Read a new book about Caucasus

Original: Read a new book about Caucasus

Many western scholars complaint the lack of good scholarly works on the South Caucasus region. However, one recent book seems to have a chance  to contribute for the better understanding of contemporary Caucasus, - "The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus" By Charles King. This book provides an analysis of the region's turbulent history since the late 18th century; offers exploration of how the Caucasus has been imagined by outsiders and gives an overview of contemporary conflicts and developments in the region.
Before buying this book you can read a book review written by Nina Caspersen who is a lecturer in politics and international relations, Lancaster University, and the author of several art ach the sky, where continents meet, where empires used to intersect and where a multitude of languages mix. It is an area of great strategic importance, and the unresolved conflicts in Chechnya, Nagorno-Karabakh and Abkhazia have kept the Caucasus on the international agenda. Yet very little is known or understood about this region, and Charles King's enthralling exploration of the history of the Caucasus fills an important gap. As the publisher points out, this is the first general history of the Caucasus in English. Its appeal is further enhanced by its immense readability; I would even characterise it as a page-turner, which is rare praise indeed for a scholarly work. The Ghost of Freedom is beautifully written and seamlessly combines personal anecdotes, literary quotes and thorough research.

The central theme of the book is the search for the "elusive ghost of freedom", which has often been the driving force for the peoples of the Caucasus as well as for the outsiders wh />
Yet in some ways this c