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A Ride To Khiva [Paperback]

Frederick Burnaby (Author), Peter Hopkirk (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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A Ride To Khiva + Mission to Tashkent + The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia
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Product details

  • Paperback: 414 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; New Ed edition (22 Aug 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0192803670
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192803672
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.2 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 257,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Peter Hopkirk
Peter Hopkirk
Fred Burnaby
Fred Burnaby

Product Description

Product Description

'He who once enters Khiva abandons all hope, as surely as one who enters Hell. His prison house is girdled with trackless deserts, whose sole inhabitants are the sellers of human flesh.' In the winter of 1875, a young British officer set out across central Asia on a strictly unofficial mission to investigate the latest secret Russian moves in the Great Game. His goal was the mysterious caravan city of Khiva, closed to all European travellers by the Russians following their seizure of it two years earlier. His aim was to discover whether, as many British strategists feared, this remote and dangerous oasis was about to be used as a springboard for an invasion of India. Captain Frederick Burnaby was already something of a legend. For a start he was reputed to be the strongest man in the British Army, standing six-foot-four and weighting fifteen stone. Nor was he simply a Goliath, for he spoke no fewer than seven languages, including Russian and Turkish, and possessed a most vigorous and colourful prose style. Unknown to his superiors, who would have forbidden the venture, he rode for over a thousand miles across steppe and desert, struggling through blizzards and snowdrifts, to reach forbidden Khiva. Ordered home by an alarmed government, Burnaby immediately sat down and wrote this best-selling account of his adventures, which has become a Great Game classic.

From the Back Cover

First published in 1876, this is the story of soldier and adventurer Frederick Burnaby's fascinating and dangerous journey from the steppes of southern Russia to the city of Khiva in what is now Uzbekistan. Part travelogue and part daring exploits, Burnaby's entertaining account will appeal to armchair travelers, fans of adventure fiction, and anyone interested in firsthand accounts of the Great Game, when the Russian and British Empires vied for control of Central Asia. British soldier and writer FREDERICK BURNABY (1842-1885) was a member of the Royal Horse Guards, and in 1882, he became the first balloonist to cross the English Channel alone. Three years later, he died from a spear wound sustained in battle in the Sudan. He also wrote On Horseback Through Asia Minor (1878). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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First Sentence
HAVING once resolved to go to Central Asia, the next question was how to execute my intention. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a reprint of a classic account of a dangerous journey undertaken in 1875, at a time when Russian expansionism in Central Asia was ringing alarm bells in India.

It was feared that the Russians were forging a route to the north-west frontier of Britain's jewel in the Imperial Crown, India, and that their ultimate goal was to wrest control of that great country from Britain. This was the 'Great Game' that Kipling made 'famous' and involved in this game are many tales of derring-do, adventure, tragedy and immense bravery.

One of these tales is this book which recounts a journey taken by a lone Britsih Army Captain, during his annual leave from St Petersburg, through the Central Russian States and down to the most recent Russian acquisitions of Central Asia.

Burnaby travelled the middle of winter and managed to get much further than it was originally thought he would. For anyone interested in this period this book is a must.

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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By John Austin HALL OF FAME TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
South central Asia, the focus of the world’s attention in 2003, received an earlier share of it in the 1870s. For centuries travelers’ tales and the mention of such exotic names as Samarcand, Tashkent and Bokhara had aroused interest and fired imaginations. To all this was added rumour in 1875 that British interests in India were threatened by Russian expansionism. In particular, it was believed that Russian forces were massing in the recently occupied city of Khiva, nowadays in Uzbekistan, in preparation for an invasion of India.

A situation like this fitted perfectly the kind of “investigative reporting” adventures that Frederick Burnaby craved. In 1876, this 33-year-old captain in the British army took leave of absence, and set out for Khiva. The journey involved a ride of over one thousand miles in well below freezing conditions across steppes and wastelands.

On his return, Burnaby wrote “A Ride to Khiva” and it instantly became a best seller. A well-educated man, proficient in many languages, and a keen observer of all he encountered, his account still ranks as one of the great adventure classics of literature.

I am grateful to the neighbour who lent me this book, and can report that reading it has provided many hours of fascination. Burnaby died ten years after writing this book, supposedly during a massacre in the Sudan. Keen Internet browsers might find reference to a recent revelation that throws doubt upon the truth of the official account of his death.

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51 of 52 people found the following review helpful
A Classic 17 July 2004
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I found a copy of this book in an old box of books belonging to my grandfather.

All the books in the box looked at least 100 years old.
I picked one at random to "leaf through" just out of casual interest.

After one paragraph I was hooked and my amazement and amusement increased with every chapter.

The book was "A Ride To Khiva" - what a find!

Until I researched more I had no idea this book was such a recognised classic.
Not only classic adventure but also a Mr Burnaby is an extremely amiable companion - frequently amusing and occasionaly side-splittingly funny.

I came across this remarkable tale of adventure entirely by accident and am so glad I did - please take my advice and get stuck in as soon as possible!

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