Here, travel writer Ian Frazier trains his eye for detail on Siberia, that vast expanse of Asiatic Russia. He explores many aspects of this storied, often grim region, which takes up one-seventh of the land on earth. He writes about the geography, the resources, the native peoples, the history, the forty-below midwinter afternoons, the bugs. The book brims with Mongols, half-crazed Orthodox archpriests, fur seekers, ambassadors of the czar bound for Peking, tea caravans, German scientists, American prospectors, intrepid English nurses, and prisoners and exiles of every kind. More than just a historical travelogue, this is also an account of Russia since the end of the Soviet Union, and a personal reflection on the all-around amazingness of Russia, a country that still somehow manages to be funny.--From publisher description.