interesting to hear about the soviet union of the late 1940s

My first Steinbeck.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book even if it wasn’t fictional. I’ve never been very prone to reading non-fiction but Steinbeck drew me in with his narrative and the narrator kept me going. It is very good!

Times haven’t changed

This was a v Pleasant read Richard Poe was much lighter then I’ve ever hear him in any of the McCarthy stuff the book was great the political analysis that Steinbeck gives on the Russian/Ukrainian/Georgen perspective on that time period of the cold war with lots of good info ab Russia etc also very interesting to hear ab how the Ukrainians felt ab everything

At the end of the day the peoples of our earth are more alike than dissimilar

Steinbeck fan and while this steers clear , with one exception, of his style it’s refreshingly good.

That exception is his focus on the “ common man “

I’ve read and studied quite a bit of classic Russian authors and recent focuses on Gorbachev and Putin .

What’s wonderful about this work is , once again, the people behind the leaders, politics and headlines .

The ending , last two paragraphs or so , to this book is a lesson for the ages .

Another. Great story

Just love going through all Steinbeck’s stuff this way. The performance was spot on you could almost hear Steinbeck’s style in the voices . Was soooooo well done .

Brilliant Mind of John Steinbeck

This is so relevant today. The relationship between Russia and America is taking another turn unfortunately. If only Mr. Steinbeck knew... Brilliant book, by genius writer. "They all want to live comfortably and they all want peace like everyone else."

Extremely Interesting

I thought I had read all of John Steinbeck’s works needless to say; I was surprised when I came across this book published in 1948. I had never heard of it.

Steinbeck and Robert Capa, photographer, embarked on a six week Soviet Union tour during the early stages of the Cold War era. They visited Soviet Georgia, Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kiev. The report they created on life under Joseph Stalin’s command, is a highly valuable historical document.

The people portrayed in their literary and photographic archive, are seen living in totally different conditions from those in the West. They were rebuilding a war torn country with the use of only primitive tools as the Germans destroyed all mechanized equipment as they pulled out of Russia. Steinbeck and Capa tried to avoid meeting officials and ministers, but to find time to travel across the cities to speak to people and to understand the way they were living. They tried for honest reporting without drawing conclusions.

The book sort of reminds me of “Travels with Charley” because it is a non-fiction travel memoir. Steinbeck was a great observer of life, and characters. He wrote of the Russian people with great respect. Steinbeck writes very well about the humor in situations, like the nightmares of bureaucracy and the difficulties of travel. Great book and a must read for those interested in history or just a good Steinbeck story. Richard Poe narrated the book.