3.0 out of 5 stars
Azerbaijan: Pre-2005, January 11, 2010
This review is from: Azerbaijan (The Growth and Influence of Islam in the Nations of Asia and Central Asia) (Library Binding)
This book was written about 15 years after the country became independent from the USSR. It has a `quickly written' feel to it, not much economic analysis. Presents an adequate history of the country from ancient times: quick, basic facts - not much in historical political `plots'. Regarding oil reserves, the book reflects on the issue of mineral rights to the Caspian Sea -- or is it a lake? "If the Caspian is ultimately judged to be a lake, Azerbaijan could lose millions of dollars in selective contracts it has signed with international oil companies" (p.25). Color pictures every other page, nice. History, every generic, brief, not detailed. Oil issues discussed, but not particularly `detailed' - who is trying to grab the oil fields and pipeline routes; nor is there discussion as to how that would impact upon Europe, Russia or China. Brief discussion of the Nagorno-Karabakh territorial dispute between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in the early 1990s. Reads like it was hastily tossed together, and sentences reading "Azerbaijan's inflation problems dramatically declined from 1,664 percent to 85 percent in 1995" (p.62) don't really explain why or how this decline came about - somehow it happened with a new currency. Because the author opined: "Islamic fervor is very limited in Azerbaijan....the absence of religious zeal, however, does not extend to the nation's cultural identity" (p. 74). The author notes that as most citizens are Shia, the Sunni-sect of Islam from Turkey/Arabia has `limited appeal'....The Soviet ear ended the wearing of veils." The author is "an Associate Scholar with the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, PA....He worked in Azerbaijan, directing political and economic development programs for the non-governmental organization Freedom House." No footnotes; has a 10-book bibliography. A good item for a high-school library; but becoming `stale dated' now. Has a policy-wonk position-paper feel to it; just not much of a good CIA-inquiry analysis to it though. A `book' that can be read in an hour. It is part of the "The Growth and Influence of Islam: In the nations of Asia and Central Asia" series.
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