Among the Russians by Colin Thubron is an Englishman's account of driving throughout the pre-glasnost Soviet Union and includes Tallinn. It captures the gloomy, resigned mood of the time.The Christening by Denise Neuhaus brilliantly captures the paranoia of Soviet-era Tallinn.The Czar's Madman by Jaan Kross, Estonia's most celebrated novelist, uses historical tales to address contemporary themes.The Baltic States: The Years of Independence, 1917-40, by Georg von Rauch, and The Baltic States: Years of Dependence, 1940-80, by Romualdas Misiunas and Rein Taagepera, are both weighty historical tomes. Clare Thomson's The Singing Revolution traces the path of all 3 Baltic states towards independence as she travelled through the region in 1989 and 1990.The Same Sea in Us All and The Wandering Border are collections from the outstanding contemporary poet Jaan Kaplinski, whose work superbly captures Estonian life.