- Hardcover: 314 pages
- Publisher: OUP USA (20 Mar 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0195177754
- ISBN-13: 978-0195177756
- Product Dimensions: 24 x 16.7 x 2.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 572,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
The Ghost of Freedom : A History of the Caucasus
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Product Description
Review
King has produced a work that is remarkable for its breadth of coverage, the depth of the author's insights, and the eloquence of the text. It is hard to imagine how the goal King set himself could have been better achieved. (George Hewitt SOAS )
Charles King has written a very instructive and interesting book (Norman Stone New Statesman )
The Ghost of Freedom provides an excellent analysis of the region's turbulent history since the late 18th century; offers a rich exploration of how the Caucasus has been imagined by outsiders; and gives a good overview of contemporary conflicts and developments in the region. (Nina Caspersen, Times Higher Education Supplement )
Charles King has written a very instructive and interesting book (Norman Stone New Statesman )
The Ghost of Freedom provides an excellent analysis of the region's turbulent history since the late 18th century; offers a rich exploration of how the Caucasus has been imagined by outsiders; and gives a good overview of contemporary conflicts and developments in the region. (Nina Caspersen, Times Higher Education Supplement )
Product Description
The Caucasus mountains rise at the intersection of Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. A land of astonishing natural beauty and a dizzying array of ancient cultures, the Caucasus has often been the object of imperial ambition. South of the mountains, Persia and Ottoman Turkey vied for control of the lowland shepherds abd upland khans who inhabited the zone; to the north, the Russian empire wasged a war for mastery of the higlnads that lasted th better part of the nineteenth century. For most of the twentieth century, the entire Caucasus lay inside the Soviet Union, before movements of national liberation created newly independent countries and sparked the devastating war in Chechnya. The Ghost of Freedom is the first general history of the modern Caucasus, from the beginning of Russian imperial exapnsion up to rise of new countries after the Societ Union's collapse. Combining riveting storytelling with insightful essay-writing, the book provides an indispensible guide to the complicated histories, politics, and cultures of this intriguing frontier. Based on new research in multiple languages, it shows how the struggle for freedom in the mountains, hills, and plains of the Caucasus has been a perennial theme over the last two hundred years - a struggle which has led to liberation as well as to new forms of captivity. In evocative and accessible prose, Charles King reveals how tsars, highlanders, revolutionaries, and adventures have contributed to the fascinating history of this borderland. Ranging from the salons of Russian writers to the circus sideshows of America, from the offices of European diplomats to the village of Muslim mountaineers, The Ghost of Freedom paints a rich portrait of one the world's most volatile and least understood regions.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
This is an excellent account of the history of the Caucasus from the start of Russian imperialism to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Caucasus which divide Europe from Asia is a fearsomely complex area from the ethnic,language,political,cultural and historical point of view.
Where the book fails is that it should have had an introductory chapter on what are the Caucasus e.g.North and South and how they are made up-The North with 9 Russian regions and the South with 3 Countrys and parts of 2 others plusplus the history of ethnic groups,languages and boundaries should chave been given.The maps are hopeless.
An excellent opportunity lost for lack of simple explanarions,
The Caucasus which divide Europe from Asia is a fearsomely complex area from the ethnic,language,political,cultural and historical point of view.
Where the book fails is that it should have had an introductory chapter on what are the Caucasus e.g.North and South and how they are made up-The North with 9 Russian regions and the South with 3 Countrys and parts of 2 others plusplus the history of ethnic groups,languages and boundaries should chave been given.The maps are hopeless.
