Just after the Iron Curtain fell over Eastern Europe, John Steinbeck teamed up with war photographer Robert Capa on a groundbreaking journey through the Soviet Union. Commissioned by the New York Herald Tribune, they traveled from Moscow to Stalingrad and across the Ukrainian and Caucasus countryside, blending narrative and imagery into unforgettable reportage.
Freed from Cold War propaganda, their account captures the private lives of factory workers, government clerks, and rural peasants rebuilding amid postwar ruins. Steinbeck’s eloquent prose and Capa’s striking black-and-white photographs reveal everyday resilience, candid portraits, and the stark realities of Soviet society in 1947–48.
This Penguin Classics edition features a new introduction by Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw, providing historical context and fresh insights into the authors’ creative collaboration. A Russian Journal remains an essential document of travel writing and photojournalism, offering both vivid storytelling and rare visual testimony of a pivotal era.
Key Features
- First-hand reportage across Soviet cities and countryside
- High-resolution photographs by Robert Capa
- Nuanced narrative from Pulitzer Prize–winning John Steinbeck
- New scholarly introduction by Susan Shillinglaw
