The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia

I like British spy stories and thought this would be interesting. There are "spies" in it but not of the cloak and dagger type I enjoy; nevertheless, I enjoyed it because it awakened me to the long history of territorial conflict in this area of the world. Countries, regardless of their political composition, are always defining and attempting to redefine their borders. Another one hundred plus years from now the conflict will still be ongoing; probably with different countries overlaying their boundaries on the spaces being fought over today.

• Many boys (and probably many girls too) grow up dreaming about adventure: exploration, seizing opportunity, exotic locations, solitary travels in wild locales, especially to foreign enclaves never before visited by westerners (or only by mythic predecessors) with strange customs and filled with riches and danger and invariably ruled by mercurial despots. Since these no longer exist, or, more probably, have been de-romanticized, much of this longing is now transferred to science fiction. But in the 18th and 19th century it was all very real. In Asia, between the dominions of the great powers Russia and Great Britain, much of the continent was ruled by medieval political entities fragmented by deserts, rivers, and mountain ranges whose names themselves are the ultimate romantic evocation: The Himalayas, Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Oxus, the lands and cities of the Sild Road, Samarkand, Bokhara, Tashkent, Kandahar. It was a time when a single intrepid adventurer could make a heroic journey, bluff, impress, and bribe his way into the good graces of the local potentate, and make a treaty that would shift world power. Or perhaps explore and survey the unknown geography and customs to prepare for the next traveler. This was the Great Game. As the quotes on the cover attest, Peter Hopkirk is “truly the laureate of the Great Game.” A former top-shelf reporter, he has also sufficient historian cred and sense of drama to combine research, analysis, synthesis, and storytelling into a fantastic, entertaining, and informative book. A series of adventure stories for grown up boys. The tapestry is the vastness of central Asia in what are now Russian, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Xinxiang, Tibet, Nepal, and all the ‘stans’ of the former Soviet Union. As the decades progress the expeditions get larger. From the single adventurer to pairs to squadrons to occupation and frontier war. But (in retrospect this is obvious) never a major war between the principals. What cliff hangers: From a random page (242): “But is was far from over yet. Worse – much worse – was yet to follow.” And just plain excitement: on one random page (104) -- “where `all the horrors and abominations of Sodom and Gomorrah’ were practiced”; “Eversmann’s disguise … must have been remarkably convincing, for the Emir’s secret police … suspected nothing ….” And sweep: another chapter begins, “in the beginning of the 19th century, the three warring khanates of Khiva, Bokhara, and Kokand between them ruled the vast region … half the size of America ….” This is the flavor of the book. There is no pretense to making a larger point other than the obvious ones: clash of cultures, the mind of the adventurer, 19th century imperialism, the methods of exploration. This is a good thing. In fact, the only criticism is the huge number of stories. No part is too long or drags. But in the end 500 pages is a lot of Saturday afternoon movie excitement to read straight through. It may be best enjoyed over a year of Saturdays!

Bottom Line First: In The Great Game, Peter Hopkirk has reported a lot of history with just enough analysis. Strongly recommended for both the serious student of history and the more general reader looking to get a foundation in a complicated and often ignored portion of world history. My caution is that it is too easy to think of this period as a mirror of or direct predictor of what is now happening in Afghanistan, Pakistan and neighboring areas.The Great Game constitutes my second attempt to build a background on a region described as the Top of the World. The prior read  Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia while good enough in its way is a distinct second place to The Great Game. What makes Hopkirk the better historian of this period is that he has stripped away the biographical material and focused on events and motives. In other words less about who the individuals were and more about what specifically Russia and Great Briton were doing and what they hoped to accomplish.Russia depending on the period was engaged in1. What might be thought of as Russia’s version of Manifest Destiny. From a Russian point of view, the natural boundaries of Russia could include everything east of the Caucuses all the way to the Pacific (At one point Russia had active control of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest south into California) curbed only by whatever parts of India that England failed to hold and as much of China as she failed to hold.2. The place where aggressive military officers could demonstrate their fitness for higher station and bigger titles. That is the Imperial Court could be counted upon to reward success and deny failure. The gold is for the winner as long as he takes all the risks3. Part of a vague and almost legendary belief that Russia was destined to rule the world.The other recognized partner in The Great Game was Great Briton. Her situation was relatively simple.1. Protect existing holdings from real and perceived threat by Imperial Russia.2. Combine intelligence activity to understand the routes a Russian invasion might take, with developing client states friendly to Great Briton.What the Great Game fails to analyze is the thinking and interests of the many peoples who would fight against, ally with or otherwise own all of the ground that the two recognized powers would invade, fight over or otherwise manipulate in favor of goals rarely consistent with the culture or needs of the peoples who were already there.The absence of this third/fourth/however many points of view leads me to caution readers against thinking that with this book they can speak definitively about the challenges Soviet Russia failed to overcome in the end of their empire; or the reasons why the American Invasion had to last as long as it has while being careful about purposes and minimal goals.Hopkirk will often remind us that this or that Mongol or Turkoman leader was born to intrigue and treachery. He is clear that religion, especially the Muslim religion was an important part of why the Europeans were unwelcome and violently resisted. There is a wonderful description of the arrival of a Muslim party in a Russian village. They are appalled at the visibility of Russian women and offended by the presence of and apparent worship of the idols (Icons) in Russian Churches. Hopkirk is also quick to contrast the deliberate attempts to remain remote by the leadership and peoples in what are now famous tourist places like Herat or Tibet.There are so many details missing. Nationalism and religion continue to render Europeans, especially their military as automatically to be resisted. In many of these cultures, raiding remains a part of what people do. Complete with family owned and handed down ambush positions. Villages can be situated so as to control entrance/exit for military purposes, even at the cost of commercial traffic.The Great Game is excellent at the history it does relate. The political and military motives, moves and thinking of England and Russia are well told. By design the many local peoples are not the purpose of this history. It is this part of the story that is most critical to a modern reader looking for historic answers to questions relating to modern regional geopolitics.

An intriguing history of the rivalry between national powers to expand to the east towards India.

Se non si è a conoscenza dei fatti narrati in questo testo di storia, non si può capire quello che la Russia sta tentando di fare attualmente

This is a comprehensive account of European power play in Central Asia from the eighteenth century : Russia and Britain being the aggressive powers trying to dominate Asia the latter paranoid about India being attacked by the Tsar ! As I said it’s a must read

This book tells an amazing story about the conflict between Russia and Britain over Central Asia, the Himalayas and Afghanistan. Britain wanted control of intervening lands to prevent Russia from invading India. This story is as exciting as a thriller, from the early explorations of the area by British and Russian individuals to the ill-fated invasion of Afghanistan by Britain. This book explains why Russia and then the USSR controlled the 5 'Stans' in Central Asia and why Kashmir was ruled by a HIndu raja, despite having a Moslem population.

Livraison très rapide, vraiment super.