Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia by Karl Ernest Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac, Karl E. Meyer ISBN: 1-58243-106-X Publisher: Counterpoint Press Pub. Date: 25 October, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.7 (27 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Ambitious, but somewhat dissapointing
Comment: I bought this book looking to develop a general historical knowledge of modern Central Asia, and to develop a basic understanding of the fabled "Great Game." Unfortunately, the book feel short of my expectations.
If you are looking for a very superficial, andectodal account of the Great Game, you should buy this book. If however, your interests are those of the historian, I would reccommend reading this book only after you have read many others in the field.
While the authors' style, which focuses on the individuals that drove the events that defined the "Great Game" is not new, even for history books, they failed in the end to give the reader a clear perspective of what happened in the Game. One was often lost amidst the many names, places, and other bits of information littered almost carelessly throughout the text. The geographical refrences, especially were very confusing, even to a person who was born in Lahore, and is fairly well acquainted with the region.
Overall, the true historian should shy away from this book. Not only is it based almost entirely on anecdotes, but it is also seemingly imbalanced in its attention to the different sub-regions of Central Asia -- devoting most of the first half of the book to Afghanistan, and the neighboring lands, and then shifting its focus in the latter half almost exclusively to Tibet. This is especially confusing, given the many happenings in Afghanistan.
Rating: 4
Summary: Nice introduction
Comment: As someone who knew little of the history of Central Asia and the Great Game, I found this book to be a very enjoyable introduction to the topic. The authors basically devote each chapter to a prominent event or person of the time, and then use that topic to fill in a very general history of the era. The writing style is light and anecdotal. While sometimes the sheer number of characters floating in and out of the picture can be overwhelming, I did not find the book to be bogged down in minutia, as one reviewer mentioned. I agree with many of the reviewers that the maps are insufficient to help a reader trace the course of the narrative. I also did not notice the bias against Sven Hedin and others that one reviewer mentioned. Hedin received a full chapter on his exploits, about the same as most of the main characters in the book. If you approach this book as a series of 20 or so short, light biographies on some major players of the era, and as an introduction not a deifinitive account, you should be very well pleased.
Rating: 4
Summary: A book of adventure stories!
Comment: This is a most entertaining telling of the history of Central Asia, and what was called "the great game". The game was simply defined as keeping Russia out and Britain in control of the region. It is fascinating to learn the history of Afghanistan and the massive British defeat, and later the history of Tibet. Each chapter is like a short history lesson, or short story, illustrating via a principle player the actual events that lead us to the present day. The books structure reminds me of Allan Moorhead's two books on the Nile (The While Nile, The Blue Nile). Recommended to anyone who wants both a good overview of the Central Asian history of European empire that also in part reads like an adventure book.
 |
Title: War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet, Revised Edition by Eric S. Margolis ISBN: 0415934680 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: The Dust of Empire: The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland by Karl Ernest Meyer ISBN: 1586480480 Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
 |
Title: The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia by Peter Hopkirk ISBN: 1568360223 Publisher: Kodansha Globe Pub. Date: 01 April, 1994 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
 |
Title: The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis ISBN: 0679642811 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 25 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: Winged Victory: The Army Air Forces in World War II by Geoffrey Perret ISBN: 0375750479 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 01 August, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
