A Russian Journal (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin)

It's a unique travel log. Sparingly written. But worth the read.. It was written and the travel happened in the 1960's. Interesting look into the common Russian.

Nobel & Pulitzer Prize winning John Steinbeck and his photographer friend visit Moscow, the Ukraine, (what was then) Stalingrad, and Georgia in 1947. They stick to their mission which is to find out about everyday people: "What do people wear there? What do they serve for dinner? Do they have parties? ...." They did not find out about how they make love or how they die (also in the mission). They are not interested in important people, politics or 5 year plans.Destruction and the remnants of war are all around. In Moscow, there is even an event where people congregate to inspect the military equipment the Germans left behind. In Stalingrad people are living in the rubble. German POWs help to rebuild the cities. Steinbeck notes the differences in cities that have been bombed or sieged in battle.At a Ukraine collective farm, they eat a hearty breakfast and observe the team work in the fields. With so many men lost or wounded in war, the women shoulder this burden. It is hard to believe their cheerfulness as described by Steinbeck. There is simple entertainment in the evening and there are beautiful places to swim. Georgia had been relatively unscathed by the war, and some Georgians adopted Ukrainian orphans.They are feted as important guests everywhere. The meetings of writers' groups sound deadly and 20 page manuscripts are read aloud (and then the translation is read). There is a so much food and drinking, the authors are frequently sick/hung over. Steinbeck gets so he can't handle vodka.Airports are frustrating. The episode in leaving Georgia is only funny when the story is told.While Stalin's portraits abound this seems to be an extreme bureaucracy and more than a police state. People speak to them freely and no one takes them aside to complain about the government. Outside of Moscow, besides being with their translator/guide/minder, there is no hint of their being watched. All the photos show well fed people and often well dressed and usually happy, but these were probably self-censored since Capa got all his photos back.On the minus side, the prose, like most of the 1950's travel literature, is stilted. For a short book, too much space is devoted to the strained relations between the writer and the photographer, and the two of them with their Russian minder. While the pictures are not labeled, they are placed appropriately. Sometimes it is hard to know what you are looking at. For instance the photo on p. 34 must be of Lenin Hills, but the vista hardly looks like Moscow which the Hills are said to overlook; the photo on p. 43 appears to be a fashion show or maybe a quality control examination of clothing. Other photos, such as the 4 portraits on 78-79 would be better in an art gallery than a travel book.This book fills an important niche because so little exists on daily life in Russia just after the devastation of WW2. Like many plans, the idea originated in a bar by two artists with nothing to do, but unlike most bar-hatched ideas, this one was followed up on.

Steinbeck’s “A Russian Journal,” first published in April 1948, like “The Log from the Sea of Cortez,” originally published three years later, in 1951, was a collaborative effort. Whereas the former was a collaboration between a writer and a photographer, the latter was that of journalist and scientist. Although an eyewitness account of journalist Steinbeck’s and photographer Capa’s travels through Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia at the cusp of the Cold War, “A Russian Journal” is a work of art and literature, beautifully written and wonderfully documented with images of historical significance and everyday life. It was educational, fun, and inspiring. Especially, I enjoyed comparing Capa’s photos and Steinbeck’s descriptions of the photos. All of the real people in the book were described with such skill by Steinbeck, that they seemed like well developed characters from a novel. Wherever Steinbeck journeyed, he captured the spirit of the times and the spirit of place brilliantly. After I finished reading the book, I felt like I had been to all the places and met all the people.

A must read! I recommend to everyone. The Russian Journal is historical, humorous, insightful, charming, alarming, thought-provoking and inspires gratitude for those of us who are fortunate enough to have never experienced the devastation that the Russians and Ukrainians lived through and worked through. Steinbeck's observations of the "peoples'" daily lives proves that friends, family and community, though will very little to no means, are willing and able to help each other and remain positive about the future - even when literally rebuilding their cities brick by brick.A Russian Journal showcases Steinbeck's many talents; writing, observation, humor, perseverance, empathy, communication with both the reader and the people he encountered, etc. Through all the obstacles one would expect to encounter (and many one could never expect or believe) in post-war Soviet Russia he was able to present the real Russian people after the brutal war. Steinbeck is so likeable. His relationship with Robert Capa is comical. I was thrilled to read Capa's perspective as well. What a duo they were! Capa's photos are magnificent. I have the paperback and was able to see what he saw. That was, I believe, his major goal. Reviewers have written that the hardcover is best. I'll have to get it.The Russian Journal reads like a journal in that you're getting a very personal experience. Great, great, great book. Don't forget the introduction. It's remarkable.

