The Ghost of Freedom; A History of the Caucasus

New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Charles King (Author photograph). xviii, [4],291, [5] pages. On Words. Chronology. Illustrations. Maps. Notes. On Sources. Index. Charles King (born 1967) is the Professor of International Affairs and Government at Georgetown University, where he previously served as the chairman of the faculty of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. A Marshall scholar and Fulbright scholar, King holds a M. Phil. in Russian and east European studies and a D.Phil. in politics from Oxford University where he was a Marshall Scholar. At Georgetown University, King teaches courses in comparative politics, East European studies, and international affairs. Prior to joining the Georgetown University in 1996, he was the Rank and Manning Junior Research Fellow at New College, Oxford University, and a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. King has published articles and essays in World Politics, International Security, Slavic Review, Foreign Affairs, and other academic publications. He is the author of Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams, Extreme Politics: Nationalism, Violence, and the End of Eastern Europe, The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus, The Black Sea: A History, and The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture. King's book, Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul received a positive review by Jason Goodwin in the New York Times Book Review. King won the Francis Parkman Prize for his book Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century. The Caucasus mountains rise at the intersection of Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. A land of astonishing natural beauty and a dizzying array of ancient cultures, the Caucasus for most of the twentieth century lay inside the Soviet Union, before movements of national liberation created newly independent countries and sparked the devastating war in Chechnya. Combining riveting storytelling with insightful analysis, The Ghost of Freedom is the first general history of the modern Caucasus, stretching from the beginning of Russian imperial expansion up to the rise of new countries after the Soviet Union's collapse. In evocative and accessible prose, Charles King reveals how tsars, highlanders, revolutionaries, and adventurers have contributed to the fascinating history of this borderland, providing an indispensable guide to the complicated histories, politics, and cultures of this intriguing frontier. Based on new research in multiple languages, the book shows how the struggle for freedom in the mountains, hills, and plains of the Caucasus has been a perennial theme over the last two hundred years--a struggle which has led to liberation as well as to new forms of captivity. The book sheds valuable light on the origins of modern disputes, including the ongoing war in Chechnya, conflicts in Georgia and Azerbaijan, and debates over oil from the Caspian Sea and its impact on world markets. Ranging from the salons of Russian writers to the circus sideshows of America, from the offices of European diplomats to the villages of Muslim mountaineers, The Ghost of Freedom paints a rich portrait of one of the world's most turbulent and least understood regions.