In many ways, Genghis Khan may represent all that is evil but that would be generalizing the accomplishments of an illiterate man who managed to bind In many ways, Genghis Khan may represent all that is evil but that would be generalizing the accomplishments of an illiterate man who managed to bind Steppe warriors into one scary fighting force which would eventually grow to dominate half the known world.
I've seen some criticism of this author's writing - namely that he left out the massacre of certain cities, but I don't agree with this. The book is, after all, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World; not a Genghis Khan and a tally of his kills. That information is quite well known, but what is not well known is how the Mongols introduced a postal system, facilitated printing technology to spread through to the Middle East from China, rest stations where travellers can be safe and have no fear while in the open land of the Steppes, a credit card system for travellers in their land, paper currency, how they facilitated the flow of science and technology between Muslim lands and Chinese lands - moving astronomers, scholars and surgical technology Eastwards from the Middle East to China, then moving Chinese medical technology, pharmacology and farming technology Westwards to the Middle East.
Much of the systems and technology we take for granted today, we can thank the Mongols to a great extent as they enabled what would prompt the flow of commercial, scientific and weaponry innovations into Europe and the rest of the world. Mr. Weatherford has a flowing style of writing that stays true to the facts he has unearthed in his research but he has relayed them all like a story. It was such an enjoyable and enlightening read....more
Paddy Docherty has written an outstanding book. I have been searching for a book like this for ages, one that condenses and describes the rise and falPaddy Docherty has written an outstanding book. I have been searching for a book like this for ages, one that condenses and describes the rise and fall of the area in good detail. It is simply valuable.
A readable history of the rise and fall of empires centered around the Khyber Pass - a piece of mountainous and rugged land that has seen much fighting over the course of history. Starting from Cyrus the Great, Paddy goes on to chronicle the rise of the Persian empire, then the empire of Alexander the Great, before moving on to the Mauryan empire of India, the Greeks and Nomadic tribes of Iranian stock, the Kushans, the Sasanian Persians and the White Huns, the Muslim conquest of the area, Genghis Khan's conquest, Emperor Timur, the rule of the Mughals and the tensions with the Sikhs to the British involvement in India and Afghanistan and finally, the fall of the pass to Pakistan.
What really makes this book readable is Paddy's writing. He is factual as far as I could tell from what little knowledge I possess about the events without straying into his own personal feelings of each conquest, and it is peppered with humour. He also does include some personal experiences, mostly while he describes his journey through the Khyber Pass but overall, I found that he was writing about the events as an observer. He doesn't go too deep into the facts, but writes some background information about the various major players of the events. Through it all, I caught a sense of passion about the history of the pass which was projected in his writing. ...more
There are several things I look for in a travel book experience: adventure, a smooth narrative, excitement and for the writer to get down to observingThere are several things I look for in a travel book experience: adventure, a smooth narrative, excitement and for the writer to get down to observing and understanding the people and place he/she is in without the eyes of a westerner. Strangely enough, I found it in Wilfred Thesiger’s Arabian Sands. Much has been said about Thesiger the man, the explorer, the throwback to the Victorian era, and before I opened the book, I cast everything I had heard about the man aside and read it with an open mind. What I found was truly delightful.
He was truly one of the last explorers of his ilk and though there were some instances of condescension, he was very much observing the desert Bedouins and taking them entirely as they were. He wrote about the Bedouins with whom he traveled with, with what I sensed was respect and admiration; and after reading about them through his eyes, I've gained a whole new appreciation for them and the way they manage to thrive in such a harsh environment. He writes about tribal life and kinship, a concept foreign to him and to most westerners but which made up the life blood of relationships in Arabia. He starts off his journey by seeking out the Rashid, a tribe which was small but spread out throughout Southern Arabia and he calls them the smallest of tribes numbering only about three hundred men and yet they are the most authentic of the Bedouin, those least affected by the outside world. Through his journey, documents a way of life which no longer exists, at a time when the Bedouins were fast disappearing with the discovery of oil in the Middle East, bringing with it the modern conveniences which arrive with this discovery of black gold.
