Far and away : reporting from the brink of change : seven continents, twenty-five years

From the winner of the National Book Award and the National Books Critics� Circle Award�and one of the most original thinkers of our time�a riveting collection of essays about places in dramatic transition. Far and Away collects Andrew Solomon�s writings about places undergoing seismic shifts�political, cultural, and spiritual. Chronicling his stint on the barricades in Moscow in 1991, when he joined artists in resisting the coup whose failure ended the Soviet Union, his 2002 account of the rebirth of culture in Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban, his insightful appraisal of a Myanmar seeped in contradictions as it slowly, fitfully pushes toward freedom, and many other stories of profound upheaval, this book provides a unique window onto the very idea of social change. With his signature brilliance and compassion, Solomon demonstrates both how history is altered by individuals, and how personal identities are altered when governments alter. A journalist and essayist of remarkable perception and prescience, Solomon captures the essence of these cultures. Ranging across seven continents and twenty-five years, Far and Away takes a magnificent journey into the heart of extraordinarily diverse experiences, yet Solomon finds a common humanity wherever he travels. Illuminating the development of his own genius, his stories are always intimate and often both funny and deeply moving. ** Review "Andrew Solomon is every bit as magnificent a traveler as he is a writer � in fact, it's difficult at times to determine which is the greater talent. Thankfully, the reader gets to experience both gifts throughout the pages of this deeply impressive and profoundly moving collection. Here is man whose curiosities are vast (politics, art, food, psychology, anthropology), and whose intellect is beautifully honed, but whose spirit is humble and whose heart is enormous. You will not only know the world better after having seen it through Solomon's eyes, you will also care about it more." (Elizabeth Gilbert) "This is a beautiful book, inspired by love of �away' and uncertainty about �home,' a celebration of freedom which valuably warns that freedom must sometimes be learned. Much more than 'travel writing,' it's a portrait of our world, made by someone who has been there." (Salman Rushdie) "From Cape Town to Bucharest, and Hangzhou to Tripoli, Andrew Solomon�s Far and Away is positively Whitmanian in its openness to difficulty and its embodiment of wonder. I felt exposed and expanded. This book is an ecstatic provocation to understand ourselves not as citizens of nations but as citizens of the entire world, a world whose territories are glorious and troubled and desperately connected." (Leslie Jamison) "Agile, informative, even revelatory pieces that, together, show us both the great variety of humanity and the interior of a gifted writer's heart." ( Kirkus, starred review ) �Journalist and psychologist Solomon gamely plunges into global tragedies, hot spots, and cultural ferment. . . . Solomon�s writing captures the sweep of history and social upheaval through vivid, fine-grained reportage that�s raptly attuned to individual experience.� ( Publishers Weekly ) �Andrew Solomon�s magisterial Far and Away collects a quarter-century of soul-shaking essays.� ( Vanity Fair ) �The meaty dispatches�from Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Myanmar, Antarctica, Libya, and other locales�are brilliant geopolitical travelogues that also comprise a very personal and reflective resume of the National Book Award winner�s globe-trotting adventures.� ( Elle ) �Far and Away is a reminder that, although foreign reporting isn�t easy, and that American journalists probably get places wrong as often as they get them right, deep work is worth doing and worth paying for, both to encourage cultural exchange and because a skilled writer who reports at length may create literature.� ( Pacific Standard ) About the Author Andrew Solomon is a professor of psychology at Columbia University, president of PEN American Center, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker , NPR, and The New York Times Magazine . A lecturer and activist, he is the author of Far and Away: Essays from the Brink of Change: Seven Continents, Twenty-Five Years ; the National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, which has won thirty additional national awards ; and The Noonday Demon; An Atlas of Depression, which won the 2001 National Book Award, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and has been published in twenty-four languages. He has also written a novel, A Stone Boat , which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times First Fiction Award and The Irony Tower: Soviet Artists in a Time of Glasnost . His TED talks have been viewed over ten million times. He lives in New York and London and is a dual national. For more information, visit the author�s website at�(http://www.andrewsolomon.com) AndrewSolomon.com .