Apples Are from Kazakhstan : The Land That Disappeared

from thornton37814

The author traveled to Kazakhstan, a country about which he knew very little. He did a bit of research before going. The American title of the book comes from a comment one person made to him before he went there. The woman told him that "Apples are from Kazakhstan." Indeed, he knew little more a...

from omphalos02

Very impressive travelogue that mixes humour and pathos while showing us a land, people and culture(s) that are virtually unknown in the West. Robbins is a gifted writer, but I wish he had been more "hard-line" with his treatment of Nazarbayev (the president), particularly the two murders of poli...

from sswright46168

A very interesting book about a place very few people have ever heard about, unless they have seen the annoying "Borat" (who is obviously not a reliable guide). The author includes some in-depth interviews with the country's controversial president and spent several years getting to know this oil...

from SeriousGrace

I think this quote sums up Robbins's primary reason for writing Apples Are From Kazakhstan, "Unexpectedly, vague curiosity developed into real interest during that time [two years], and continued to grow, until I became determined to visit the birthplace of the apple" (p 10). This comes after sit...

from klburnside

I learned a lot about Kazakhstan from this book. The writing was mostly engaging, though I got a little bored at times, especially during some of the parts about the not so recent history of Kazakhstan. The book makes the country seem more real to me, and I was surprised by how shockingly little ...