Midnight in Siberia looks at today's Russia

As the West nervously watches a newly assertive Russia, many commentators are trying to figure out what Vladimir Putin is thinking. But Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia reminds us of another important question: What are the Russian people thinking?

David Greene took a 9,654 km train journey from Moscow to Vladivostok to find out, and the result is a mesmerizing, confounding, comforting and thought-provoking book. Greene, National Public Radio's former Moscow bureau chief, takes readers inside the homes and lives of everyday Russians, and he finds humor, despair, idealism and perseverance in abundance.

Greene visits the Buranovo Babushkas, a singing group of elderly women from a tiny village who represented Russia in the Eurovision music contest. He meets parents who lost a son when the plane carrying a beloved hockey team crashed, and one fan notes that surviving tragedy is "the way the soul of a Russian person is built".