{"product_id":"this-cursed-beautiful-land-a-russian-american-story-9798217087266","title":"This Cursed Beautiful Land: A Russian-American Story by Gershkovich, Evan","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe \"enthralling\" (\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e), much-anticipated memoir from the \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e reporter who was wrongly imprisoned in Putin's Russia for more than a year--a glimpse inside the perils and contradictions of a country in the midst of autocracy\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Propulsive . . . a taut thriller.\"--Patrick Radden Keefe, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eLondon Falling\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Beautiful writing . . . a phenomenal book.\"--Jon Stewart, \u003ci\u003eThe Daily Show\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Compelling . . . an intimate first-person account. He brings us right inside his prison cell. . . . I can't recommend the book highly enough. . . . A great story.\"--George Stephanopoulos, on \u003ci\u003eGood Morning America\u003c\/i\u003e (9\/28\/26) \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF FALL BY: \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review, Lit Hub, New York Post, Town \u0026amp; Country, The Times\u003c\/i\u003e (UK)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn March 2023, a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, Evan Gershkovich met with a union boss connected with a Russian tank factory. As the journalist sat with his source in an empty restaurant in an industrial city 900 miles east of Moscow, a squad of masked agents charged in, blindfolded Evan, and dragged him into an unmarked van. The agents were from the FSB, Putin's powerful security service, and the successor to the Soviet-era KGB. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFive years earlier, Evan had arrived in Moscow to jumpstart his journalism career. His parents had left the Soviet Union in the 1970s, forging a middle-class life in New Jersey, where Evan grew up on Soviet-era cartoons and weekend trips to Brighton Beach. In Moscow, Evan dove into life--unpacking politics for readers of \u003ci\u003eThe Moscow Times\u003c\/i\u003e and developing a circle of deep friendships with Russian peers, all striving to make their way in perilous times. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWestern journalists had long felt insulated from the dangers their Russian counterparts experienced. But war, it seemed, had changed the rules. Interrogated for hours after his arrest, Evan was told he was being charged with spying and thrown in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison--a pawn in a geopolitical chess match. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter his world suddenly shrunk to a tiny, cement-walled cell, Evan did something remarkable: he continued reporting. For the next sixteen months, he documented a life in Russia that few Westerners will ever experience: its sprawling prison system, with its own vocabulary and customs--and surprising pockets of humanity. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn writing by turns riveting and humorous, Evan brings readers inside the events leading to his arrest, his nearly 500 days in Russian prisons, and the blockbuster, multi-country prisoner swap that freed him. More than a prison memoir, \u003ci\u003eThis Cursed Beautiful Land\u003c\/i\u003e is an extraordinary, deeply reported chronicle of a misunderstood people and their land--marked at once by stunning beauty and a haunting history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Evan Gershkovich\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Crown Publishing Group (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/29\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 432\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.37lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.32h x 6.69w x 1.43d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798217087266\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEvan Gershkovich\u003c\/b\u003e is a foreign correspondent for \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal \u003c\/i\u003ebased in Berlin. Born in New Jersey to Soviet émigrés, he lived in Russia for over five years before his 2023 arrest and subsequent sixteen-month imprisonment on false espionage charges. His writing has also appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eForeign Policy\u003c\/i\u003e, and he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2025 as part of an investigative team for \u003ci\u003eThe Journal\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group (NY)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67646354653337,"sku":"9798217087266","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0572\/3367\/0297\/files\/9798217087266.jpg?v=1791580823","url":"https:\/\/bookmarksretail.store\/products\/this-cursed-beautiful-land-a-russian-american-story-9798217087266","provider":"Bookmarks Retail","version":"1.0","type":"link"}