Customer Reviews
If in doubt, bribe - By: Flashman, 27 Aug 2008 
Tig Hague's account of his arrest at Sheremetyevo, remandin Moscow, trial & time spentin a Mordovian prison camp is a vivid description of two shockingly different worlds clashing - that of a naive Western European on a business trip & the harshness & brutality of life on the wrong side of the Russian justice system.
Hague was desperately unlucky to be there - he had overlooked the fact that there was a small amount of hashishin his jeans. Then he failed to understand that the corrupt official at the airport wanted a bribe, leading to a search of his clothes, leading to a conviction for drug smuggling & two years of misery & terror.
Zone 22 makes for very compelling reading. The stories are so horrifying that it is impossible to put the book down. He also finishes chapters with a nasty incident or an example of psychological torture by the guards, prompting you to eagerly continue reading to see how he deals with it & what ghastly event will finish the next chapter. Hague also uses very earthy language which makes for a strong effect - quite appropriate to describe the degredation he experienced.
I've spent a long timein Russia, & I was able to empathise with him dealing with Russian bureaucracy, which is designed to be as frustrating as possible. I was also pleased to see him manipulate one of the governors at the end of the book - a character called Zanpolit - indirectly threatening him by claiming the British Embassy were on his case. This really shows up the "authorities" for what they are - corrupt bullyboys.
Hague does mention something very important, which the incredulous reader should bearin mind. The unnecessary brutality, degredation & psychological abusein the system is due to the poverty & misery of the wretched guards & governors, who are only one rung higher than the convicts. They are desperate to be better than they are, hence the treatment they mete out to the inmates & their lust for Western cigarettes & other luxury items. Another lesson he explains clearly is that it is practically impossible to get out unless you are backed by money. He needed a huge amount of supplies for bribes, brought to him by family & the British Embassy, much of it pilfered by the disgusting guards.
It is this material help from the outside that keeps him going physically, & which also helps him persuade Zanpolit to get him on the parole list. What keeps him going spiritually is hope, constantly dashed by the authorities but fed by his girlfriend who stands by him & even goes to Zone 22 to marry him.
A moving account of an innocent manin a horrible world.
''Did you pack your case yourself, sir?'' - By: Dazeobi, 15 Aug 2008 I bet he wishes that he had now.
The extract taken from 'The Guardian's' review, couldn't sum this book up more.
I found the most ironic part of the book (apart from the vietnamese moaning like a dog, while sleeping, after eating one), was that it should have only been a small chapterin his life. What should have been a small bribe (in the form of a few cigarettes) to the first individual that asked for a bribe,in Russia. Turned out to be half a years production of the 'Marlboro' factory, & a select few pages from the 'Argos' catalogue, being handed to the employees of the Russian prision system,in order to try & get somewhere, butin fact not getting really anywhere. As he found out himself. 100 Marlboro's for 1/4" of a window to be opened. It's just wrong!!!!
Seriously, this book is a brilliant buy, & I'm another one of the 'I read itin days, & couldn't put it down crew'.
On the plus side; I now know that if I ever travel to Russia (and the former parts of it), the most important item I'll carry, is definately 30 cigarettes!!
simply outstanding. - By: MOD., 20 Jul 2008 When Tig Hague describes the prisonin the Russian capital & his treatment of the justice system you think it can't get any worse until his arrival at Zone 22. Tig Hague brings the reader on a journey that is outstanding to read & teaches us all how family is so important.This is the modern day "Great Escape" without the tunnels or the bike. Buy it & enjoy it " simply outstanding ".
How does one cope? - By: N. church, 02 Jun 2008 An honest & scary true story of one mans life that turns upside down & spirals out of his control. One silly mistake leads to a challange of self control & survial. An interesting read that evokes sympathy & interests the reader through out. I hope Tig is drinking lemonade from these big lemons he was dealt a few years back.
A fantastic purchase!!
absolutly fantastic - By: Robert Sullivan, 29 May 2008 this book is brilliant, it takes you through the high's & low's of tigin the russian prison system, this book is a definate read & i recomend it to everyone probably the best book iv ever bought.
