Travel to Russia

Three Worlds Gone Mad: Dangerous Journeys through the War Zones of Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific

Format: Paperback
Author: Robert Young Pelton
ReleaseDate: 01 December, 2003
Publisher: The Lyons Press
Rating:

history, social studies, gov't., & other educators - this is an interesting read
before his book, i had never even heard of Bougainville. pelton is at times redundant, but the book moves along w/ just the right momentum to keep your attention. this is a good read to store more detailed info. on the 3 places explored by pelton. at the very least, you'll feel smarter than you did before you picked up this book. .

Good book but...


The book is good and is part adventure/travel/survival/third world political science. where are the pictures? He goes to all these places, meets all these different personalities, admits that he has a camera and where are they? Now I don't need pictures in a book for me to read it but his stories I think would be enhanced with photos of his journeys. In his travels, Mr. Pelton does not seem to take any easy route to go anywhere. He gets smuggled into Chechnya and tracks down a rebel leader on his own choice. The rebels who are known for kidnapping foriegners and journalists are meanwhile being tracked and bombed by the Russian military. He goes to Bougainville when everyone including the people that live there tell him not too. Why? I think because as he feels that there is a story to tell and it usually is not the "popular" one fed to most news agencies. Case in point is his Chechnya visit, where again he chooses to go to the "terrorists", not to give them a voice, but to get the unpopular side of the story (especially when considering the lack of freedom of the press in Russia). It is an objective look at the history of the Chechnya/Russian relationship and the situation where atrocities are seem to be committed by both sides. He even "interviews" a captured Russian soldier whose handlers casually tell Mr. Pelton he will most likely be executed the next day. The part on Sierra Leone is equally impressive, probably because there has been more press about the atrocities and violence there.

So as long as Mr. Pelton feels the need to travel to different "worlds gone mad", writing the about the lesser known histories and/or conflicts, he will most likely have me as a reader of his books.

Robert Young Pelton
Loved it! It's current (as books go), funny, serious and a great read!. I've read everything he has out.

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