"...the best study in English to date for an understanding of Georgian nationalism." - "Religious Studies Review". "...the standard account of Georgian history in English." - "American Historical Review". "...tour de force research...fascinating reading." - "American Political Science Review". Like the other republics floating free after the demise of the Soviet empire, the independent republic of Georgia is reinventing its past, recovering what had been forgotten or distorted during the long years of Russian and Soviet rule. Whether Georgia can successfully be transformed from a society rent by conflict into a pluralistic democratic nation will depend on Georgians rethinking their history. This is the first comprehensive treatment of Georgian history, from the ethnogenesis of the Georgians in the first millennium B.C., through the period of Russian and Soviet rule in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to the emergence of an independent republic in 1991, the ethnic and civil warfare that has ensued, and perspectives for Georgia's future.
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Editorial Reviews
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"... the best study in English to date for an understanding of Georgian nationalism." Religious Studies Review "... the standard account of Georgian history in English." American Historical Review "... tour de force research ... fascinating reading." American Political Science Review
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Objectivity, not ethnocentrism,
This review is from: The Making of the Georgian Nation (Studies of Nationalities in the USSR) (Paperback)
Suny is a renowned, respected and responsible scholar. He is a third generation American of Armenian descent, but this has nothing to do with some small-minded reviewers' paranoia about "Armenian propaganda". Even some of his Armenia-related books, such as "Looking Toward Ararat: Armenia in Modern History", are not wholeheartedly accepted in Armenia proper, because local scholars tend to consider Suny's views as being utterly Americanized and therefore to some extent detached from the Armenian reality. Readers need to understand that in a multi-ethnic society, such as Georgian, there will inevitably be people representing Georgian majority as well as non-Georgian minorities, who will exhibit distress and disappointment with this or that passage or chapter in the book. Readers should also be aware that the U.S.-based Association on the Study of Nationalities has included this book in the series of best publications on nationalities inhabiting the Eurasian landmass.
For those who are anxious about an Armenian-American having written a book on Georgia, I, for one, would be interested in reading an alternative perspective by one of your own scholars who published a similar book in the U.S. Who could you recommend?
19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How Georgia Got Where It Is,
By David Martin (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Making of the Georgian Nation (Paperback)
Ronald Suny presents the story of how the Georgia Republic became an independent nation. I worked for two years in Georgia and this book helped me understand Georgians, their pride in their culture and long history and their antipathy to Russia. Suny writes well --the book reads like a novel even though it is carefully researched.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honesty and Exhaustiveness,
This review is from: The Making of the Georgian Nation (Paperback)
I felt motivated to write this review because the number of low scores from critics with an agenda. Readers new to the subject must understand that the always-turbulent history of the Caucasus makes for acrimonious debates and intensely-politicized historiography where the most basic facts are routinely challenged. Richard Grigor Suny, a highly respected authority on questions of national identity in the post-Soviet space, cuts through all this mess with a frank and evenhanded anaylsis. The first portion of the book is straight-up narrative history, much of which material that few nonspecialists come across, yet it is laid out plainly and conveniently for any interested reader. The rest traces the roots and rise of Georgian national consciousness in modern times, always accounting for the complexities of an ethnically diverse scene and Russia's commanding influence. It is a book that will satisfy few ideologues seeking to fight historical battles over again, but I highly recommend it to anyone who has been ensnared by this unique region of the world and is looking for so more in-depth reading and a genuine education in the subject. I later found myself constantly referring back to my memories of Suny's book while studying nationalism more broadly in an academic setting.
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