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The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus | 
| Author: Charles King
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $20.69
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 38047
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0195177754
Dewey Decimal Number: 947.5
EAN: 9780195177756
ASIN: 0195177754
Publication Date: February 11, 2008
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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 for most of the twentieth century lay inside the Soviet Union, before movements of national liberation created newly independent countries and sparked the devastating war in Chechnya.
Combining riveting storytelling with insightful analysis, The Ghost of Freedom is the first general history of the modern Caucasus, stretching from the beginning of Russian imperial expansion up to the rise of new countries after the Soviet Union's collapse. In evocative and accessible prose, Charles King reveals how tsars, highlanders, revolutionaries, and adventurers have contributed to the fascinating history of this borderland, providing an indispensable guide to the complicated histories, politics, and cultures of this intriguing frontier. Based on new research in multiple languages, the book 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. The book sheds valuable light on the origins of modern disputes, including the ongoing war in Chechnya, conflicts in Georgia and Azerbaijan, and debates over oil from the Caspian Sea and its impact on world markets.
Ranging from the salons of Russian writers to the circus sideshows of America, from the offices of European diplomats to the villages of Muslim mountaineers, The Ghost of Freedom paints a rich portrait of one of the world's most turbulent and least understood regions.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Accessible and Scholarly Work on the Caucasus September 20, 2008
The Ghost of Freedom provides the same accessibility combined with academic rigor that King delivered with his History of the Black Sea. Useful for the student of the region as well as an uninitiated reader seeking an intrduction, the Ghost of Freedom is both readable and scholarly. For the reader who is looking to "catch up" on the historical events that shaped the volatile and strategically significant region that is the Caucasus today, this is the ideal book. Standing at a geostrategic and economic crossroads, the Caucasus is a region that anyone who is academically or professionally concerned with geostrategy in Europe, Asia, or the Middle East simply cannot ignore, and King's work represents a brilliant and relevant survey.
 A very pleasant reading September 13, 2008
Reading history books may be tiresome sometimes. This book is not. A well researched and very pleasant reading, it depicts in great details the history of a very important region of the world. At a time where names like Ossetia and Abkhazia are becoming common in the despatches, this is a worthwhile book to have and discover thoroughly. An opportunity to revisit John Steinbeck's Georgia and neighbouring countries of the Caucasus and their complex and shifting history.
The Caucasus Explained May 20, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
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.
a much needed book April 15, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
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.
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