Customer Reviews

Sacred Horses:: Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy

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Maslow travelled to Turkestan (one of the newly independent Russian Central Asian states northeast of Iran) on a search for the fabled Akhal-Teke horse, perhaps the progenitor of all modern horses from the Byerley Turk to Mr. Ed. His adventures in this rather unique locale range from hilarious to incredible. Run-ins with KGB agents who have nothing better to do, fixing the unsanitary sink in his host's home (a doctor, no less!), and taking the night train across the forbidding Kyzl Kum desert are just some of the fascinating adventures. If you like travel writing, horses, adventure, or just love a good book, this is one you owe it to yourself to check out.

A wonderfully written description of an Indiana Jones-style trip to Turkmenistan by writer, film maker and naturalist Jonathan Maslow. A life-long horse enthusiast, he grew up eventually wanting to ride Akhal-Teke horses in the steppe country north of Iraq and east of the Caspian Sea where they were first domesticated three millenia ago. "Girls seemed to lose their interest in horses about the time they discover boys. I'm not a girl, and I never lost it." His description of learning Russian in a crash course at Johns Hopkins is alone worth the price.

The book is a hard-to-find treat that will introduce you to a breed of horse and the culture that produced it, along with their shared geography, all described with the wit and insight of a sophisticated writer who, despite hardships that would send most of us back home, loves his work and the people it introduces him to.

It would truly be a wonder if any American was granted a visa to Turkmenistan again after this guy's visit. I found this in my library, and was VERY excited, you don't hear too much about Turkmenistan. However; reading some of the passages in the book made me cringe....The author treats his host family like garbage, he acts arrogant and superior to all the Turkmen he meets. This is Turkmenistan! Lighten up! Sure it's difficult, but for the sake of your readers, stop complaining! I kept hoping that somehow, in the pages, the author would reveal he was just kidding, that he hadn't behaved this way abroad, and would reveal the book was actually a parody of the obnoxious American tourist. His description of the Turkmen people..this guy looks like a toad, this guy looks like a fly, this guy looks like a (insert animal). Historic ruins look like UFO landing sites. The whole country is crap, and the USA is WAY better, in case you didn't know, duh. And then he has the nerve to write a book, calling HIMSELF in the title, a "Turkmen Cowboy". Just because you went to Turkmenistan, yelling "yippee ti yi yo" in everyone's face, does NOT make you a Turkmen cowboy.

maslow is a genius. it's truely a crime that this book is out of print as it should serve as a guide for all travel writing. maslow's ability to make any situation, no matter how grim hysterically funny makes me want to leap from my armchair into the most inhospitable places on the planet.

The book is very good. It covers the history of one of the most fascinating places in the world. The author also introduces us to many fascinating characters (the most unforgettable character I will ever meet). Finally he covers the history and current sadness of the people who are suffering from 80 years of communism