Dedicaton
Author's Note
Introduction
1. Among the Mountains
2. Russia's South
3. The Soviet Caucasus
4. Armenia and Azerbaijan: An Intimate Quarrel
5. Georgia: Nationalism and War
6. Caspian Energy and Caucasian Corridors
7. Rebirth, Rose Revolution and Conflict in Georgia
Conclusion: Making a Region
Chronology
Bibliographic references
Notes
Index
Thomas de Waal is a Senior Associate on the Caucasus at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is the author of Black Garden and co-author with Carlotta Gall of Chechnya.
"A compact but rich book examining the southern side of the range,
where combustible difficulties afflict three small post-Soviet
countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. ...If ever there was a
place that needed a competent and even-tempered guide, this was it.
Mr. de Waal provides one. Currently an analyst at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace, he has traveled through and
written of the Caucasus more than most any outsider since the
Kremlin's
grip over the region loosened during the Soviet collapse. His book
contains history and knowing flair:..will likely have many lives.
Why? The wars that broke out in the 1990s are not over. Mr. De
Waal's
book is welcome now, and most useful. If one of the wars flares up
again, it will be essential."--The New York Times War Blog
"Assiduously researched and lucid primer. While it may be easier
for the distant academic to be dispassionate, de Waal is more than
that. Through the past two decades, he has written extensively on,
and from, the region for British newspapers and the Institute for
War and Peace Reporting. He is also the co-author of Chechnya,
probably the best contemporary volume on that violent Russian
republic. The Caucasus reflects a depth of understanding of the
region that doesn't stray into the didactic. In recent years, other
volumes have appeared on the South Caucasus, notably Charles King's
The Ghost of Freedom, and Thomas Goltz's diaries of Georgia and
Azerbaijan.
But de Waal has produced the most important work. And, as with any
good book, it leaves the reader hungering for more."--Foreign
Policy
"Nobody has dealt with today's Transcaucasia as lucidly as Thomas
de Waal."--Times Literary Supplement
"Well-written, accessible and engaging...[De Waal's] magisterial
histories are an essential part of a comprehensible explanation of
the intractable problems that beset the region."--International
Affairs
"Thomas de Waal has written one of the most vivid, clear-minded
accounts of the history and current troubles of the lands between
Russia and Turkey. The Caucasus defines easy explanation, and de
Waal deftly untangles the webs of mystification and obfuscation
that have so often marred our understanding of why this rich and
beautiful region, a cradle of diverse civilizations, has failed so
miserably to realize its promise."--Ronald Grigor Suny, Professor
of
Social and Political History, and Professor of Political Science,
University of Michigan
"Europe and Asia, mountains and flatlands, Christians and Muslims,
ancient cultures and modern states--the Caucasus has long been a
classic borderland in many senses. Blending first-hand reporting,
historical narratives, and original research, The Caucasus is an
indispensable guide to the fractious politics and complicated
histories of the region's nations and peoples."--Charles King,
Professor of International Affairs and Government, Georgetown
University, and author of The Ghost of Freedom
"This is the definitive text for anyone interested in this complex
region. De Waal describes the deep roots of current conflicts and
his analysis of the present situation is right on target. It should
be required reading for anyone involved in Caucasian
affairs."--Richard Miles, former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan and
Georgia
"The Caucasus is a mini-encyclopedia, and de Waal a peerless guide
for navigating this mountainous maze of tangled enmities and
ethnicities."--Andrew Meier, author of The Lost Spy: An American in
Stalin's Secret Service
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