Steinbeck is always Steinbeck! I bought the Kindle edition but was very disappointed with the resolution of the pictures and by that I mean the quality of the images of the pictures. It may sound strange a complain about "pictures" in a book written by Steinbeck but being Capa his travel companion and co-author I expected more. The journal is very descriptive and tries to portray the Soviet Union without any bias. I personally think that such thing as "un-biased" does not exist but at least Steinbeck was aware of that. On those days of the cold war, if you were not totally adverse to everything that was from the Soviet Union you were stigmatized as a pro-communist, in the best of the cases... I wish today a writer as talented as Steinbeck with comparable literal stature and as un-biased as he was, would write a: "Middle Eastern Journal"...

Il viaggio compiuto dallo scrittore in tre delle Repubbliche Socialiste Sovietiche, raccontato con la massima semplicità, quasi banale: forse il lettore statunitense dell'immediato dopoguerra si aspettava che i Russi avessero tre teste o camminassero a testa in giù, invece erano povera normalissima gente intenta a ricostruire dopo lo sfacelo del fronte orientale. Per questo è degno di nota soprattutto il capitolo sui contadini dell'Ucraina: stessa distruzione di adesso, stessa voglia di rimanere nella propria terra e vivere dei suoi frutti; forse più speranza nell'industria e nel progresso rispetto ai nostri tempi.Occhio perché questa è un'edizione economica, per cui la carta è quasi da elenco telefonico e contiene solo una mezza dozzina (e sgranata) delle foto di Robert Capa.

John Steinbeck und der Fotograf Robert Capa bereisen nach dem Ende des 2. Weltkriegs die Sowjetunion. Steinbeck macht gleich zu Anfang klar: Dies soll ein Bericht sein, möglichst über das Leben der einfachen Leute. Die Bewertung des Beobachteten überlässt er dem Leser. Dieser Vorsatz, einen reinen Tatsachenbericht abzuliefern, prägt natürlich den Stil dieses Werkes. Die Sprache ist nüchtern und ungekünstelt. Es geht um Fakten, nicht um Poesie oder schöne Literatur. Capas Fotografien unterlegen die Schilderungen des Autors.Gleichwohl habe ich dieses Büchlein mit Vergnügen gelesen. Steinbeck schafft es, uns mitzunehmen an die verschiedenen Orte, die er mit Capa besucht. Man bekommt einen Eindruck von den Landschaften, den Menschen und, immer wieder, der Trägheit und Verschrobenheit der sowjetischen Bürokratie und Behördenwillkür. Mit seinem typischen trockenen Witz schafft Steinbeck es immer wieder, auch den unangenehmsten Situationen Heiterkeit abzugewinnen. Nicht selten ist die Eitelkeit seines Begleiters Capa das Objekt spöttischer Attacken.Am Ende bleibt der Eindruck eines ungewöhnlichen und auf seine Weise interessanten Reiseberichtes in eine uns wenig bekannte Welt. Natürlich drängten sich beim Lesen immer wieder Vergleiche mit Max Frischs Beschreibungen aus seinem zweiten Tagebuch auf, das etwa 15 Jahre später entstand. Und gerade dieser Vergleich ist faszinierend, da Steinbeck eigentlich nüchtern sein will, aber doch immer wieder Emotionen spielen lässt, Frisch hingegen sehr politisch an das Thema herangeht.Wer Steinbeck mag, dem wird auch dieses Buch gefallen. Wer sich für Russland interessiert, dem sei es ebenfalls ans Herz gelegt. Keine große Literatur, aber ein interessanter und oftmals witziger Bericht über eine ungewöhnliche Reise.

Phantastisch gute Beschreibung einer Reise durch die alte Sowjetunion über Moskau die Ukraine nach Georgien. Gerade wieder sehr aktuell, weil Georgien (2007) und die Ukraine (2013) Opfer des Putinschen Großmachstreben sind. Leider ohne die hervorragenden Fotos von Cappa. Sehr empfehlenswert.

Bad printing quality

Great book and very interesting read, not too long and straight to the point. Would recommend. Great great great great