"East of the Sun" by Benson Bobrick

Amazing history of Siberia, an incredibly vast and diverse land that many Americans don't know or care about. Like most Russian history, very violent. Interesting to compare with the history of the American West and frontier. In fact, Siberia is often called Russia's Wild East.

Very well written, and thorough history, though it might not be lively enough for some. For me, I found it thoroughly fascinating. Also includes history of the Russian exploration of the Pacific North, Alaska, and the west coast of America. Some of the stories of early explorers are simply amazing, such as that of Bering--who was financed by the Russians, but was himself Swedish.