The word Siberia brings to mind a series of extremes--vast, bleak, harsh, alluring, wild, and beautiful. Our imagined notion of this largely unknown territory is so strong that the name itself has become a metaphor for things remote or undesirable. The reality, however, is that Siberia surpasses any singular idea. Not only does it span numerous time zones and feature enormously varied geography, but its inhabitants range from nomads herding reindeer and shamans communing with spirits to scientists in state-of-the-art laboratories and urbanites surrounded by boutiques, museums, and opera houses. Spanning some 130 years, this collection of images by more than 50 Russian photographers conveys as never before Siberia's enormity and diversity while bringing the region into concrete, human focus. It draws from rarely visited collections in Russian museums as well as the work of established and emerging photographers. This beautiful volume is at once a groundbreaking photographic event and a sublime introduction to one of Earth's most intriguing places. AUTHOR: Leah Bendavid-Val is former director of photography publishing for National Geographic Books and senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington DC.

She is the author of several books on Russian photography, most recently "Song without Words: The Photographs and Diaries of Countess Sophia Tolstoy". SELLING POINTS: Filled with unforgettable images of Siberia's people and landscape, this fascinating, panoramic book reflects its subject's rich and complex culture. ILLUSTRATIONS: 176 colour photographs and 1 map.