Luca Anceschi’s “Turkmenistan’s Foreign Policy: Positive Neutrality and the Consolidation of the Turkmen Regime” was another swing and a miss by Routledge. Just like Irina Y. Morozova’s “Socialist Revolutions in Asia,” the subject of Anceschi’s book, i.e., Turkmenistan’s doctrine of Positive Neutrality, is of great interest to me. Since the overthrow of the USSR inContinueContinue reading “Review: “Turkmenistan’s Foreign Policy: Positive Neutrality and the Consolidation of the Turkmen Regime” – Luca Anceschi”
Tag Archives: Book Review
Early Thoughts: “Russia’s Protectorates in Central Asia: Bukhara and Kiva, 1865-1924” – Seymour Becker
Seymour Becker’s analysis of Russia’s conquests of the khanates of Bukhara and Khiva is considered the book on the subject. Although I am only about 70 pages into the book, what I find most striking about this book is Becker’s inability to understand Lenin’s theory of imperialism and his determination to prove that Russia’s motivesContinueContinue reading “Early Thoughts: “Russia’s Protectorates in Central Asia: Bukhara and Kiva, 1865-1924” – Seymour Becker”
Review: “Poles, Jews, and the Politics of Nationality: The Bund and the Polish Socialist Party in Late Tsarist Russia, 1892-1914” – Joshua D. Zimmerman
Joshua D. Zimmerman’s “Poles, Jews, and the Politics of Nationality: The Bund and the Polish Socialist Party in Late Tsarist Russia, 1892-1914” is an excellent, well researched, highly informative, and widely accessible analysis of Polish-Jewish relations and the national question within the late tsarist empire. Zimmerman begins the book by describing the origins of theContinueContinue reading “Review: “Poles, Jews, and the Politics of Nationality: The Bund and the Polish Socialist Party in Late Tsarist Russia, 1892-1914” – Joshua D. Zimmerman”
Review: “Socialist Revolutions in Asia: The Social History of Mongolia in the Twentieth Century” – Irina Y. Morozova
Irina Y. Morozova’s “Socialist Revolutions in Asia: The Social History of Mongolia in the Twentieth Century” was not what I had expected — and not in a good way! When I first ordered this book from Routledge, I had hoped for a more balanced history of socialist development in Mongolia than B. Shirendyb’s heavily pro-SovietContinueContinue reading “Review: “Socialist Revolutions in Asia: The Social History of Mongolia in the Twentieth Century” – Irina Y. Morozova”
Review: “The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir” – Telford Taylor
Telford Taylor’s “The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir” is both a memoir/autobiography and a scholarly legal analysis of the International Military Tribunal. The book begins with some details about Taylor and international law as it existed at the time of WWII. Taylor had served in the American Army intelligence in Europe duringContinueContinue reading “Review: “The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir” – Telford Taylor”
Review: “The Formation of the Uzbek Nation-State: A Study in Transition” – Anita Sengupta
Anita Sengupta’s “The Formation of the Uzbek Nation-State: A Study in Transition” is a highly theoretical examination of nation-state formation. Unlike Adeeb Khalid, Adrienne Edgar, Arne Haugen, and other Central Asia scholars, Sengupta’s primary focus is not on the actual establishment of Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic, nor Soviet nationalities policy, but how the transformationContinueContinue reading “Review: “The Formation of the Uzbek Nation-State: A Study in Transition” – Anita Sengupta”
Review: “Japan’s New Imperialism” – Rob Steven
“Japan’s New Imperialism” by Rob Steven is a slightly-dated (published 1990) but nonetheless comprehensive analysis of the rise of Japanese imperialism in Southeast Asia since the 1970s. Since the end of decolonization, “a new revolutionary force is sweeping through and transforming Southeast Asia. That force is capitalism, and once again the catalytic upsurge in itsContinueContinue reading “Review: “Japan’s New Imperialism” – Rob Steven”
Review: “Another America: The Story of Liberia and the Former Slaves Who Ruled It” – James Ciment
James Ciment’s “Another America: The Story of Liberia and the Former Slaves Who Ruled It” is, in my opinion, a much better history of Liberia than David Reese’s “Liberia: America’s African Stepchild”. In Ciment’s book the primary objective of his historical investigation is the politics of Liberia, not the people, although for obvious reasons theContinueContinue reading “Review: “Another America: The Story of Liberia and the Former Slaves Who Ruled It” – James Ciment”
Review: “Liberia: America’s African Stepchild” – David Reese
David Reese’s “Liberia: America’s African Stepchild” is a rather unique history of an African nation. Each chapter is essentially a mini-biography of an important person in Liberia’s history, such as Paul Cuffe, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, Edward James Roye, Edwin Barclay, Edward Blyden, William Tubman, and Samuel Doe. It is through the stories of these andContinueContinue reading “Review: “Liberia: America’s African Stepchild” – David Reese”
Review: “1939: The Alliance That Never Was and the Coming of World War” – Michael Carley
