One Steppe Beyond: Across Russia in a VW Camper
Not long after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Wheeler, who had visited the country just before the collapse and was immediately taken by it, had an opportunity to go back, thanks to a job offer from a family friend, who invited Wheeler to come to a small town, Parnu, and work in a timber yard. Accompanied by Jo, his old friend, Wheeler set out in a rickety Volkswagen on an adventure that ended up taking them across the former Soviet Union, offering a unique and often very funny perspective on a country in its death throes. A nice balance of humor and observation, of character and political commentary, the book should have no trouble finding an audience among armchair travelers and students of Russian history circa the early 1990s. --David Pitt