Customer Reviews

The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Frankly, I found this book well written but on such a complex subject that it was difficult to keep in mind all the ethnic players, their situations, politics, languages and characteristics from page to page. It may be an easy read, but difficult to comprehend. I noticed that none of the other reviewers attampted to offer a brief synopsis of the chapters or contents. I won't either, since I have no idea how to briefly state what the author does in many pages and where everything seems to be in flux.

At one time the Muslim Circassians take one side and the Christian Armenians another, then twenty years later everything is reversed. I found the hodge-podge of ethnic enclaves and large number of languages, some very different from the others, various political orientations, attitudes toward slavery (that continued into the 20th century), unique off-shoots of Islam and Christianity that often seem pagan or animistic, fascinating but difficult to grasp in a single book (or in a single course of study.) The Caucasus makes the Balkans seem trivial in comparison.

Nonetheless, this work is extremely useful in bringing the reader up to date on the region and giving him an appreciation of its history and complexity. One can readily see that to choose sides is to make enemies, and with states and borders having been very recent inventions, one is cautioned to tread lightly here with one's western ideas and concepts.

I was sorry to see that the book does not go back to ancient times as the history of the Armenians and Georgia are particularly fascinating. The Armenians were a substantial power from 260BCE to 72 CE, then again from 1048 to 1375 CE. Tigranes II and later Levon I were powerful rulers and the Armenians have survived until today with their great heritage and history providing a continual source of pride.

Georgia produced one of the great warrior queens of history, Queen Tamara, from 1184 to 1212. During that time she brought Georgia to its golden age, and folklore abounds still today in the Caucasus with tales of her prowess.

More currently, the genocide inflicted on the Armenians during World War I by the Turks lays heavy on the land and prevents Turko-Armenian reconcillation. The Chechens have defied Moscow since the advent of the Soviet Union, and their resistance today is a factor of everyday life. The Ossetians are in the middle, and look to Russia as their protector. The Azerbaijans tend to look to Iran for guidance. This is not a peaceful or easily governed region.

This work is particularly important in light of recent developments where Russia invaded Georgia supposedly to aid the Ossetians. This book is highly recommended to Western readers who desire a relatively quick introduction to the Caucasus in order to understand the issues currently in the news. The reader will also come away with the realization that issues in the Caucasus are not likely to be simple or what they are said to be in soundbites.

The author is to be commended for bringing this relatively obscure corner of the world into the light where the reader can grasp the essentials of its history and characteristics.

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.

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.

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.

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 main historical focus of this book is the late 1700s to early 2000s. Like other reviewers this somewhat dissapointed me. The Caucasus play a role going all the way back to the Greeks and further. Little information is given regarding these earlier times that I did not encounter in other books. In my opinion this is ultimately why the book is lacking: everything is predicated on ethnic and national identities but the reader cannot relate fully to the experience.

Admittedly this is a tough region to write about, similar to the Balkans in some ways. The author does a good job looking at all sides of the issues. The book really excels when discussing the imperial Russian methods for control of the Caucasus in the 1800s. Much insight into a topic I knew little about.

Another great topic was the Mensheviks and the rise of socialist ideas in places like Georgia. Stalin is covered in depth and fleshed out very well to Mr. King's credit. The author does a decent job with current events up to around 5 or 6 years ago. Both Chechen wars are discussed as part of the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union.

One glaring ommision for me: the Armenian genocide. For many Americans this is the single biggest historical event relating to the Caucus region. The author leads up to it, gives a page summary of how the Armenians and Turks view it differently, and then the fallout of the Armenian diaspora. The event itself is simply not covered in any depth... completely baffling. Does the author expect us to go out to Wikipedia or something?

Also in discussion of the slave trade, especially in relation to the Ottoman Empire. The idea is that somehow many of these slaves were better off leaving the Caucasus and being sold off in Constantinople. Really? Bear in mind that Mr. King is not the only author pushing this "different type of slavery" idea. Fundamentally I cannot conceive of watching my daughter go off to be part of a harem. I am currently reading the book Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World which does not shy away from the brutality of the slave trade - especially that of the Turks.

Overall a good book on a complex subject.

Not an easy read at times, at least with my simple mind, but an exceptionally fascinating, interesting and well-written one. Charles King takes a look at the recent history of the Caucasus, focusing on the conquest of the area by the Russians, the Soviet era and the post-Soviet era.

He truly does condense a great deal of information into this book, and I admit there were parts I skimmed quickly as it was all so overwhelming: people and places that I could not recall, remember or simply take in. But despite this, which may be a fault of mine, what I did learn and what I did read was intriguing, educational and a joy to read. I'll definitely be trying to find a book on the earlier history of the Caucasus as it is such a fascinating region.

Considering the Caucasus region is one of the most misunderstood (which could just as easily be the delibarate result of bias as the accidental result of how confusing it all really is) places historically, this extensively-reserached book provides the most powerful insights into causes, effects, and what can be done.

The history is very involved. There are many details which are covered well at each period of history. The area of the Caucasus is so very varied and so intermingled with other cultures, both political and religious, that the nuainces make a simple explanation impossible. This is carefully written. I feel that with this knowledge I can better understand the cultures. I have now ordered a romantic novel of the area to get a somewhat more pleasing idea of the people!
I would reccomend this book for a good background understanding of the area.

A good read - full of information and fast moving. It is a bit dry, but if you are looking to learn about the region, it is a good choice.