Unknown Sands [Hardcover]

John Kropf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2006

Turkmenistan was once the world's most feared territory. Since the time of the Mongols, the nomadic tribes of its vast desert wastes were deemed ungovernable. Russians and Persians were captured as slaves and carried off by the fierce Turkmen. Even now, as an independent country located between the hot spots of Afghanistan and Iran, with one of the planet's largest natural gas reserves, Turkmenistan remains virtually unknown to the outside world. Unknown Sands penetrates this remote and harsh land. This is a personal story that blends two years of adventure with Turkmenistan’s tumultuous history to present an intriguing profile of the country and its people. This former Soviet territory offers a target-rich environment for the unusual including a surreal cult of Presidential personality, ancient ruins of the Silk Road, and a unique, mystical brand of Islam.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Firmly entrenched in the Washington bureaucracy, lawyer Kropf had probably lifted a glass to a few foreign dignitaries in his lifetime, but he'd never pictured himself in the middle of Turkmenistan drinking a vodka toast to Benazir Bhutto out of a large platinum bowl at a family dinner. When Kropf's wife accepted a post as political and economic officer for the American Embassy in Turkmenistan, his Bhutto-toasting fate was sealed. A lawyer with the U.S. State Department, Kropf, his wife and their two-year-old daughter headed to the black hole of Central Asia (featuring the kind of terrain "medieval Europeans had in mind when they filled in the unknown areas of their maps with dragons"), which borders Afghanistan and Iran and has a long history of being a forbidden land of warriors, conquerors, spies and secrets. Kropf travels to the far corners of a country dismissed as uninhabitable by explorers and still governed by an oppressive regime, revealing through his efficient prose intriguing residents still reeling from Soviet occupation and tip-toeing into the 21st century. Kropf stays in Turkmenistan after his wife and daughter return to the states in the wake of 9/11, serving humanitarian missions while neighboring Afghanistan is gripped by chaos. Between the drama are tales of visiting the bazaar, Kropf's comical attempts at haggling (for carpets and traditional Turkmen headwear, among other items) and his discovery of the most delicious melon in the world. Kropf's peek at this isolated corner of a shrinking world is a fascinating narrative bound to hook adventurers.
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About the Author

John Kropf served at the American Embassy in Turkmenistan as the Country Director for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Because of his work with the Embassy, he was able to travel extensively through Turkmenistan. He is currently the Director of International Privacy Programs at the US Department of Homeland Security. In addition to writing for the U.S. Department of State as an attorney specializing in international law, his writing credits include creative non-fiction and humor articles that have appeared in The Washington Post and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He also contributed a story to Sports Car Illustrated (now defunct) that detailed his grandfather's 1919 cross-country trek in a FIAT roadster ("Tales of the Mudbound").

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Dusty Spark Publishing; First Edition edition (February 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976356511
• ISBN-13: 978-0976356516
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,426,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uncommon Journeys, March 6, 2006

By 

K. Mortensen (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unknown Sands (Hardcover)

"An unprejudiced look at central Asian culture through the eyes of a curious traveler," is probably the best way in which to describe the new book from author John Kropf, Unknown Sands.

This book provides the only real view of a world that even in the 21st century hides behind an iron curtain. John brings to life real and tangible descriptions of a world really only known to most Americans through hearsay and as a side note to the War on Terror.

His journey or, more appropriately, his journeys begin with the assignment of his wife Eileen to the American embassy in Turkmenistan. John then takes you with him on his journeys by foot, bus, airplane, and, usually, four-wheel vehicle throughout the country. The full color panoply of sights, sounds, and, unhappily for John, smells translate literally to the reader enveloping you into the world surround him at the time, from the woman jabbing his ankles with a luggage cart in the Frankfurt airport on his trip out to the pride of his driver in learning to pronounce the name of their American vehicle.

The country John transports you to has the intensity of its underlying cultures that have existed from well before the time of Ghengis Khan with a strong overtone of Soviet political power, which has influenced the last 70 some years. Soviet era cement block apartment buildings share the same atmosphere as centuries old mosques that themselves share the place with new monuments to the country's leader with this last to an almost comical degree.

Also, although John's mission while in Turkmenistan was to supervise USAID programs, his journeys cannot be said to be mere reports. You get the picture that much of what we as Americans must do is not only provide the money and the know-how, but reawaken the prior pride in the country's history through a respectful curiosity. We should not treat any country's past as something quaint from a history book, but rather a vibrant component to understand who these people truly are.

John should be thanked for opening our eyes to a strange, but admirable country that lies on the edge of our imagination.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING!, March 22, 2006

By 

G. W. Goodman "tmsconsulting" (Naples, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unknown Sands (Hardcover)

Kropf takes us on a journey which few will ever personally know, His insightful and sometimes witty writing style adds to a terrific read!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a discovery!, May 4, 2006

By 

N. Coleman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unknown Sands (Hardcover)

I was researching books on Middle East and Asian politics and stumbled across Mr. Kropf's book through online research. Although not primarily a political discourse, Unknown Sands contains fascinating insight into the cultural, social, as well as political atmosphere of a country many don't know exists. I recommend the book highly not only for academics but as a casual read as well.