{"product_id":"stories-i-stole-from-georgia-9780802140678","title":"Stories I Stole from Georgia","description":"Fed up with working for Time magazine in London, Wendell Steavenson spent two years in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Stories I Stole captures the exuberance of a fledgling nation of local despots, mountain tribes, blood feuds, and an unlimited flow of red wine. From President Shevardnadze's rigged elections to horse races high in the mountains; from the eerie roadside artifacts of the Soviet era to the farcical power outages in the dead of winter, here is Georgia: weird, invigorating, and still coming to grips with the legacy of its most famous son, Joseph Stalin. Far more than a travel book, this is a scintillating menagerie of true stories peopled by vivid -- and sometimes insane -- characters. In the beach resort of Sukhumi, once the destination of every fashionable Russian but now wracked by civil war, Wendell plays hangman with a secret policeman. In the capital Tbilisi -- ensconced in Levan's Magic Room or lounging in the steam baths -- she hears about the latest duel or kidnapping. In Khevsureti, the meadows are dotted with blue-painted beehives and yellow flowers, while just over the border, there is war in Chechnya.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Grove Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50655997886738,"sku":"9780802140678","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b259c742-7f3c-4eee-951f-4205dddf6134.jpg?v=1733383356","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/stories-i-stole-from-georgia-9780802140678","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}