Jeremy Atiyah grew up and was educated in Oxford. He began travelling as a young man and eventually became a travel wiriter as well as being, for several years, travel editor of the Independent on Sunday. A gifted linguist, he travelled to many remote parts of the world, none more remote than Alaska, where the idea for this book was conceived. His interest in the geographical connection between Siberia and Alaska led to several visits, including winter months spent in Irkutsk. The Great Land grew out of research conducted there, in Alaska and London. The manuscript for the book, which he intended for a general audience, was discovered when he died suddenly in 2006 at the age of 43.
With real feeling for the storyteller's art, Atiyah's book gives a sense of atmosphere to a history now nearing two centuries old...the most refreshing aspect of Atiyah's book is that he lays a solid foundation to understand how Russia's attempts to colonize Alaska were not only undercut by the American competition for the fur trade, but ruthlessly betrayed by some of the Boston traders offering their services and support to Baranov. John Middleton Alaska History Vol 24, No 1 [Jeremy's] many years of research and hard work are a great credit to this story...The question is why the Russians didn't establish a trade empire on the Great Land of the western coast of America and Alaska. They truly missed their 'Golden' chance and ironically if they had succeeded, the world's history would have had an unusual edge. The answers are here. Skirmish, The Living History Magazine No. 59, May 2008 If one judges Jeremy Atiyah's posthumously published book according to the goal established by the author-to write for a general audience of Americans who still remain unaware of Russia's late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth-century attempts to colonize North America's Pacific coast from Alaska as far south as Fort Ross, California - then The Great Land: How western America nearly became a Russian possession must be considered an unqualified success. Walter C. Uhler California History Vol 86, No 3, 2009 Atiyah's colourfully detailed book is an adventure in itself. It is full of the tough challenges faced by the hard men of Russia in uncharted territory and is a literary landmark that should shock America to its roots. Colin Gardiner The Oxford Times 18th April 2008 In the hands of a master storyteller we are led through the convoluted machinations of a few clever and very determined men to bring what is often termed the Northwest Coast of America under Russian hegemony. Few historians have considered Russian expansion in the region or what these imperial and mercantile jockeyings might have meant for the small number of Europeans and thousands of natives living in the region... Atiyah's work fills an important void. Atiyah was an excellent writer and clearly had a good mastery of the relevant primary sources. He wove the multiple storylines into a riveting tale that is told with appealing verve. Further, his work makes a significant contribution to the internationalizing of American history. Phyllis Whitman Hunter Terrae Incognitae Volume 41, 2009
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