The Sabres of Paradise [Paperback]

Lesley Blanch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 1993

Book jacket/back: This is the magnificent account of the people of that exotic land, the Caucasus, their heroic leader Shamyl and their courageous thirty year fight to stem the tide of Russian Imperialism. It is also a history of 19th century Russian expansion that does much to explain the Russian character and the foreign policy of the modern-day Soviet Union. But above all it is the incredible story of one man, Shamyl, who personifies freedom fighting single-handed against autocracy and tyranny.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I can imagine no better introduction to modern Russia."--New York Times Book Review

"A masterly account of Chechnya's struggle against 19th-century Tsarist Russia, ominously relevant to today's conflict. [Blanch's] portrait of Shamyl, the Chechen leader-prophet, was widely admired and Blanch is still consulted by historians."--The Sunday Times (London)

"This reissue ... is to be warmly applauded. The result of four years of research and local travel, this is a uniquely original and fresh introduction to a forgotten world and in particular to that of the most important colonial war of the 19th Century."--Lawrence Kelly

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Lesley Blanch, 1904-2007, was at heart a nomad. She travelled extensively and adventurously throughout her extraordinary life although her great passion was always for the Middle East and Russia. Married to the French diplomat and writer, Romain Gary, for 18 years, Blanch became arts features editor of Vogue in the thirties and turned to writing and journalism soon after. She was Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the author of The Sabres of Paradise, Pierre Loti (both Tauris Parke Paperbacks) and the bestselling The Wilder Shores of Love among many others. At the time of her death she was writing her autobiography, the sequel to her acclaimed Journey Into the Mind's Eye. An inspiration to generations of writers, readers and travellers, Lesley Blanch was, in the words of Philip Mansel, "not a school, a trend, or a fashion, but a true original."

Philip Marsden is an award-winning novelist and writer. His books include The Crossing Place and The Spirit Wrestlers.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 495 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (February 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881840424
• ISBN-13: 978-0881840421
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,410,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good read indeed, but full of mistakes., May 27, 2005

By 

Kakha (Tbilisi - Tiflis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sabres of Paradise: Conquest and Vengeance in the Caucasus, Revised Edition (Paperback)

Have to say, it reads fast and pleasant. You will not regret getting this book if you decide to do so. I withheld two stars because book claims to be historical, while there are quite a few inaccuracies.
I respect the admiration author has for Caucasian mountaineers (being descendent of such it is especially pleasant), but she definitely overromanticizes her hero(s). Shamyl is great enough figure and Chechens are brave enough people to be in need of overglorification.
Book tells a lot of legends and passes them as facts. Some most naïve, even silly XIX c stereotypes are restated without questioning - i.e. Khevsurs being descendents of Crusaders who passed through Caucasus in their due time!!! This lame assumption is based on the fact of cross being important symbol among Khevsurs (who in fact are Georgian mountaineers, just like Svans (Suanetians) who Blanch "mistakes" for Muslim North Caucasians (in fact they are Christian). Khevsur cross is pre-Christian symbol (sufficient archeological evidence for anyone who cares to check).
Blanch also retells number of legends told by Alexander Dumas in his "Adventures in the Caucasus" (without referring to the source!) And names some of those legends (I remember two: Shete, child-tongue cutter; and a father who cut up his son's dead body into 70 pieces and sent to his relatives as a request for revenge...) as "Chechen stories", while Dumas tells them as Tushetian ones (another Georgian Christian tribe).
Either she is mistaken, or she purposefully mislocates the origin of characters in order to draw a portrait of Chechens the way she wants. It is OK to be mistaken and I hope it is just a mistake, because I really don't like when writer misleads the reader...
There is not much research done and there are very few books written about Caucasian history in any language. Despite what I said above, this one is probably the best among English books I have come across. So, I recommend it to everyone, especially if you are not a history buff, but a sucker for good romantic story about bravery and glory and freedom, etc. We may say, story is "based on true story". Enjoy it!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and informative narrative, March 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sabres of Paradise (Paperback)

As a student of Russian history, I must say that this book is the best I have ever read. It covers Russian cultural perspective as no book can, and brings into focus the tragedy of Chechynia and Daghestan like nothing else could. Nothing is a better source for understanding 19th and 20th century Russia.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lion of Dhagestan, December 14, 2001

By 

MikeG "MikeG" (Longmont, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sabres of Paradise (Paperback)

The reviews I've read so far fail to emphasize that this book, while it certainly covers much of the history of the Caucuses in the latter half of the 19th century, is in no small part a biography of Imam Shamyl, "The Lion of Dhagestan", and his role as the leader of what was referred to as "The Mureed Wars". Shamyl was a legendary, charismatic leader who, through the power of his Islamic faith, and with the added dimension of being son-in-law of one of the great Shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Sufi order (Jamaluddin Ghumuqi), united the various tribes and peoples of this region to fight off the great Russian Bear for nearly 25 years. It is an epic tale of heroism and tragedy on a personal and cultural level, and will grip the reader as they follow the exploits and the battles that are still to this day legendary in the Caucuses.