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The attempt which was made by the Western Union Telegraph Company, in 1865-66 and 67, to build an overland line to Europe via Alaska, Bering Strait, and Siberia, was in some respects the most remarkable undertaking of the nineteenth century. Bold in its conception, and important in the ends at which it aimed, it attracted at one time the attention of the whole civilised world, and was regarded as the greatest telegraphic enterprise which had ever engaged American capital. Like all unsuccessful ventures, however, in this progressive age, it has been speedily forgotten, and the brilliant success of the Atlantic cable has driven it entirely out of the public mind. Most readers are familiar with the principal facts in the history of this enterprise, from its organisation to its ultimate abandonment; but only a few, even of its original projectors, know anything about the work which it accomplished in British Columbia, Alaska, and Siberia; the obstacles which were met and overcome by its exploring and working parties; and the contributions which it made to our knowledge of an hitherto untravelled, unvisited region. Its employees, in the course of two years, explored nearly six thousand miles of unbroken wilderness, extending from Vancouver Island on the American coast to Bering Strait, and from Bering Strait to the Chinese frontier in Asia. The traces of their deserted camps may be found in the wildest mountain fastnesses of Kamchatka, on the vast desolate plains of north-eastern Siberia, and throughout the gloomy pine forests of Alaska and British Columbia. Mounted on reindeer, they traversed the most rugged passes of the north Asiatic mountains; they floated in skin canoes down the great rivers of the north; slept in the smoky pologs of the Siberian Chukchis (chook'-chees); and camped out upon desolate northern plains in temperatures of 50° and 60° below zero. The poles which they erected and the houses which they built now stand alone in an encircling wilderness,-the only results of their three years' labour and suffering, and the only monuments of an abandoned enterprise.

At this time of writing, The Mobi Tent Life in Siberia has garnered 9 customer reviews with rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Not a bad score at all as if you round it off, it’s actually a perfect TEN already. From the looks of that rating, we can say the Mobi is Good TO READ!

Special Edition Tent Life in Siberia with FREE MOBI EDITION!

The Honorable George F. Kennan, who served as the American Ambassador to Russia in 1951, remains the ONLY example of an American foreign diplomat who was asked to leave their country of posting. This, because he likened the current politcal climate in Russia to that of pre-WW II Nazi Germany. Thus by extension, comparing Stalin to Hitler. He was outspoken about reports of mass collectivization taking place, the gulags from which people never returned, and the unreported deaths of opponents to Stalin. Authorities in the United States had good reason to fear for the life of Ambassador Kennan: had he remained in Russia he quite possibly would have been assassinated by the NKVD, who kept him under close surveillance during his brief posting. Ambassador Keenan is one of the truly great and honorable people of the past 100 years, but little is known about his life. When a graduate class in History at Yale University was quizzed about Ambassador Kennan, very few students new anything at all about him. (Hopefully that will change with the recent publication of the magisterial biography, GEORGE F. KENNAN: AN AMERICAN LIFE, published by Penguin Press.Just when did Ambassador Kennan become such an admirer of Russia and her people? When he was only twenty years old and hired by the Russian American Telegraph Company to travel across Siberia and chart the route of a proposed telegraph line stretching from Kamchatka in southern Siberia, all the way to the Bering Strait. TENT LIFE IN SIBERIA is the intimate, funny, touching, warm, passionate and intelligent journal of this extraordinary journey. From his his account of life on the sailing brig crossing the Pacific Ocean (where he and his cabin mates were seasick most of the time), to perilous ascents near active volcanoes, to crossing the vast tundra in -55 degree weather, Kennan is a sharp, witty and unbiased observer of the Russian people and their customs. He had great admiration for most of the people whom he encounters. There are few exceptions (one being "the permanent Chukchi". These people drink a vast amount of vodka and other spirits, live only in smoke-filled yurts and are entirely unwelcoming, unfriendly and the polar opposite in temperament to the "wandering Chukchi".Kennan writes in a spirited, lively and indefatigable tone. To gain an idea of the magnitude of their journeys: imagine going from New York to Los Angeles by horse, by foot, by sailing boat, and by dog sled, then travel back to New York in this manner. Now, REPEAT THE JOURNEY and do so with very limited food rations, not speaking the native language, battling sub-zero temperatures. Imagine day after day spent in absolute darkness, or days when the sun never sets except for a few moments. And there are bears and coyote who would gladly have you for dinner, to say nothing of the mosquitoes who invade towns to the extent where houses are surrounded by smudge sticks. To say these were the days of the intrepid explorer is an understatement. Battling frostbite, blinding snows and winds which would form drifts that became impassible at points. Covered in animal furs (squirrel-skin masks were worn during the coldest months), Kennan recounts what it felt like to be, by most calculations, the first person to ever set foot on certain remote and uncharted areas. For months at a time (when no towns or villages were nearby), the group subsisted on tallow(animal fat or lard), fresh and dried fish (the staple food in towns along the rivers), and meat when available. Tea was consumed in vast quantities. At times supplies ran perilously low. Fortunately they visited many small villages and towns along their journey. Kennan reports that in almost every place they stopped, they were treated like royalty. They were often accorded sumptuous feasts, vodka, brandy, a warm bed and a hot bath. (One particularly humorous section concerns some villagers mistaking the exploring party as being related to the Tsar, Alexander II. Kennan himself was thought to among Tsar Alexander's most trusted advisers.)I cannot recommend this book enough, especially to younger readers who might be considering traveling for the first time. It is really a book for all ages, filled with great insight, humor and written by someone with a deep and abiding respect for a people and their history, this book is a timeless treasure....

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