Harrison E. Salisbury probably knows Russia better than any other living American correspondent, having traveled widely and frequently through almost every part of the Soviet Union, including the long-sealed-off regions of Siberia, the sub-Arctic, and Central Asia as well as the Volga country and the Ukraine. He has also covered the entire periphery of China, traveling more than 25,000 miles along China's frontiers from the jungles of Southeast Asia to the bristling Siberian-Chinese border.
His first assignment in Russia was as head of the United Press bureau in Moscow in 1944. After joining
The New York Times
in 1949 he became their Moscow correspondent and remained there for the next five years. Out of his observations during this period grew his celebrated series for the Times, "Russia Re-Viewed," which brought him the 1955 Pulitzer Prize. He subsequently wrote two books dealing with the same period,
American in Russia
(1955) and
Moscow Journal—The End of Stalin
(1961). His recently published
The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad
was widely acclaimed and an important best-seller.
As a result of his reports Mr. Salisbury was barred from Russia for five years, and was not allowed to return to the country until 1959. At that time he stayed for nearly six months, traveling thousands of miles within the Soviet Union. His 1960 book,
To Moscow and Beyond
, was a result of this trip. He has since revisited Russia in 1961-62, 1966, 1967, and 1969.