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Author/journalist Ahmed Rashid has tapped into a rich vein of information with this book. Providing a thorough history of Central Asia, its inhabitants and conflicts, as well as touching on the global pandemic of radical Islam, Rashid has woven an essential part of the tapestry that is the riddle of what I'd like to call Oil, Islam and Empire.
Many wonder what exactly the United States and NATO are doing in Afghanistan. Rashid makes that clear by addressing the great new oil reserves waiting to be tapped in nearby Kazakhstan and the surrounding areas, and how the U.S., Russia and China all want in.
The tapestry is complete if one reads "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," by John Perkins, and "See No Evil" and "Sleeping with the Enemy" by Robert Baer. I also recommend "The Secret War With Iran," by Ronan Bergman, along with Rashid's other works, including "Taliban", 2nd Edition, and "Descent into Chaos."
Rashid details the eons of conflict in the area from a journalistic standpoint, as did Artyom Borovik in "The Hidden War," about the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. "One Soldier's War," by Arkady Babchenko, draws the strings together from the viewpoint of a Russian soldier in Chechnya. Rashid outlines the plans for a new oil pipeline that runs all the way through the region to the Mediterranean Sea. If one reads all of these books, he or she will be able to not only grasp the importance of the past and present, but what will likely unfold in the near future in this volatile region, and how all of these seemingly disparate books actually connect in a geopolitical, militaristic gestalt.
Rashid expresses a certain amount of optimism on what it would take for the West to get along with Central Asian Islam and for Islam to embrace the West. I'm of a different opinion, but one should read deeply into these works to formulate one's own opinion.
Rashid has written an important book -- actually a series of them, and they should not only be a staple in Western universities, but also be a part of any thinking person's library at this critical juncture of the 21st Century.
- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (December 31, 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0142002607
- ISBN-13: 978-0142002605
- Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Customer Reviews: 36 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#950,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #662 in Middle Eastern History (Books)
- #259 in Islamic Rituals & Practice (Books)
- #422 in Islam (Books)
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