The Lost Heart of Asia (P.S.) (repost)
The Lost Heart of Asia (P.S.) By Colin Thubron
Publisher: Har.,per Pere,,.nnial 2008 | 400 Pages | ISBN: 0061577677 | EPUB | 2 MB
Publisher: Har.,per Pere,,.nnial 2008 | 400 Pages | ISBN: 0061577677 | EPUB | 2 MB
West of China, south of Russia, hemmed in by mountains, steppe, and desert, lie the five Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. Cut loose from Moscow in the early '90s, the five "Stans" (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan) discover that their newly found freedom plays tug-o-war with despair and a nostalgia for the certainties of the Soviet past. It's during this time that author Colin Thubron travels the width of central Asia, asking questions about the past, present, and future. Not content to simply bounce from place to place, Thubron travels from person to person, uncovering their many vibrant stories and developing a deep understanding of the area's lesser-known history. Kyrgyz and Uzbeks debate the place of Islam. Koreans and Germans, descendants from forced migrants, wonder if they know enough of their ethnic tongue to return to their homelands. Russians find themselves left behind, disbelieving, as the tide of Russian power recedes toward Moscow.