History : Central Asia

This book deals with each of the five conflicts in which Afghanistan has been embroiled, namely the First, Second and Third Anglo-Afghan Wars, the Soviet invasion and the most recent American-led operations. more...

Price: $200.00

Thomas Allsen's latest book breaks new scholarly boundaries in its exploration of cultural and scientific exchanges across Mongol Eurasia. Contrary to popular belief, Mongol rulers were intensely interested in the culture of their sedentary subjects and, under their auspices, commodities, ideologies and technologies were disseminated from East to West. more...

Price: $28.00

Recent political changes in Central Asia, whereby the United States is replacing Russia as the dominant power, are having a profound effect on Russian speakers in the region. These people, formerly perceived as progressive and engaging with Europe, are now confronted by the erasure of their literary, musical, cinematic and journalistic culture, as local ethnic and American cultures become much stronger. This book examines the predicament of Russian culture in Central Asia, looking at literature, language, cinema, music, and religion. It argues that in fact the Soviet past was much more complex than the simplified, polarised rhetoric of the Cold War period allows; and also that the present situation, in which politicians from the former Soviet regime often continue in power, is equally complex. more...

Price: $160.00

Long overshadowed by the Iraq War, the ongoing turmoil in Afghanistan and Central Asia finally receives a searching retrospective as Rashid (Taliban) surveys the region to reveal a thicket of ominous threats and lost opportunities-in Pakistan, a rickety dictatorship colludes with militants, and Afghanistan's weak government is besieged by warlords, an exploding drug economy and a powerful Taliban insurgency. The author blames the unwillingness of American policymakers to shoulder the burden of nation building. According to Rashid, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan and subsequently refused to commit the forces and money needed to rebuild it; instead the U.S. government made corrupt alliances with warlords to impose a superficial calm, while continuing to ignore the Pakistani government's support of the Taliban and the other Islamic extremists who have virtually taken over Pakistan's western provinces. With his unparalleled access to sources-"I constantly berated [Afghan President] Karzai for his failure to understand the usefulness of political parties"-Rashid is an authoritative guide to the region's politics and his is an insightful, at times explosive, indictment of the U.S. government's hand in the region's degeneration. (June). Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. more...

Price: $18.00

This title traces the role of large enterprises in the economy of Kazakhstan, their development through 70 years of socialism and their privatization since 1991 when Kazakhstan became independent. more...

Price: $180.00