Customer Reviews

The Abkhazians: A Handbook (Peoples of the Caucasus Handbooks)

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This volume is the first book in English language on the Abkhazians, one of the peoples of the Caucasus.

This is a great introduction to the region's past and present. The authors, which include both Western and indigenous scholars, should be congratulated for maintaining an objective and well-balanced approach to the recent conflict with the Georgians, even if they don't hide their sympathy for the Abkhazians.

A must for anyone who wants to understand the fascinating yet complex world of the Caucasus

It is of course OK to take the strongest objection to any text and on many grounds but it is surely quite another matter to want to completely silence an author and even call for his living to be suspended. Some of those who go that far should reflect on the wisdom of what they preach. In the post-glasnost era one of the best lessons to take on board is surely the value democratic societies place on freedom of speech. It is obvious that this is proving very hard for many Georgian scholars. When they adopt an offensive and venomous tone they display a fear of rational argument and not a healthy disagreement with someone like Professor Hewitt whose academic credentials and distinction in his field are hard to match.

In case you are not already familiar with Abkhazia, let me give a very brief summary of its current situation. Abkhazia (or Abkhazeti to Georgians, or Apsny to its current government) is a small region in northwest Georgia, which was an autonomous republic (meaning only that the titular nationality had its culture promoted and benefited from a Soviet form of affirmative action) within Georgia during Soviet times. After Georgia broke away from the Soviet Union, Abkhazia managed (with some Russian help) to break away from Georgia following a war in 1992-1993 that was accompanied by ethnic cleansing and the flight of most of the ethnic Georgians in the region (200,000-250,000, or almost half of Abkhazia's 1989 population). Abkhazia has managed to maintain de facto independence ever since, though it has not been recognized by any other nation.

In this volume, Hewitt, a professor of Caucasian languages at the University of London, presents 16 essays on Abkhazia (in English), mostly written by Abkhazians themselves. These essays cover the geography, history, economy, language, culture, religion and demography of Abkhazia and thus form a very valuable source of information on Abkhazia for English speakers.

Unfortunately, because all of the material comes from Abkhazians or supporters of the Abkhazian side in the current conflict, I can't consider the information they present (especially that relating to twentieth-century history) entirely trustworthy. I recently wrote a long research paper on this conflict and found myself pulling my hair out trying to deal with the conflicting claims made by the two sides on a large number of issues. The allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide made by both sides, as well as the issue of Russia's involvement in Abkhazia and the continuing refugee crisis, all serve to create and perpetuate a great deal of tension and conflict between the two sides (as can be seen by glancing through the reviews below). By (openly and unapologetically) backing one side in such a divisive and complicated conflict, Hewitt has done his readers a disservice. He has made it hard to fully trust the information the book contains and has made it more difficult for readers to really understand the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict.

That said, if you're interested in learning about the former (and possibly future) "Georgian Riviera", you will find a lot of information in this volume. It's up to you to decide how much to trust it. If you are seriously interested in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, you will definitely need to check out additional sources. I would suggest starting with some volumes edited by Bruno Coppieters (et al.) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB): "Georgians and Abkhazians: the search for a Peace Settlement" and "Federal practice: exploring alternatives for Georgia and Abkhazia", both of which are available online on the VUB Web site. Both of these volumes are in English and include both Georgian and Abkhazian (as well as third-party) contributors.

This book is a testament to reason and scholarship. History has taught us that truth will out. And it did in this case - though belatedly. You cannot cow people into darkness. Let the Abkhazians get on with their shattered lives, and let the Georgians lick the wounds of centuries of injustice. I am sure a strong Abkhazia will prove a boon to Georgia. The people of the Caucasus must learn to live with one another, not bark at the truth. I take my hat off to Prof. Hewitt and the distinguished scholars, and I say let's have a sequel.

As an involved academician, Prof George Hewitt perfectly uncovers the distictive points between Georgian and Abkhazian Nations despite the manipulative efforts of the Georgians. This is a must for you if you are interested in learning the real North Caucassian History.

It finally happened! Read it, and you'll understand much more about Abkhazia and Abkhazians. By the way, the negative feedback by Georgian readers speaks for the quality of this book - Georgians wanted (and still want) to eliminate Abkhazians. As a result, any objective information about Abkhazia and Georgia makes them very unhappy. Get the book!

We salute Professor George Hewitt and offer our deep gratitude for his book, The Abkhazians. As a group of people who have studied the ancient spiritual and social tradition of the Caucasus Mountains for many years, we wish to acknowledge the historical and anthropological accuracy of Professor Hewitt's information concerning the ethnicity of the Abkhazian people. His information is factual and provides much needed education about an ancient nation little known outside its geographical area. Professor Hewitt's book is of great value as a voice which corrects the misinformation and misconceptions commonly perpetrated by the Georgians about the origins of the Abkhazian people. Professor Hewitt is to be highly commended for this scholarly source text. It is vital reading material for all who wish to learn about the culture and peoples of all the Caucasus in general and about Abkhazians in particular. Do not imagine that you know the truth about Abkhazia or the Abkhazians without reading this book.

The Kebzeh Foundation, Vernon, BC, Canada

Reading the reviews about the book you might come across some cheap and detestable judgments like the one Dr. Chavchavadze has written. Anybody who has some degree of knowledge about Abkhazia knows that such judgements represent the official Georgian stance, which all of the Georgian governments have pursued for decades. I am sure that the current Georgian government has paid these puppets enough so that the truth about the decades-old Georgian chauvinism could be prevented from being known by the international community. It is quite amazing to see that they have gone as far as requesting the University of London to dismiss Mr. Hewitt or asking St. Martin's Press to stop the sale of the book. You can ban books but you cannot ban the truth. Brains' path is one and it is sad that they cannot see this.

I salute George Hewitt with great respect and appreciation for his extensive contribution to the Abkhazian resistance against despotism.

George Hewitt, a well-known scholar in the prestigious London University, has enlightened the truth about Abkhazians, the nation that has been misintroduced to the world by the deviated stories of the Georgians for hundreds of years. After reading this book, people will learn the real history of this big nation that has survived, for now, the genocide attempts of Georgians who have always disregarded the real identity and origins of Abkhazians. Anyone who would like to live with the realities, and not intentionally made up histories and lies, buy this book and recommend it to as many people as possible around you. As an Abkhazian saying says: 'May God make all people happy but not forget Abkhazians, too.'

An excellent and scholarly study on the Abkhazians and the hidden or unknown truths of The Caucasus.

A must for anyone who wants to understand the fascinating yet complex world of the Caucasus