Ilf and Petrov's American Road Trip
by Ilf and Petrov
Mentioned once across 1 show · first heard Jun 2026 on My First Million.
The general take
Sam Parr thinks Ilf and Petrov's American Road Trip is genuinely great, calling it "so good" and recommending it despite its obscurity—it only has 40 Amazon reviews and costs $400 for a paperback. He finds it fascinating that two Soviet Russians took a road trip across America in 1935, during the height of communist Russia.
About
In 1935, two Soviet satirists, Ilia Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, undertook a 10,000 mile American road trip from New York to Hollywood and back accompanied only by their guide and chauffeur, a gregarious Russian Jewish immigrant and his American-born, Russian-speaking wife. They immortalized their journey in a popular travelogue that condemned American inequality and racism even as it marvelled at American modernity and efficiency. Lisa Kirschenbaum reconstructs the epic journey of the two Soviet funnymen and their encounters with a vast cast of characters, ranging from famous authors, artists, poets and filmmakers to unemployed hitchhikers and revolutionaries.
Who said what
Sam Parr👍 Recommends
…exploring historical perspectives on american culture and tourism
“There's this great book. I'm sharing it now. I don't know how to pronounce their name, but it's Ilf and Petrov's American Road Trip. I read this a few years ago. It's so good. So basically, and it has very few reviews. On Amazon, it has 40 reviews. And a paperback copy is $400. And so in 1935, well into the era of Soviet communist Russia, two Russians came over and they took a road trip throughout America and they describe what they're seeing.”
My First Million — We decoded the business behind this influencer’s perfect lifeat 30:43
Listener reviews
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