I had heard of amber before, all thanks to the mighty Jurassic Park, but I’ve never heard of the Amber Route, I couldn’t even hazard a guess as to it’s location. As soon as I saw the map I knew I had to read this book, an area of the world I have barely read about.

This was a fascinating read, Schüler takes the reader across present borders and past borders whilst tracing the route that the amber trade used, all the time keeping an eagle eye for any bits of amber he can find on beaches. During this journey he shares with us the history of the area, so much turmoil going all the way back to Roman times, it is incredible just how much conflict there has been. During this trip Schüler tries to trace his family, looking for their legacy, where they lived and worked before they had to flee during WWII, the stories he shares are heart-breaking, there is no place on the route that escaped this conflict and it didn’t matter how many times Schüler revealed the damage and deaths it never failed to hit you in the pit of your stomach.

One of the most interesting parts of the book was the famous Russian Amber Room, still missing since WWII, Schüler gives an interesting account about how it was made, whom made it and who for, how it was moved around and all about the remade panels currently in their place. It is almost a mini-book within the main book.

Schüler has a vast knowledge about music from this era, I’m always impressed when somebody is able to identify a piece of classical music but to identify a piece that a park bench is playing??? I doff my hat to you Mr. Schüler very impressive. He also discusses the architecture that can be scene, describing what is there currently and comparing it to what was there before it was destroyed during one of the many conflicts in the region.

I felt this book was missing one thing, locals, whilst Schüler does meet the locals he doesn’t share much of the conversations he must have had. Apart from this one bit this was a fantastic read, so much information within these pages, this is one of those books that will sit on my shelf and be dipped in and out of when I need to find a fact to win an argument.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2022/06/25/along-the-amber-route-st-petersburg-to-venice-by-c-j-schuler/