An excellent opportunity lost for lack of simple explanarions,
12 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Oh dear. I was really looking forward to an up-to-date examination of the turbulent history of the Caucasus after what has been a long period of scholarly neglect. Mr King has not proved to be the answer, with his rather superficial and even partial view of this centuries-old battleground between Christian and Islamic traditions. Lesley Blanch in the memorable "Sabres of Paradise" really got to grips with the cultural complexity and violent traditions of this stark and beautiful region. No-one who has read there the story of the Imam Shamyl will fail to see the contemporary relevance of such struggles between idealogies. Mr King, whilst an earnest student of Caucasian history, is simply not up to the task of explaining the immense complexity of this region with its coutless tribal lands and traditions, its proud history including the fabulous Georgian Bagratid dynasty who claim, probably correctly, to be consanguineous with David and Bathsheba and thus of Our Lord's lineage.
With the region still in ferment after Russia's aggression, on behalf of South Ossetia, against Georgia in 2008 and likely to be repeated, it would have been useful to have had a more rigorous conspectus of both the longer historical perspective and the more recent viccistudes in fortunes of the power players from the Caspian ports to the Armenian heartland to the Turkish frontier to the Islamic states to the South and to the endless vistas of Russia to the North.
This text will simply not do. The perspective is trans-Atlantic, the language tedious and the selectivity as to what makes for compelling and authoritative history sadly lacking. I have no doubt that Mr King is fascinated by the Caucasus - indeed who would not be given its seminal role in the historical continuum - but by seeking to provide a general guide he fails to go deep enough to explain the extraordinarily profound causes of tension that make the Caucasus one of the most fissile areas on earth. That, in spite of being one of the most beautiful and undiscovered regions too.
We must await a better modern historian for the Caucasus.
With the region still in ferment after Russia's aggression, on behalf of South Ossetia, against Georgia in 2008 and likely to be repeated, it would have been useful to have had a more rigorous conspectus of both the longer historical perspective and the more recent viccistudes in fortunes of the power players from the Caspian ports to the Armenian heartland to the Turkish frontier to the Islamic states to the South and to the endless vistas of Russia to the North.
This text will simply not do. The perspective is trans-Atlantic, the language tedious and the selectivity as to what makes for compelling and authoritative history sadly lacking. I have no doubt that Mr King is fascinated by the Caucasus - indeed who would not be given its seminal role in the historical continuum - but by seeking to provide a general guide he fails to go deep enough to explain the extraordinarily profound causes of tension that make the Caucasus one of the most fissile areas on earth. That, in spite of being one of the most beautiful and undiscovered regions too.
We must await a better modern historian for the Caucasus.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
10 reviews
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Comprehensive Treatment of the Caucasus Region since the Middle 18th Century
10 Oct 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Frankly, I found this book well written but on such a complex subject that it was difficult to keep in mind all the ethnic players, their situations, politics, languages and characteristics from page to page. It may be an easy read, but difficult to comprehend. I noticed that none of the other reviewers attampted to offer a brief synopsis of the chapters or contents. I won't either, since I have no idea how to briefly state what the author does in many pages and where everything seems to be in flux.
At one time the Muslim Circassians take one side and the Christian Armenians another, then twenty years later everything is reversed. I found the hodge-podge of ethnic enclaves and large number of languages, some very different from the others, various political orientations, attitudes toward slavery (that continued into the 20th century), unique off-shoots of Islam and Christianity that often seem pagan or animistic, fascinating but difficult to grasp in a single book (or in a single course of study.) The Caucasus makes the Balkans seem trivial in comparison.
Nonetheless, this work is extremely useful in bringing the reader up to date on the region and giving him an appreciation of its history and complexity. One can readily see that to choose sides is to make enemies, and with states and borders having been very recent inventions, one is cautioned to tread lightly here with one's western ideas and concepts.
I was sorry to see that the book does not go back to ancient times as the history of the Armenians and Georgia are particularly fascinating. The Armenians were a substantial power from 260BCE to 72 CE, then again from 1048 to 1375 CE. Tigranes II and later Levon I were powerful rulers and the Armenians have survived until today with their great heritage and history providing a continual source of pride.
Georgia produced one of the great warrior queens of history, Queen Tamara, from 1184 to 1212. During that time she brought Georgia to its golden age, and folklore abounds still today in the Caucasus with tales of her prowess.