Michael Carley’s “1939: The Alliance That Never Was and the Coming of World War II” reads like an episode of Law and Order: Special Appeasement Unit. Carley writes about the high-stakes diplomacy in the 1930s like a court-room drama — a real thriller! Carley’s main argument is that WWII happened because of British, French, andContinueContinue reading “Review: “1939: The Alliance That Never Was and the Coming of World War” – Michael Carley”
Review: “Making Uzbekistan: Nation, Empire, and Revolution in the Early USSR” – Adeeb Khalid
Adeeb Khalid’s “Making Uzbekistan: Nation, Empire, and Revolution in the Early USSR” is a landmark study of the creation of the state of Uzbekistan and national territorial delimitation in Soviet Central Asia. The haphazard and seemingly irrational borders of the five Central Asian republics — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan — has often beenContinueContinue reading “Review: “Making Uzbekistan: Nation, Empire, and Revolution in the Early USSR” – Adeeb Khalid”
Review: “Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin’s Sniper” – Lyudmila Pavlichenko
With 309 confirmed Nazi kills, Lydumila Pavlichenko was the most successful female sniper in the history of modern warfare. In these memoirs Pavlichenko recounts her experience during the Siege of Odessa and the Siege of Sevastopol. Pavlichenko wasn’t just a sniper; she was a sniper that specialized in hunting enemy snipers! A sniper sniper! Pavlichenko’sContinueContinue reading “Review: “Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin’s Sniper” – Lyudmila Pavlichenko”
Review: “Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh” – Patwant Singh and Jyoti M. Rai
Patwant Singh and Jyoti M. Rai’s “Empire of the Sikhs” tells the story of one of the most remarkable individuals in the history of the Indian subcontinent, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire. Blinded in one eye from smallpox, Ranjit Singh first fought in a battle with his father when he was 10-years-old.ContinueContinue reading “Review: “Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh” – Patwant Singh and Jyoti M. Rai”
(OLDIE!) Review: “Sir George Goldie and the Making of Nigeria” – J. E. Flint
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) This book is a political biography of one of the most important and least known British colonialists, George Goldie.Born into a wealthy Manx family, Goldie “revived the chartered company as a method of acquiring andContinueContinue reading “(OLDIE!) Review: “Sir George Goldie and the Making of Nigeria” – J. E. Flint”
(OLDIE!) Review: “A History of Niger, 1850-1960” – Finn Fuglestad
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) A better title for Finn Fuglestad’s “A History of Niger: 1850-1960” would be “Niger: The French Weren’t That Bad,” since the Fuglestad’s seems intent on whitewashing French colonialism in Africa.An example of this pro-French biasContinueContinue reading “(OLDIE!) Review: “A History of Niger, 1850-1960” – Finn Fuglestad”
(OLDIE!) Review: “State of Rebellion: Violence and Intervention in the Central African Republic” – Louisa Lombard
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) Louisa Lombard’s “State of Rebellion: Violence and Intervention in the Central African Republic” is not like most other books written on African conflicts. The author examines conflicts in the Central African Republic (CAR) through anContinueContinue reading “(OLDIE!) Review: “State of Rebellion: Violence and Intervention in the Central African Republic” – Louisa Lombard”
(OLDIE!) Review: “The Trial of Hissène Habré: How the People of Chad Brought a Tyrant to Justice” – Celeste Hicks
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) In 2016, the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC) found Chad’s former warlord dictator, Hissene Habre, who seized power in 1982 with the support of the U.S. and France, guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity andContinueContinue reading “(OLDIE!) Review: “The Trial of Hissène Habré: How the People of Chad Brought a Tyrant to Justice” – Celeste Hicks”
(OLDIE!) Review: “Fiji: Race and Politics in an Island State” – Michael C. Howard
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) Michael Howard’s “Fiji: Race and Politics in an Island State” provides interesting insight into Fijian and Pacific politics, despite its liberal weaknesses. Fiji, the author argues, is no democratic and racial paradise but rather isContinueContinue reading “(OLDIE!) Review: “Fiji: Race and Politics in an Island State” – Michael C. Howard”
(OLDIE!) Review: “West Papua: The Obliteration of a People” – Carmel Budiardjo and Liem Soei Liong
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) Although I had heard of Indonesia’s occupation of West Papua, the Western half of the island of New Guinea, mostly through a few rap/hip-hop songs I listen to, I wasn’t as familiar with it asContinueContinue reading “(OLDIE!) Review: “West Papua: The Obliteration of a People” – Carmel Budiardjo and Liem Soei Liong”
(OLDIE!) Review: “Politics in Sierra Leone, 1947-1967” -John R. Cartwright
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) John R. Cartwright, in “Politics in Sierra Leone, 1947-1967,” attempts to provide a thorough analysis of how Sierra Leone’s political system. I write that the author ‘attempts to provide’ because whether he is successful inContinueContinue reading “(OLDIE!) Review: “Politics in Sierra Leone, 1947-1967” -John R. Cartwright”
T. J. Petrowski 