Kurt Johnson – författare

A hybrid of travel, history and journalism in the tradition of StasilandThe Soviet Union has become a brand. People are growing up with the language of its symbols and archetypes but are not able to penetrate beyond to the meat of its substance. In 2006 Kurt Johnson travelled through the Balkans, Romania and Bulgaria. He noticed that these Soviet satellites appeared like organs cut off from the heart left to atrophy. It became imperative that he visit the heart. Kurt enrolled in Beginners Russian at the community college and spent an hour each day learning Russian.In 2012 Kurt bought a motorbike and travelled through Eastern Europe, the Caucasus to Iran and back to Berlin. With the exception of Iran and Turkey the entire trip was carried out in communist or formerly communist countries. Back in Sydney Kurt did more research. He came to the conclusion that far from being dormant, the legacy of the Soviet Union continues to impact us today in almost every area: geopolitical configurations; our concept of freedom and oppression; in art, diplomacy and technology. The 2012 trip coincided with the death of his grandfather and forced Kurt to realise that his family history was relevant here too. His mother''s Czech-born parents had lost everything to the communists and fled, coming to Australia as refugees, owing their predicament to communism. This idea soon took up almost all of his time, bordering on obsession with events such as terrorist attacks in Chechnya, the oil wars in Kazakhstan and Russia invading Crimea and Transnistria spurring his research. The hammer and sickle began to appear with increasing frequency on the front pages of foreign policy and news magazines, this time in regards to Russia (instead of just China). Kurt is travelling again now, exploring his thesis one more time by investigating other legacies left by the Soviets, like ethnic conflicts in the Caucasus, the grab for oil and natural gas in Central Asia, the ecological disasters that continue to make life so difficult for the people of the Kazakh and Uzbek steppe, as well as others. All still rest heavily on our modern world, sometimes heavier and more alive than they were during the USSR.

WINNER OF THE 2020 GOLD NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD * 2021 SILVER COVR VISIONARY AWARD * 2021 NEW YORK BOOK FESTIVAL AWARD * 2021 GOLD LIVING NOW AWARD “This innovative and revolutionary message of hope and wisdom from many of the greatest visionaries” (Anita Moorjani, New York Times bestselling author) is a rousing call-to-action for all of us to help transform the world into a just, peaceful, and thriving one—featuring creative and practical solutions to the many crises facing humanity today.Humanity is currently facing a series of interconnected emergencies that threaten our very survival—from climate change to economic inequality and beyond. And yet, at the same time, a global shift towards harnessing our collective power to create a life-affirming future is flourishing. Featuring chapters by forty-three leading-edge contributors, such as Gregg Braden, Lynne McTaggart, Bruce Lipton, Jean Houston, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Ervin Laszlo, Joan Borysenko, Larry Dossey, and many more, Our Moment of Choice provides eye-opening and inspirational visions for a unified, peaceful, and thriving world. The time has come for all humanity to be united in purpose. This is our collective moment of choice, upon which our future depends.

“This innovative and revolutionary message of hope and wisdom from many of the greatest visionaries” (Anita Moorjani, New York Times bestselling author) is a rousing call-to-action for all of us to help transform the world into a just, peaceful, and thriving one—featuring creative and practical solutions to the many crises facing humanity today.Humanity is currently facing a series of interconnected emergencies that threaten our very survival—from climate change to economic inequality and beyond. And yet, at the same time, a global shift towards harnessing our collective power to create a life-affirming future is flourishing. Featuring chapters by forty-three leading-edge contributors, such as Gregg Braden, Lynne McTaggart, Bruce Lipton, Jean Houston, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Ervin Laszlo, Joan Borysenko, Larry Dossey, and many more, Our Moment of Choice provides eye-opening and inspirational visions for a unified, peaceful, and thriving world. The time has come for all humanity to be united in purpose. This is our collective moment of choice, upon which our future depends.

Winner of the Minnesota Book Award and a 2022 Great Group Reads Selection "The Barrens grabbed me from the opening pages and never let go."—Michael Punke, author of The Revenant Two young women attending college decide to have a summer adventure canoeing the rapids-strewn Thelon River that runs 450 miles through the uninhabited Barren Lands of subarctic Canada. Holly made the trip once before with a group of skilled paddlers she trained with at camp, and she wants to share that experience with her friend and lover, Lee, believing it will draw them closer. But a week in, Holly, the risk-taker, falls while taking a selfie near the edge of a cliff. She is left injured and comatose, and soon dies. Their locator beacon for summoning rescue was smashed in Holly’s fall. It remains to Lee, the inexperienced paddler, to continue the grueling and dangerous trip alone, to save herself and return her lover’s body to civilization and Holly’s family. In their relationship, Holly and Lee had always told each other stories; Lee had called Holly a “storyist.” Storytelling helps Lee endure the rigors of her journey and engage her grief as she explores her relationship with Holly while chronicling her own coming-of-age off the grid in Nebraska with her estranged eco-anarchist father, who is now serving time in prison.

“This innovative and revolutionary message of hope and wisdom from many of the greatest visionaries” (Anita Moorjani, New York Times bestselling author) is a rousing call-to-action for all of us to help transform the world into a just, peaceful, and thriving one—featuring creative and practical solutions to the many crises facing humanity today.Humanity is currently facing a series of interconnected emergencies that threaten our very survival—from climate change to economic inequality and beyond. And yet, at the same time, a global shift towards harnessing our collective power to create a life-affirming future is flourishing. Featuring chapters by forty-three leading-edge contributors, such as Gregg Braden, Lynne McTaggart, Bruce Lipton, Jean Houston, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Ervin Laszlo, Joan Borysenko, Larry Dossey, and many more, Our Moment of Choice provides eye-opening and inspirational visions for a unified, peaceful, and thriving world. The time has come for all humanity to be united in purpose. This is our collective moment of choice, upon which our future depends.