The Flying Elephant Memoirs of an Olympic Champion Kindle Edition by Alexander Savin: A Reader’s Guide

Type “the flying elephant” into a book search and you’ll get a mixed bag of results. A Disney classic. A Russian detective novel.

A handful of children’s picture books.

Somewhere in that pile sits a 514-page memoir by one of the most decorated volleyball players of the Soviet era.

It’s easy to miss, and that’s a shame.

This guide is for anyone who has come across The Flying Elephant: Memoirs of an Olympic Champion (Kindle Edition) by Alexander Savin and wondered what it actually is, whether it’s worth the time, and how to tell if it fits what they like to read.

First, Let’s Clear Up the Name Confusion

The title trips people up, and it’s worth sorting out before anything else.

Here’s what shares the “flying elephant” name, so you can rule things out quickly:

Quick search tip: Add “Alexander Savin” and “Olympic Champion” to your search. That filters out nearly everything unrelated.

You might also see the author’s name spelled “Aleksandr Savin” or “Aleksandr Borisovich Savin.” These all refer to the same person. Russian names often get transliterated into English in more than one way.

What About That Nickname?

You’ll find plenty of guesses online about where “the flying elephant” comes from. The most common theory is that it describes a tall, powerful athlete who moved with surprising lightness.

That theory makes intuitive sense. Savin stood about 200 centimeters (roughly 6’7″). But the official listing doesn’t spell out the origin, so treat any confident explanation you read as speculation. The book itself is the best place to find the real story.

Why This Memoir Stands Out in a Crowded Genre

Sports memoirs are everywhere. Most come from recent stars, get written with a ghostwriter, and follow a familiar arc: tough start, big break, championship, life lessons.

The Flying Elephant is different for a few concrete reasons.

It comes from inside a closed system. Savin played for the Soviet Union during the 1970s and ’80s. Firsthand English-language accounts from Soviet Olympic athletes of that generation are genuinely rare.

The athlete has the record to back it up. This isn’t a fringe figure writing about near misses. Savin’s international resume is one of the strongest in the history of men’s volleyball.

The English edition exists because of a family story. The translation grew out of a personal project led by Andrei Savine, Alexander’s half-brother. That’s not a publishing house chasing a trend. It’s someone trying to preserve a relative’s memories in a language more people can read.

It spans an entire career arc. The listing subtitle frames it as moving “From Olympic Glory to Coaching Wisdom.” So the book isn’t frozen in its playing days. It reaches into what came after.

A Champion’s Record, Put in Plain Terms

You don’t need to know volleyball to appreciate how strong this resume is. Here’s what the official records show:

Six straight European titles. Two world titles. Medals at two Olympics.

To put that in perspective, imagine a basketball player who won six straight conference championships, two world titles, and Olympic medals across two Games. That’s the territory we’re talking about.

The Story Hidden Inside the Two Olympic Results

The Olympic results alone contain real drama.

In Montreal in 1976, the Soviet team reached the final and lost to Poland in five sets. Five sets is as close as volleyball gets. It’s the sports equivalent of losing a championship in overtime.

Four years later, in Moscow, Savin played in all six Soviet matches. The team beat Bulgaria 3–1 for gold, on home soil, at a Games shaped by the U.S.-led boycott.

That path from heartbreak to redemption is exactly the kind of experience a memoir can unpack in ways a results table never will.

What Kind of Reading Experience to Expect

Knowing the feel of a book matters as much as knowing its subject. Here’s an honest picture based on what’s known about this one.

It’s Long, and That’s Intentional

At a reported 514 pages, this isn’t a weekend breeze-through for most people. If you read 30 pages a night, you’re looking at roughly two and a half weeks.

That length suggests depth. Memoirs this size usually linger on people, places, and small moments rather than racing from trophy to trophy.

It Leans Toward People and Place

Savin has said in interviews that much of the original book focuses on Obninsk, the town where he grew up and started playing. He wanted to capture the atmosphere of his early sporting life and the people who shaped him.

People involved with the project describe recollections covering:

• Teammates from CSKA Moscow, one of the dominant clubs of the era
• Coaches and mentors who developed him
• The volleyball community in Obninsk
• Attitudes toward sport inside the Soviet Union
• Impressions of passionate South American fans
• Observations about American sporting events

So expect a book that feels more like a long, detailed conversation about a life in sport than a highlight reel.

It Carries a Visual Element

The English edition reportedly includes a large collection of archival photographs, with some descriptions citing more than 240. If that holds true, it adds a real visual history layer: old uniforms, team photos, venues from a very different era.

