Eastward to Tartary Travels in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Caucasus

by Kaplan, Robert D.

• ISBN13: 9780375705762
• ISBN10: 0375705767
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-10-23
• Publisher: Vintage

Summary

Eastward to Tartary,Robert Kaplan's first book to focus on a single region since his bestsellingBalkan Ghosts, introduces readers to an explosive and little-known part of the world destined to become a tinderbox of the future. Kaplan takes us on a spellbinding journey into the heart of a volatile region, stretching from Hungary and Romania to the far shores of the oil-rich Caspian Sea. Through dramatic stories of unforgettable characters, Kaplan illuminates the tragic history of this unstable area that he describes as the new fault line between East and West. He ventures from Turkey, Syria, and Israel to the turbulent countries of the Caucasus, from the newly rich city of Baku to the deserts of Turkmenistan and the killing fields of Armenia. The result is must reading for anyone concerned about the state of our world in the decades to come.

Author Biography

Robert D. Kaplan is a correspondent for <i>The Atlantic Monthly</i> and the bestselling author of eight previous books on foreign affairs and travel, including <b>Balkan Ghosts</b>, <b>The Ends of the Earth</b>, <b>The Coming Anarchy</b>, and <b>Eastward to Tartary</b>. He is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington. He lives with his wife and son in western Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	xiii
Part I The Balkans
Rudolf Fischer, Cosmopolitan	3	(9)
Heading East	12	(6)
The Widening Chasm	18	(11)
Third World Europe	29	(10)
Balkan Realists	39	(10)
Pivot State	49	(9)
``Civilizational Choice''	58	(10)
Wrestlers Versus Democrats	68	(10)
The Legacy of Orthodoxy	78	(7)
``To the City''	85	(8)
Part II Turkey and Greater Syria
The ``Deep State''	93	(11)
The ``Corpse in Armour''	104	(11)
The New Caliphate	115	(11)
The Sacred and the Profane	126	(21)
The Corporate Satellite	147	(23)
The Caravan State	170	(14)
Crossing the Jordan	184	(11)
Sepphoris and the Renewal of Judaism	195	(6)
Throbbing Heart of the Middle East	201	(12)
Part III The Caucasus and Tartary
To Turkey's Northeastern Border	213	(7)
Stalin's Beautiful Homeland	220	(23)
Fossil Nations	243	(13)
From Tbilisi to Baku	256	(9)
Imperial Collisions	265	(17)
By Boat to Tartary	282	(4)
New Khanates	286	(17)
A Herodotean Landscape	303	(8)
Epilogue Hayastan
Earth, Fire, Water	311	(20)
Acknowledgments	331	(4)
Notes	335	(14)
Index	349