More currently, the genocide inflicted on the Armenians during World War I by the Turks lays heavy on the land and prevents Turko-Armenian reconcillation. The Chechens have defied Moscow since the advent of the Soviet Union, and their resistance today is a factor of everyday life. The Ossetians are in the middle, and look to Russia as their protector. The Azerbaijans tend to look to Iran for guidance. This is not a peaceful or easily governed region.
This work is particularly important in light of recent developments where Russia invaded Georgia supposedly to aid the Ossetians. This book is highly recommended to Western readers who desire a relatively quick introduction to the Caucasus in order to understand the issues currently in the news. The reader will also come away with the realization that issues in the Caucasus are not likely to be simple or what they are said to be in soundbites.
The author is to be commended for bringing this relatively obscure corner of the world into the light where the reader can grasp the essentials of its history and characteristics.
At one time the Muslim Circassians take one side and the Christian Armenians another, then twenty years later everything is reversed. I found the hodge-podge of ethnic enclaves and large number of languages, some very different from the others, various political orientations, attitudes toward slavery (that continued into the 20th century), unique off-shoots of Islam and Christianity that often seem pagan or animistic, fascinating but difficult to grasp in a single book (or in a single course of study.) The Caucasus makes the Balkans seem trivial in comparison.
Nonetheless, this work is extremely useful in bringing the reader up to date on the region and giving him an appreciation of its history and complexity. One can readily see that to choose sides is to make enemies, and with states and borders having been very recent inventions, one is cautioned to tread lightly here with one's western ideas and concepts.
I was sorry to see that the book does not go back to ancient times as the history of the Armenians and Georgia are particularly fascinating. The Armenians were a substantial power from 260BCE to 72 CE, then again from 1048 to 1375 CE. Tigranes II and later Levon I were powerful rulers and the Armenians have survived until today with their great heritage and history providing a continual source of pride.
Georgia produced one of the great warrior queens of history, Queen Tamara, from 1184 to 1212. During that time she brought Georgia to its golden age, and folklore abounds still today in the Caucasus with tales of her prowess.
More currently, the genocide inflicted on the Armenians during World War I by the Turks lays heavy on the land and prevents Turko-Armenian reconcillation. The Chechens have defied Moscow since the advent of the Soviet Union, and their resistance today is a factor of everyday life. The Ossetians are in the middle, and look to Russia as their protector. The Azerbaijans tend to look to Iran for guidance. This is not a peaceful or easily governed region.
This work is particularly important in light of recent developments where Russia invaded Georgia supposedly to aid the Ossetians. This book is highly recommended to Western readers who desire a relatively quick introduction to the Caucasus in order to understand the issues currently in the news. The reader will also come away with the realization that issues in the Caucasus are not likely to be simple or what they are said to be in soundbites.
The author is to be commended for bringing this relatively obscure corner of the world into the light where the reader can grasp the essentials of its history and characteristics.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
a much needed book
15 April 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Ghost of Freedom is a much needed book about a little known region. It's ideal as an introduction to the Caucasus for the general reader who doesn't know a lot about the area.
One minor complaint is I wish the author had included more history of the Caucasus before the Russian conquest of the early 19th century. It seems all books about the region take that event as their starting point.
But that's a minor quibble. All in all a very informative book.
One minor complaint is I wish the author had included more history of the Caucasus before the Russian conquest of the early 19th century. It seems all books about the region take that event as their starting point.
But that's a minor quibble. All in all a very informative book.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
The Caucasus Explained
20 May 2008
Format:Hardcover
The author describes the past three centuries of the Caucasus, making sense of the bewildering patchwork of regions, ethnic areas, languages, and countries. The region was known in the 19th century as a mysterious and somewht lawless area attracting adventurers and vacationers, then became famous for beautiful women, then genocide of Armenians, and now the Russian-Chechnian conflict. The author has spent much time in the area and is on firm footing when describing recent events. There is not much about pre-18th century history, however, which is a shame because some of it is fascinating.
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