Across the Ussuri Kray: Travels in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains

In Russia's Far East sits the wild Ussuri Kray, a region known for its remote highlands and rugged mountain passes where tigers and bears roam the cliffs, and salmon and lenok navigate the rivers. In this collection of travel writing by famed Russian explorer and naturalist Vladimir K. Arsenyev (1872-1930), readers are shuttled back to the turn of the 20th century when the Russian Empire was reeling from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) and vulnerable to its Far Eastern neighbors. What began as an expedition to survey the region's infrastructure for the Russian military turned into an adventure through a territory rich in ethnic and ecological diversity. Encountering the disappearing indigenous cultures of the Nanai and Udege, engaging the help of Korean farmers and Chinese hunters, and witnessing the beginning of indomitable Russian settlement, Arsenyev documents the lives and customs of the region's inhabitants and their surroundings. Originally written as "a popular scientific description of the Kray," this unabridged edition includes photographs largely unseen for nearly a century and is annotated by Jonathan C. Slaght, a biologist working in the same forests Arsenyev explored. Across the Ussuri Kray is a classic of northeast Asian cultural and natural history.

Table of Contents:
Foreword: The Unknown Arsenyev / Ivan Yegorchev Preface to the 1921 Edition Translator's Acknowledgements Translator's Introduction Part I: The 1902 Expedition 1. The Glass Valley 2. Meeting Dersu 3. The Boar Hunt 4. The Incident at a Korean Village 5. The Lower Reaches of the Lefu 6. The Blizzard at Lake Khanka 7. Parting Ways with Dersu Part II: The 1906 Expedition 8. The 1906 Expedition—Preparations and Equipment 9. At the Departure Site 10. Up the Ussuri 11. From Chzhumtayza to the Village Zagornaya 12. The Route across the Mountains to the Village of Koksharovka 13. The Fudzin River Valley 14. Through the Taiga 15. The Great Forest 16. Across the Sikhote-Alin to the Sea 17. The Villages of Fudin and Permskoye 18. Saint Olga Bay 19. Trip to the Sydagou River 20. Adventure on the Arzamasovka River 21. Saint Vladimir Bay 22. The Tadusha River 23. Dersu Uzala 24. Amba 25. The Li-Fudzin 26. The Path along the Noto River 27. An Accursed Place 28. Return to the Sea 29. Up the Tyutikhe River 30. The Red Deer Rut 31. The Bear Hunt 32. From the Mutukhe River to Seokhobe 33. An Encounter with the Khunkhuz 34. Fire in the Forest 35. The Winter Expedition 36. To the Iman 37. A Dangerous River Voyage 38. Plight 39. From Vagunbe to Parovoza 40. The Final Trip Appendix I: Historical and Current Names of Landmarks and Settlements Appendix II: Biographical Information Bibliography Index of Plants and Animals Index

About the Author :
Vladimir K. Arsenyev (1872-1930) was a Russian naturalist who devoted thirty years to exploring the Russian Far East and describing the people and wildlife he encountered. His written works continue to inspire generations of Russians to explore and appreciate nature. Jonathan C. Slaght is the Russia and Northeast Asia Coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society and is the English-language editor of the Far-Eastern Journal of Ornithology. He studies Blakiston's fish owls, Amur tigers, and Siberian musk deer and writes a guest blog for Scientific American entitled "East of Siberia."

Review :
[This] translation makes it easy to see why Arsenyev maintains a fan base among Russian readers: his travelogue is both romantic and closely observed, and he is an appealing narrator, courageous but more than willing to admit faults and share credit. (The New Yorker) Excellent and accessible . . . Slaght follows in Arsenyev's snowy, muddy footsteps — preserving, but also teaching others to identify and appreciate what is unique. Thus the pleasure of reading his new translation lies in the details, which are abundant but never frivolous. (LA Review of Books) A translation that, in its fluency and readability, stands comparison with English-language classics of the genre. . . . Slaght has done Arsenyev proud. The smooth translation doesn't read like one: it is seamless and colloquial while remaining entirely in tune with the style of period in which it was written. (Asian Review of Books) Arsenyev's narrative in Jonathan Slaght's fine translation should inspire us all to treasure and protect these remarkable places. (Times Literary Supplement)