Keep in mind that photo-heavy Kindle books look very different on a basic e-ink Kindle versus a tablet. More on that below.

Why This Memoir Matters Beyond Volleyball

You don’t have to care about blocks and spikes to get something out of this book. It works on at least three levels.

1. As a Window Into Cold War Sport

During the Cold War, Olympic medals carried political weight. Every win was framed as proof of a system’s strength.

Savin competed right in the middle of that. His career runs through the 1980 Moscow Games, one of the most politically charged Olympics in history. A personal account from someone inside that machine offers texture that history books often flatten.

2. As a Record of How Athletes Were Built

Today’s elite athletes often come up through private academies, sponsorships, and social media. Soviet athletes came up through state-supported clubs and local coaches in towns like Obninsk.

Reading about that pipeline from someone who went through it gives you a different lens on talent development. Coaches and sports parents may find this especially eye-opening.

3. As a Human Story About Memory and Legacy

At its heart, this is an older man looking back on his life and the people in it. That theme is universal.

Anyone who has listened to a grandparent describe “the old days” knows the value of these stories. They capture details that vanish when the people who lived them are gone.

How to Read It: Sports History Meets Personal Story

One smart way to approach this memoir is to hold two ideas at once.

It is a historical source. It offers an insider’s view of a powerhouse team during a defining era.

It is also one person’s memory. Memoirs are shaped by perspective, time, and emotion. Two teammates can remember the same match very differently.

Here’s a practical reading approach that gets the best of both:

• Keep the official results handy. Use the table above as an anchor for dates and outcomes.
• Read the personal stories for what records can’t tell you. How a locker room felt after losing to Poland. What a coach said during practice. Why a certain teammate mattered.
• Notice what the author emphasizes. What a champion chooses to dwell on often reveals more than the events themselves.
• Treat strong opinions as his view, not settled fact. That’s not a criticism. That’s simply what a memoir is.

This approach turns passive reading into something richer. You’re not just consuming a story. You’re comparing memory with history.

Why the English Kindle Edition Is Especially Relevant

For most of the book’s existence, the story lived in Russian. That left out the vast majority of volleyball fans worldwide.

The Translation Team Behind It

The English version came together through a small, committed group. Andrei Savine served as editor and translator, working alongside Alfredo Cabero and Ioulia Soudakova. Julia Savine is credited as an editor, and Peter Murphy wrote the introduction.

Andrei has described spending more than a year on the project. Along the way, he got to know the teammates, coaches, and friends who fill Alexander’s memories.

The Challenge of Translating Russian Idioms

Cabero has pointed out one real hurdle: Russian sayings and expressions don’t always translate cleanly. Some needed interpretation before they made sense in English.

That’s worth knowing as a reader. A few phrases might feel slightly unusual. Often, those moments are where the original voice peeks through. Some readers find that charming. Others find it distracting. The free sample will tell you which camp you’re in.

Why Kindle Makes Sense for This Book

The digital format suits a long, detail-heavy memoir in a few practical ways:

• Searchable text. Look up a teammate’s name when they reappear 200 pages later.
• Highlights and notes. Useful if you’re a coach saving training insights.
• Built-in dictionary. Handy when an unfamiliar place name or Russian term appears.
• Adjustable fonts. Easier on the eyes over 500-plus pages.
• Possible Kindle Unlimited access. In some regional stores, the book has appeared as part of Kindle Unlimited, which can lower the cost of trying it.

Three Readers, Three Decisions

Abstract advice only goes so far. Here’s how three different types of readers might approach the purchase decision.

Scenario 1: Maria, a High School Volleyball Coach

Maria coaches a varsity girls’ team in Ohio. She’s always hunting for fresh ways to talk about team chemistry and resilience.

She downloads the free sample first. She’s interested in how Soviet teams built such consistent chemistry, especially the well-documented partnership between Savin and setter Vyacheslav Zaytsev.

Her verdict: She buys it. She plans to highlight passages about coaching and team culture, then share a story or two with her players before the season starts.

Good fit if you’re like Maria: You want real-world perspective from elite competition, not a drill manual.

Scenario 2: David, an Olympic History Buff

David has read books on the 1980 boycott and the “Miracle on Ice.” He’s fascinated by how politics shaped those Games.

What draws him is the chance to hear from an athlete who actually won gold in Moscow. He doesn’t need to love volleyball. He wants the human side of a historical moment.

His verdict: He buys it and reads it alongside his other Cold War sports books, comparing perspectives.

