Customer Reviews
Important Lessons for Today - By: John Winterson Richards, 25 Dec 2008 
This book is a brilliant success on two levels. At the most basic level, it is a thrilling tale of high adventure. Whatever one's view of imperialism, one cannot deny the courage of men like Pottinger, Moorcroft, Conolly, Abbott, & Burnes - & their equally courageous Russian counterparts like Muraviev & Rafailov - who did not hesitate to travel thousands of miles across lands about which they knew nothing except that they contained vast deserts, towering mountains, ferocious bandits, & local rulers who had good reason to be suspicious of them. Hopkirk's fair minded account pays due tribute to the explorer-spies on both sides, & explains both the mutual misunderstandings & the very real reasons each had to be wary of the other's intentions. At the same time, but at a much more elevated level, he provides a timely critique of Western meddlingin Central Asia. He advances no agenda - he simply reports the facts, but they speak for themselves. It is a safe bet that no member of the British Cabinet which initiated the recent Helmand Province Campaign has read this book. Had they done so, history need not have repeated itself, foreseeable problems could have been avoided, & some fine people would still be alive. Indeed, it would be enough if they had considered only a single sentence, about another Afghan campaign that turned into a predictable disaster almost two hundred years ago, & the opinion of a man who knew something of both soldiering & the region: "The Duke of Wellington for one was strongly against it, warning that where the military successes ended the political difficulties would begin."
my favourite history book - By: An avid reader, 07 Nov 2008 A wonderful, fascinating, educational, thrilling boys own adventure......all the better because it's factual.
This grips from page one & never lets go, it bears reading & re-reading & just gets better every time.
Hopkirks writing is great & he is obviously both passionate & knowledgable about his subject.
But the best thing about this book was the fact that it contained so much information that I didnt know (and I'm a big reader of history books), there's a new, little known, gem of information on almost every page.
I cant recommend this book highly enough.
Interesting and Entertaining - By: Andres C. Salama, 10 Aug 2008 A very informative book about the Great Game, the 19th century version of the cold war between Imperial Russia & the British Empire, as both powers tried to dominate over Asia. The author, Peter Hopkirk, tells how Britain, the dominant powerin South Asia at the time, saw ominously how Russia, as it took over Central Asia, became closer & closer to its Indian dominions. Hopkirk tries to tell the story as neutrally as he can, & the material covered is so interesting that each of its 30 plus chapters could, if expanded, be a book of its own. The book covers a whole century, from the early, failed attempts of Russia to occupy the then unknown emirates of Central Asia (where many of its subjects were enslaved) to Francis Younghusband's invasion of Tibet, & takes place as wellin places as different as the Caucasus, Persia, Afghanistan, Xinjiang & the High Pamirs. By the end of the 19th century, direct war between the two powers seemed inevitable, but almost miraculously this was avoided. As Britain & Russia became allies during two world wars during the 20th century (and the Soviet Union seem to hold a firm grip over Central Asia) this story was sort of forgotten, but with the independence of the Stans, & the present troublesin the Middle East, the book seems surprisingly urgent. Highly recommended.
A fascinating read... truth is stranger than fiction... - By: Alejo, 18 Dec 2007 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 "empire" was...
All empires have menacing "borders" where their influence is contested... this is one of the most fascinating reads on the subject by far... an History page turnerin fact... sometimes you want to laugh at some folly... or are deeply moved by pure unselfish heroism (I know today this sounds absurd... but there was a time where THAT kind of breed existed...)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (but havein mind that the notion that are peoples & races not able to govern themselves is a fallacy... this is the sane maxim to have present...).
ADB
PS: In fact "GREAT EMPIRES" are mainly foundin History Books Maps where large untamed & rebellious areas of the world are "painted" redin the case of the British Empire... (when actually the dominion was largely that of the seas & trade)... or whatever other colourin the case of the largely mythical Spanish Empire (which of course also went bankrupt)... but that is another story.
Good- if a bit biased review - By: M. Notman, 21 Aug 2007 
This is a good synopsys of the subject BUT if you happen to not be a white european youre ignored completely! Considering most of the local population is NOT white European this comes across as a boys own storyin somebody-elses land- & im sure there there were consequences to their actions- i just hope they werent too severe! Surely an Indian response to this is deserved!
