{"product_id":"dancing-bears-true-stories-of-people-nostalgic-for-life-under-tyranny-9780143129745","title":"Dancing Bears: True Stories of People Nostalgic for Life Under Tyranny","description":"\u003cb\u003e*As heard on NPR's \u003ci\u003eAll Things Considered\u003c\/i\u003e* \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Utterly original.\" --\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Mixing bold journalism with bolder allegories, Mr. Szablowski teaches us with witty persistence that we must desire freedom rather than simply expect it.\" --\u003cb\u003eTimothy Snyder, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eOn Tyranny \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Road to Unfreedom\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn incisive, humorous, and heartbreaking account of people in formerly Communist countries holding fast to their former lives, by the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eHow to Feed a Dictator\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWhat's Cooking in the Kremlin\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e For hundreds of years, Bulgarian Gypsies trained bears to dance, welcoming them into their families and taking them on the road to perform. In the early 2000s, with the fall of Communism, they were forced to release the bears into a wildlife refuge. But even today, whenever the bears see a human, they still get up on their hind legs to dance. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In the tradition of Ryszard Kapuściński, award-winning Polish journalist Witold Szablowski uncovers remarkable stories of people throughout Eastern Europe and in Cuba who, like Bulgaria's dancing bears, are now free but who seem nostalgic for the time when they were not. His on-the-ground reporting--of smuggling a car into Ukraine, hitchhiking through Kosovo as it declares independence, arguing with Stalin-adoring tour guides at the Stalin Museum, sleeping in London's Victoria Station alongside a homeless woman from Poland, and giving taxi rides to Cubans fearing for the life of Fidel Castro--provides a fascinating portrait of social and economic upheaval and a lesson in the challenges of freedom and the seductions of authoritarian rule. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the Introduction: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Guys with wacky hair who promise a great deal have been springing up in our part of the world like mushrooms after rain. And people go running after them, like bears after their keepers. . . . Fear of a changing world, and longing for someone . . . who will promise that life will be the same as it was in the past, are not confined to Regime-Change Land. In half the West, empty promises are made, wrapped in shiny paper like candy. And for this candy, people are happy to get up on their hind legs and dance.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Witold Szablowski\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Penguin Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/06\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 262\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.4lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.80h x 5.20w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780143129745","brand":"Penguin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44365805682825,"sku":"9780143129745","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_fcc2c8f9-8689-4685-83ce-e48e9af181db.jpg?v=1751345799","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/dancing-bears-true-stories-of-people-nostalgic-for-life-under-tyranny-9780143129745","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}