Good fit if you’re like David: You care about history and enjoy firsthand accounts that add color to big events.

Scenario 3: Priya, a Casual Memoir Reader

Priya reads two or three memoirs a year, usually celebrity or travel stories. She stumbled on this title and liked the quirky name.

She checks the page count and pauses. Five hundred pages about a sport she doesn’t follow feels like a big commitment.

Her verdict: She reads the free sample. If the voice grabs her, she’ll borrow it through Kindle Unlimited instead of buying outright. If not, she’ll pass without guilt.

Good fit if you’re like Priya: Only if the writing pulls you in early. Let the sample decide.

Is It Right for You? A Quick Self-Check

Run through these honestly. If you nod at three or more in the first list, you’ll likely enjoy the book.

You’ll probably love it if you:

• Enjoy long, detailed memoirs over quick reads
• Are curious about Soviet or Cold War-era sport
• Play, coach, or follow volleyball
• Like books that focus on people, places, and community
• Value historical photographs
• Appreciate translated works and their distinct voice

You might want to skip it, or sample first, if you:

• Prefer fast-paced, scandal-driven sports books
• Want a short summary of an athlete’s career
• Get frustrated by occasional translation quirks
• Read mostly on a small e-ink device and care a lot about photo quality

Verified Facts vs. Things to Confirm Yourself

A lot of repeated information floats around about this book. Here’s a clear split between what’s well established and what you should check on your own before buying.

Broadly Verified

• Alexander Savin is a real Soviet volleyball player, born July 1, 1957, in Taganrog
• He won Olympic silver in 1976 and gold in 1980
• He won World Championship gold in 1978 and 1982
• He won six European Championship titles
• He was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2010
• An English Kindle edition was produced through a translation project involving Andrei Savine and Alfredo Cabero

Confirm Before You Buy

The simplest safeguard: Open the product page, confirm the author is Alexander Savin, check the language says English, and read the free sample. That takes five minutes and saves you from buying the wrong book.

A Smart Way to Buy and Read It

If you decide to go ahead, a little setup makes the experience much better.

1. Search using the full title plus “Alexander Savin.” This avoids look-alike results.
2. Check the ASIN on the listing. It should match B0FXVDWW16.
3. Read the sample on the device you’ll actually use. That shows you how photos and text display.
4. Check Kindle Unlimited. If it’s included in your region, you can try the whole book at no extra cost.
5. Set a reading pace. Twenty-five to thirty pages a day gets you through in about three weeks.
6. Use the highlight feature. Mark names and key stories so you can find them later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote The Flying Elephant: Memoirs of an Olympic Champion?

Alexander Savin, the former Soviet volleyball player, wrote the memoir. The English edition was translated and edited by a team that includes his half-brother Andrei Savine, Alfredo Cabero, Ioulia Soudakova, and Julia Savine, with an introduction by Peter Murphy.

Is Alexander Savin really an Olympic champion?

Yes. He won gold with the Soviet men’s volleyball team at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and silver at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He’s also a member of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.

Is this book connected to Dumbo?

No. Dumbo is a children’s story from 1939. Boris Akunin’s The Flying Elephant is a separate Russian detective novel. Savin’s book is a sports memoir.

Was the book originally written in English?

No. It was originally written in Russian. The English Kindle edition came out of a dedicated translation project that took more than a year.

Do I need to know volleyball to enjoy it?

Not really. Basic familiarity helps, but much of the memoir focuses on people, community, and life in Soviet sport. History lovers and memoir readers can follow along without knowing volleyball rules.

How long does it take to read?

At a reported 514 pages, most readers will need two to four weeks at a comfortable pace. Heavy readers might finish in a week.

Can I read it for free?

Possibly. In some regions, it has been available through Kindle Unlimited. Check your local Amazon store, since availability varies.

Will the photos look good on my Kindle?

That depends on your device. Basic e-ink Kindles show images in grayscale and at small sizes. Tablets and the Kindle app on a phone or computer display photos much better.

Final Thoughts

The Flying Elephant: Memoirs of an Olympic Champion isn’t a quick, flashy sports read. It’s a long, personal record of a life inside one of the most dominant teams in volleyball history, told by the man who lived it.

Its real value lies in what official records can’t capture: the town that shaped him, the teammates beside him, the feeling of losing a five-set Olympic final and coming back four years later to win gold at home.

If that sounds appealing, start with the free sample. Give it twenty pages. You’ll know quickly whether Savin’s voice is one you want to spend the next few weeks with.