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Title: A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia: Inner Eurasia from Prehistory to the Mongol Empire by David Christian ISBN: 0-631-20814-3 Publisher: Blackwell Publishers Pub. Date: 01 January, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $38.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Strong overall
Comment: This book is the only book to deal with the lands in question (Inner Asia) so thoroughly. I feel as if a large gap in my knowledge of history has been at least partially filled (there is always more to learn). Not that I'm without my complaints: the maps are few and far in between, the photographs poorly done. Sometimes, the book was downright boring, but that's to be expected with such an extensive book.
If you want to learn about the dynamic relationship between argricultural civilizations and pastoralist civilizations, read this book. It does leave some questions unanswered though. Such as, why did new tribes replace old tribes (ex: the Goths in Hungary, being pushed out by the Huns, who were pushed out by the Magyars)? What were the relative populations of the time? What was the relative demand for the goods of the steepe peoples? What was the trade balance between steppe and agricultural peoples?
Despite the questions, the book was worth the read.
Rating: 1
Summary: A waste of paper, time and money
Comment: As an archaeologist working on the archaeology of North East Asia, I found this book a very big disappointment. Then again what should I expect from a historian whose speciality is the 18th and 19th century history of Russia?
The author draws heavily on secondary works in English, German, French and Russian. Instead of depending on those, he should have gone directly to the archaeological site reports and the historical annals themselves. Its also sad to see a synthesis on Russia and Central Asia that relies heavily on the works of English language scholars and ignoring the Russian and Mongolian language scholars. In terms of some of his English secondary sources, ones like Davis-Kimball et al. (NOMADS OF THE EURASIAN STEPPE) and Barfield's PERILOUS FRONTIER are still in print and available from AMAZON.COM.
Production values in this book are also uneven. The photographic reproductions in many cases are also poorly scanned copies (see for example p. 53, 214 in the paperback version). The publisher should have done a better job.
My advice: you can do a lot better (try the two suggestions above)
Rating: 4
Summary: Superb
Comment: The life and times of Chingghis Khan were brilliantly written and I could recommend this book for the last 2 chapters alone. The rest of it was very good. Be prepared to re-read chapters if, like me, you weren't exposed to these regions in history. There are elements here important to scholars of China and Byzantium as well.
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Title: The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia by Rene Grousset ISBN: 0813513049 Publisher: Rutgers University Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 1988 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Reindeer Moon by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas ISBN: 0395421128 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 01 February, 1987 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: A History of Inner Asia by Svatopluk Soucek ISBN: 0521657040 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: Religions of the Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Exchange from Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century by Richard C. Foltz ISBN: 0312233388 Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan Pub. Date: 02 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History by David Christian, William H. McNeill ISBN: 0520235002 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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