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The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia (Paperback)

by Peter Hopkirk (Author) "You could smell them coming, it was said, even before you heard the thunder of their hooves ..." (more)
4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 576 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press; New Ed edition (12 Jul 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0192802321
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192802323
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 284,747 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #61 in  Books > History > Europe > Russia > Russian Heads of State

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  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Book Description
For nearly a century the two most powerful nations on earth - Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia - fought a secret war in the lonely passes and deserts of Central Asia. Those engaged in this shadowy struggle called it 'The Great Game', a phrase immortalized in Kipling's Kim. When play first began the two rival empires lay nearly 2,000 miles apart. By the end, some Russian outposts were within 20 miles of India.

This book tells the story of the Great Game through the exploits of the young officers, both British and Russian, who risked their lives playing it. Disguised as holy men or native horsetraders, they mapped secret passes, gathered intelligence, and sought the allegiance of powerful khans. Some never returned.

About the Author
Peter Hopkirk has travelled widely over many years in the regions where his six books are set - Central Asia, the Caucasus, China, India and Pakistan, Iran, and Eastern Turkey. Before turning full-time author, he was an ITN reporter and newscaster for two years, the New York correspondent of the Daily Express, and worked for nearly twenty years on TheTimes: five as its chief reporter, and latterly as a Middle andd Far East specialist. In the 1950s he edited the West
African news magazine Drum, sister-paper to its legendary South African namesake. Before entering Fleet Street he served as a subaltern in the King's African Rifles - in the same battalion as lance-corporal Idi Amin, later to emerge as the Ugandan tyrant. No stranger to misadventure, Hopkirk has twice been held in secret police cells - in Cuba and the Middle East - and has also been hijacked by Arab terrorists. His works have been translated into thirteen languages.

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You could smell them coming, it was said, even before you heard the thunder of their hooves. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

28 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Story - A Great Read, 30 Dec 2001
By Aussie Reader (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Peter Hopkirk's book 'The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia' is a great historical account and a very enjoyable book to read. It is very rare nowadays to find a book that holds your attention throughout, without finding one boring section, this is one of those books. In over 560 pages (paperback edition) Peter Hopkirk tells the amazing stories of a number of early British and Russian officers and men involved in the great imperial struggle for supremacy in Central Asia.

I found myself reading late into the morning, at times I couldn't put the book down. Most of the time I had heard of the places and people involved but a lot of this story was new to me. The narrative read like a novel, gripping but informative, never boring and full of information, breathing life into history in a way that is hard to find now-a-days.

This is a great book and I fully agree with the quote on the front cover of the book by Jan Morris "Peter Hopkirk is truly the laureate of the Great Game." If you ever wanted to learn something about this large and remote area then this is the book to start with. If you enjoy military history then this book has it, if you enjoy historical accounts of exploration then this book has it, if you just enjoy good history then this book has it all.

The story of Britain and Russia carving out their Empires in India, Afghanistan and the surrounding areas is truly fascinating and I was amazed at the brave and resourceful men who carved their name in history during this period. Most people have heard of the Khyber Pass and places like Chitral however I had never heard of the Pamirs and Karakorams mountain ranges or of the Kerman and Helmund deserts nor of some of the fierce and warlike tribes that lived in these areas.

After reading this book I yearn for more information about this region and I intend to buy the rest of Peter Hopkirk's books. I would rate this book one of the better ones I have read this year...

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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - how history should be, 11 Jan 2002
By A Customer
An excellent book. I first came across it a few years ago, and since then I've read a large amount on central Asia - including most of Hopkirk's books on the subject.

The history of the Great Game itself is extraordinary. A mix of low cunning with unbelievable naivete, astounding stupidity with phenomenal intelligence, great luck with unexpected disasters, courage with cowardice...It is a Boy's Own story come to life, and Hopkirk effortlessly conveys this.

Although sometimes a little carried away by events, generally Hopkirk has written an extremely readable, highly informative work. I've recommended it to many friends. Even for those with no particular interest in the region, it is a fine exercise in power politics and the development of empires.

Although this is Hopkirk's best work, I can also recommend his accounts of the impact of the Great War and the intrigues against the Bolsheviks.

And I left my last copy on the bus, so it's time to get a new copy...

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable book on an interesting topic, 14 May 2003
By A Customer
The Great Game is an enjoyable history book that is well worth reading. The secret war in Central Asia between the British and Russian Empires during the 19th century is a somewhat obscure but fascinating historical topic. It is particularly timely given the recent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq to replace undesirable regimes in those countries. Hopkirk covers the events in great detail and despite its length the book is never boring. The story of "the Great Game" provides insight into a number of larger historical topics such as the British Empire (particularly in India) and the origins of the Russian Revolution. The book is largely factual and objective, but I particularly liked Hopkirk's occasional commments about the events and players and his observations on connections to the present day (including a map of "The New Great Game", which to some extent is still taking place today). The maps in the book are good but I think the book would have benefited from more maps. Overall, highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Alarmingly close to prevailing policies.
The Great Game is concerned with the control of India via a land invasion of India through the strategic countries in and around India, by the empires of Britain and Russia. Read more
Published 20 days ago by S Smyth

5.0 out of 5 stars The Great Game
Excellent book well written about events in Afghanistan 150 years ago.
Put in todays dates and nothing changes.
Published 2 months ago by Larry

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons of history
This is a book that anyone interested in foreign policy or international relations should read. Hopkirk captures the Victorian Imperialist v Russian Imperilaist policy and tells a... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Justinian

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Lessons for Today
This book is a brilliant success on two levels. At the most basic level, it is a thrilling tale of high adventure. Read more
Published 6 months ago by John Winterson Richards

5.0 out of 5 stars my favourite history book
A wonderful, fascinating, educational, thrilling boys own adventure......all the better because it's factual. Read more
Published 8 months ago by An avid reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Entertaining
A very informative book about the Great Game, the 19th century version of the cold war between Imperial Russia and the British Empire, as both powers tried to dominate over Asia... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Andres C. Salama

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating read... truth is stranger than fiction...
Colonialism was not paternalism neither was benevolent... but if ever it was a "tempered" colonialism imbued by the precept "of doing the decent thing" it probably the British... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Alejo

3.0 out of 5 stars Good- if a bit biased review
This is a good synopsys of the subject BUT if you happen to not be a white european youre ignored completely! Read more
Published 22 months ago by M. Notman

5.0 out of 5 stars Insight into the background of current hotspots.
Although it starts a bit too theatrically it soons settles down into a classic study of a period of history that is for the most part just becoming fashionable. Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2007 by jamo

5.0 out of 5 stars More exciting than fiction
This is one of those rare books - a history that is more exciting and more wonderfully unbelievable than any fiction writer would dare invent - a well written narrative that keeps... Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2007 by A. Figures

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