From the Publisher: From a critically acclaimed author-a comprehensive history of the part of the world currently making headlines. The former Soviet republics of Central Asia comprise a sprawling, politically pivotal, densely populated, and richly cultured area of the world that is nonetheless poorly represented in libraries and mainstream media. Since their political incorporation in Stalin's Soviet era, these countries have gone through a flash of political and economical evolution. But despite these rapid changes, the growth of oil wealth and U.S. jockeying, and the opening of the region to tourists and businessmen, the spirit of Central Asia has remained untouched at its core. In this comprehensive new treatment, renowned political writer and historian Dilip Hiro offers us a narrative that places the modern politics, peoples, and cultural background of this region firmly into the context of current international focus. Given the strategic location of Central Asia, its predominantly Muslim population, and its hydrocarbon and other valuable resources, it comes as no surprise that the five Central Asian republics are emerging in the twenty-first century as one of the most potentially influential-and coveted-patches of the globe.

Includes maps of: Central Asian Republics and Their Neighbors; Soviet Union, 1918-1991.

Maps -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1: Turkey: from militant secularism to grassroots Islam -- 2: Uzbekistan: the complex hub of Central Asia -- 3: Turkmenistan: molded by a megalomaniac despot -- 4: Kazakhstan: rising oil state courted by big powers -- 5: Kyrgyzstan: the Tulip Revolution, a false dawn -- 6: Tajikistan: the rise and fall of political Islam -- 7: Iran: the geopolitics of the Islamic Revolution -- Summary and conclusions -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Select bibliography -- Index.