The Shaman's Coat: A Native History of Siberia

A vivid mixture of history and reporting. The Shaman's Coat tells the story of some of the world's least-known peoples--the indigenous tribes of Sibena. Journalist and historian Anna Reid traveled the length and breadth of Siberia one-twelfth of the world's land surface--to tell the story of its two dozen different and ancient nationalities--among them Buryat. Tuvans; Sakha, and Chukchi Drawing on sources ranging from folkfales to KGB reports, and on interviews with shamans. Buddhist monks, reindeer herders, and Party appa ratchiks. The Shaman's Coat travels through four hundred years of history and is a moving group portrait of extraordinary and threatened peoples as well as a unique and intrepid travel chronicle.