Product Description

From a critically acclaimed author-a comprehensive history of the part of the world currently making headlines

The former Soviet republics of Central Asia comprise a sprawling, politically pivotal, densely populated, and richly cultured area of the world that is nonetheless poorly represented in libraries and mainstream media. Since their political incorporation in Stalin's Soviet era, these countries have gone through a flash of political and economical evolution. But despite these rapid changes, the growth of oil wealth and U.S. jockeying, and the opening of the region to tourists and businessmen, the spirit of Central Asia has remained untouched at its core.

In this comprehensive new treatment, renowned political writer and historian Dilip Hiro offers us a narrative that places the modern politics, peoples, and cultural background of this region firmly into the context of current international focus. Given the strategic location of Central Asia, its predominantly Muslim population, and its hydrocarbon and other valuable resources, it comes as no surprise that the five Central Asian republics are emerging in the twenty-first century as one of the most potentially influential-and coveted-patches of the globe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94508 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781590202210
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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About the Author
Dilip Hiro is the author of more than thirty books, including Blood of the Earth, War without End, and Between Marx and Mohammad. He contributes regularly to The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and The Observer, and is a commentator for CNN and the BBC. He lives in London.

Customer Reviews

A useful overview of recent Central Asian history
This provides a thorough and often insightful account of the recent history of today's five Central Asian states: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The main focus is on the post-Soviet history of the new nations, but Hiro begins with an introductory chapter on the history of the region from earliest times, with increasingly detailed coverage of the Tsarist and Soviet periods up to 1950.

Each of the five nations is then covered in its own chapter, starting with its development in the final years of the USSR, then with its leap to independence, and then the subsequent years of nation building. There are many common themes, including the struggles to reassert (or create) a unifying national identity, to create functioning economies after the post-Soviet economic collapse, the tensions of overlapping ethnic groups, the resurgence of interest in traditional Islam, and a strong tendency towards authoritarian one-party rule.

The last twenty years have not always been easy in this region, and Hiro is willing to be fairly hard-hitting in discussing some of the difficulties, including the outright megalomania of Niyazov's personal rule in Turkmenistan, the regional rivalries behind the Tajikistan civil war, and the allegations of high-level corruption in Kazakhstan. He explains the background and consequences of ethnic tensions and Islamic movements in the Fergana valley, including the tensions that led to the tragic Andijon incident.

As well as the chapters on the five Central Asian nations, Hiro also includes chapters on Turkey and Iran. These are both useful short histories in their own right, but unfortunately the Turkish chapter is mostly unrelated to Central Asia, other than a few paragraphs noting Turkey's limited influence. The Iranian chapter is much more relevant, with an insightful explanation of how shared fears over the rise of the radical Sunni Taliban led to rapprochement between the generally secular Central Asian countries and the strongly Shiite Iran.

While I found this work generally useful and readable, there are also some weaknesses. The writing quality is sometimes rather uneven and I got the impression that various parts of the book may have been written at different times, for different purposes. Especially in the chapter on Turkey, Hiro sometimes wanders off into strange side topics, such as the introduction of yogurt to 15th c. France. The two included maps are very weak (Kazakhstan's current capital is missing from both!).

But these quibbles aside, this is generally a very readable overview of the region. This is an area with a complex recent history, so having a single tightly written account is valuable.

A 'must' for any library strong in Asian history and culture
INSIDE CENTRAL ASIA: A POLITICAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF UZBEKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, TAJIKISTAN, TURKEY AND IRAN is a 'must' for any library strong in Asian history and culture, especially as these regions are typically given only cursory attention in favor of Japan, Korea and others. The former Soviet republics of Central Asia represent a politically pivotal region and are essential study for any who would understanding the pressures in the region. Political writer and historian Dilip Hiro's analysis of the politics and daily lives of the peoples of these countries is detailed and essential.