BOOKS: The Great Game

Kashgar, The Pamir Highway. Cradle of

Kipling's Great Game

“Now I shall go far and far into the north, playing the Great Game…” so said Rudyard Kipling in his 1901 novel “Kim,” speaking about the imperial struggle for power in Central Asia between Russia and Great Britain. Things haven’t changed all that much in the 21^st century__ does Afghanistan or Pakistan sound familiar? If you want to know the historical and cultural background of this region in Central Asia the book to read is Peter Hopkirk’s, 1992 work, “The Great Game The Struggle for Empire In Central Asia.” Actually, the phrase, “Great Game,” was coined by Captain Arthur Connolly of the East India Company, before he was beheaded in Bokhara for spying in 1842. Central Asia has been a troublesome spot for Western powers for centuries. Today the players have changed, but the trouble remains. And it is a deep-rooted trouble historically explained by Hopkirk’s fascinating book. The historical struggle for Central Asia is full of intrigue, ambition and military adventure, it’s a fascinating story with relevance today and Hopkirk doesn’t deliver one boring page. What happened after the demise of Czarist Russia? Afghanistan and the surrounding area erupted into a decade of bloody fighting. Sound familiar? Hopkirk has done amazing research for this book and gets into the details of the actual intrigues and spies plying their trade for influence and gain. The Russians at the time wanted to expand their territory and the British wanted to protect their interest in India. The wild and untamed land between the two countries was the chess board on which the Great Game took place. Ironically, much of the world today is now focused on this same region as troubles in the area once again threaten world security. But the real value of of Hopkirk’s book is that it focuses on the culture and history of Central Asia providing today’s readers with much needed background on an area little understood by Westerners. This book is easy to read, well-researched and well worth reading. Highly recommended.