The Geographer's Library

acknowledgments
who illuminated so much about Russia that would otherwise have remained
dark. His generosity, warmth, curiosity, bravery, and humor will remain a
model to me for as long as I write and travel.
Finally, a note to my future self: If your son, two months after meeting a
girl, tells you he’s headed for a tiny island without electricity, running water,
or a way off, with the girl and her brother, parents, cousins, aunts, and uncles,
do not panic. It might turn out okay. Many thanks to George and Paula Krimsky
for ensuring that it did, and for countless kindnesses large and small. But
thanks to them most of all for raising an extraordinary daughter, without
whom I would never have gone to Russia or written this book. The Geographer’s
Library is for Alissa. So am I.
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