Matthias Heeke, Reisen Zu Den Sowjets: Der Auslandische Tourismus in Russland 1921-1941. Mit Einem Bio-Bibliographischen Anhang Zu 96 Deutschen Reiseautoren [Travel to the Soviets: Foreign Tourism in Russia, 1921-1941, with a Bio-Bibliographical Appendix on 96 German Travel-Writers] (Book Review)

Matthias Heeke, Reisen zu den Sowjets: Der auslandische Tourismus in Russland 1921-1941. Mit einem bio-bibliographischen Anhang zu 96 deutschen Reiseautoren [Travel to the Soviets: Foreign Tourism in Russia, 1921-1941, with a Bio-bibliographical Appendix on 96 German Travel-Writers]. xii + 679 pp. Munster: LIT Verlag, 2003. ISBN 3825856925. 61.90[euro]. Between 1921 and 1941, thousands of German travelers-tourists, business travelers, scientific and cultural elites, and the politically curious-journeyed to the Soviet Union. From these travelers came almost 900 travel accounts, and from 100 of these (written by 96 authors) Matthias Heeke has meticulously reconstructed the logistics of their travel. Along the way, he provides the reader with an institutional history of Soviet foreign tourism and travel and a discussion of the ways in which the authors' political positions influenced the way in which they chose to write about their journeys.