� ** � Formats : AZW3, EPUB From the winner of the National Book Award and the National Books Critics' Circle Award—and one of the most original thinkers of our time—"Andrew Solomon's magisterial Far and Away collects a quarter-century of soul-shaking essays" ( Vanity Fair ). Far and Away chronicles Andrew Solomon's writings about places undergoing seismic shifts—political, cultural, and spiritual. From his stint on the barricades in Moscow in 1991, when he joined artists in resisting the coup whose failure ended the Soviet Union, his 2002 account of the rebirth of culture in Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban, his insightful appraisal of a Myanmar seeped in contradictions as it slowly, fitfully pushes toward freedom, and many other stories of profound upheaval, this book provides a unique window onto the very idea of social change. With his signature brilliance and compassion, Solomon demonstrates both how history is altered by individuals, and how personal identities are altered when governments alter. A journalist and essayist of remarkable perception and prescience, Solomon captures the essence of these cultures. Ranging across seven continents and twenty-five years, these "meaty dispatches...are brilliant geopolitical travelogues that also comprise a very personal and reflective resume of the National Book Award winner's globe-trotting adventures" ( Elle ). Far and Away takes a magnificent journey into the heart of extraordinarily diverse experiences: "You will not only know the world better after having seen it through Solomon's eyes, you will also care about it more" (Elizabeth Gilbert). A New York Times Notable Book From the winner of the National Book Award and the National Books Critics Circle Awardand one of the most original thinkers of our timea riveting collection of essays about places in dramatic transition. Far and Away collects Andrew Solomons writings about places undergoing seismic shiftspolitical, cultural, and spiritual. Chronicling his stint on the barricades in Moscow in 1991, when he joined artists in resisting the coup whose failure ended the Soviet Union, his 2002 account of the rebirth of culture in Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban, his insightful appraisal of a Myanmar seeped in contradictions as it slowly, fitfully pushes toward freedom, and many other stories of profound upheaval, this book provides a unique window onto the very idea of social change. With his signature brilliance and compassion, Solomon demonstrates both how history is altered by individuals, and how personal identities are altered when governments alter. A journalist and essayist of remarkable perception and prescience, Solomon captures the essence of these cultures. Ranging across seven continents and twenty-five years, Far and Away takes a magnificent journey into the heart of extraordinarily diverse experiences, yet Solomon finds a common humanity wherever he travels. Illuminating the development of his own genius, his stories are always intimate and often both funny and deeply moving. Essays chronicle the author's activist stint on the Moscow barricades in 1991, his 2002 account of cultural rebirth in post-Taliban Afghanistan, and other stories of profound change. Psychologist, lecturer and activist Andrew Solomon's essays about places undergoing seismic political and cultural shifts, around the globe and across a generation. A testament to the importance of travel and bearing witness, they encompass South Africa and Brazil, China and Romania, Guatemala and the Solomon Islands, exploring history as it unfolds, largely through the people who are creating and being shaped by it. He learns from former political prisoners, transgender bartenders, rape victims, and shamans. He describes staring down tanks on the barricades in Moscow during the putsch that ended the Soviet Union, being left adrift at the Great Barrier Reef and brought in for questioning in Qaddafi's Libya, and carousing all night in Kabul with musicians finally able to play again after the US invasion drove away the Taliban. Far and Away chronicles a life's journey to the nexus of hope, courage, and the uncertainty of lived experience, while illuminating the development of Solomon's singularly insightful and empathetic worldview. These essays are rooted in intimate, deeply moving stories that reveal and revel in our common humanity.--Adapted from dust jacket. Essays Chronicle The Author's Activist Stint On The Moscow Barricades In 1991, His 2002 Account Of Cultural Rebirth In Post-taliban Afghanistan, And Other Stories Of Profound Change. Dispatches From Everywhere -- The Winter Palettes -- Three Days In August -- Young Russia's Defiant Decadence -- Their Irony, Humor (and Art) Can Save China -- The Artists Of South Africa: Separate, And Equal -- Vlady's Conquests -- Don't Mess With Our Cultural Patrimony! -- On Each Palette, A Choice Of Political Colors -- Sailing To Byzantium -- Enchanting Zambia -- Phaly Nuon's Three Steps -- The Open Spaces Of Mongolia -- Inventing The Conversation -- Naked, Covered In Ram's Blood, Drinking A Coke, And Feeling Pretty Good -- An Awakening After The Taliban -- Museum Without Walls -- Song Of Solomons -- Children Of Bad Memories -- Circle Of Fire: Letter From Libya -- All The Food In China -- Outward Opulence For Inner Peace: The Qianlong Garden Of Retirement -- Adventures In Antarctica -- When Everyone Signs -- Rio, City Of Hope -- In Bed With The President Of Ghana? -- Gay, Jewish, Mentally Ill, And A Sponsor Of Gypsies In Romania -- Myanmar's Moment -- Lost At The Surface. Andrew Solomon. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 533-554) And Index.