Jeffrey Tayler is a U.S.-born author and journalist. He is the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

correspondent for the ''

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' and a contributor to several other magazines as well as to

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's All Things Considered. He has written several non-fiction books about different regions of the world which include ''Facing the Congo'', ''Siberian Dawn'', ''Glory in a Camel's Eye'', and ''Angry Wind'', the latter being a portrait of a journey through the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

portion of black

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. ''River of no Reprieve'' is about a challenging raft trip down Russia's

Lena River The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...

. Tayler holds both a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

. Tayler is an accomplished polyglot; in addition to his native

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, he is fluent in Russian,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and

modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...

, and has a functioning knowledge of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and Turkish. He served as a

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John ...

volunteer in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

from 1988 to 1990. Since the summer of 1993, he has lived in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

.Rolf Potts' vagabonding update: Jeffrey Tayler
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Bibliography

*''Siberian Dawn: A Journey Across the New Russia'' (2000) *''Facing the Congo: A Modern-Day Journey into the Heart of Darkness'' (2000) *''Valley of the Casbahs: A Journey Across the Moroccan Sahara'' (2003) *''Glory in a Camel's Eye: A Perilous Trek Through the Greatest African Desert'' (2003) *''Angry Wind: Through Muslim Black Africa by Truck, Bus, Boat, and Camel'' (2005) (also published as ''The Lost Kingdoms of Africa'') *''River of White Nights: A Siberian Odyssey'' (2006) *''River of No Reprieve: Descending Siberia's Waterway of Exile, Death, and Destiny'' (2006) *''Murderers in Mausoleums: Riding the Back Roads of Empire Between Moscow and Beijing'' (2009) (also published as ''In The Bloody Footsteps Of Ghengis Khan: An Epic Journey Across the Steppes, Mountains and Deserts from Red Square to Tiananmen Square)'' *''Topless Jihadis: Inside Femen, the World’s Most Provocative Activist Group'' (2013) *''In Putin's Footsteps: Searching for the Soul of an Empire Across Russia's Eleven Time Zones'' (2019), with Nina Khrushcheva

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male journalists The Atlantic (magazine) people Syracuse University alumni University of Virginia alumni {{US-journalist-stub