Upon finishing the book, I concluded that Thesiger was a true explorer; exploring for exploration’s sake. My favourite line from this book: “For me, exploration was a personal venture. I did not go to the Arabian Desert to collect plants nor to make a map; such things were incidental. At heart I knew that to write or even to talk of my travels was to tarnish the achievement. I went there to find peace in the hardship of desert travel and the company of desert peoples. I set myself a goal on these journeys, and, although the goal itself was unimportant, its attainment had to be worth every effort and sacrifice... No, it is not the goal but the way there that matters, and the harder the way the more worth while the journey.�
I feel somehow richer for having read this book which has a well deserved classic status. Thesiger himself concluded his journey: “I knew that I had made my last journey in the Empty Quarter and that a phase in my life was ended. Here in the desert I found all that I asked; I knew that I should never find it again. But it was not only this personal sorrow that distressed me. I realized that the Bedu with whom I had lived and traveled, and in whose company I had found contentment, were doomed. Some people maintain that they will be better off when they have exchanged the hardship and poverty of the desert for the security of a materialistic world. This I do not believe. I shall always remember how often I was humbled by those illiterate herdsmen who possessed, in so much greater measure than I, generosity and courage, endurance, patience and lighthearted gallantry. Among no other people have I ever felt the same sense of personal inferiority�...more
Reading The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism was disturbing. I literally had to take breaks in between to digest the enormity of the evReading The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism was disturbing. I literally had to take breaks in between to digest the enormity of the events that Naomi Klein attempted to tie in. From 1970s Argentina to modern-day Iraq, Ms Klein attempted to outline the policy of capitalism envisioned by one school of thought and the lengths they would go to establish a purist capitalist market. Piggybacking on disasters, such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Tiananmen Square massacre and the Iraq war, while the population was in a state of shock, Ms Klein describes and details how the economy is stripped and sold piecemeal to corporations and/or wealthy elites - enabling an exclusive alliance to be formed consisting of a few corporations and wealthy politicians.
From what I could gather reading the book, it seems anyone without the same school of capitalist thought would be decimated and replaced with a puppet who was. From the CIA sponsored coup d'etat in 1953 Iran overthrowing a developmentalist leader bent on nationalizing the economy, to the experimental free-market events that created massive poverty in Latin America in the 70s, Ms Klein striked a parallel between the CIA's torture (or interrogation techniques) and the blackmailing techniques imposed by the IMF and World Bank imposing free market capitalism across the globe.
Closer to home, I was astonished to read about the CIA's interference with the bloody coup that overthrew Indonesia's Nationalist leader Sukarno, with a CIA-backed Suharto. Where Sukarno threw out the IMF and World Bank, Suharto subscribed to the shock doctrine, selling off pieces of Indonesia's massive natural wealth to Western multinationals. Anybody who has been to Indonesia would not be surprised to see what that policy has done to the millions of poverty-stricken people begging on the streets. What free-market capitalism has brought to Indonesia is a great divide between the immensely wealthy and the poor, and an almost non-existent middle class.
It beckons the question... What wouldn't human beings go through to realise their greed? Epic in scope and a real eye-opener, it will make you see the world in a different view. This is required reading for anyone who believes pure unregulated capitalism is not a model that suits every single economy and for anyone who has ever felt they were being pulled on strings like a puppet by a government bent on deceiving its people. ...more
It was almost with a heavy heart that I finished the last chapter in Jason Elliot’s “An Unexpected Light�. This is one of few books I’ve read where I It was almost with a heavy heart that I finished the last chapter in Jason Elliot’s “An Unexpected Light�. This is one of few books I’ve read where I truly felt like the author’s travelling companion. Mr. Elliot is certainly gifted. He weaves together the sights and sounds of Afghanistan together with history, both ancient and recent, and encounters with the fiercely independent people.
Afghanistan has long been a fascination for me having always been portrayed in the news as a violent locale, surrounded by countries equally as violent, constantly fighting some war or another; controversial and seemingly brutal. Mr. Elliot has allowed me to glimpse the true Afghanistan with what I consider an epic journey through a country with no less than 20 different ethnicities, numerous spoken languages and different cultures and customs.
The writer has been able to present Afghanistan in a light rarely seen in modern media, all in graceful prose, peppered with humour and honesty. What surprised me most was the seeming poetry of the Afghans. They are generous people, witty and humorous. And yet, they convey their pride to be Afghan with such beautiful simplicity that I found myself smiling at times when I come across conversations between the writer and a local. They are a fascinating mix of fierce and peaceful peoples, with ancient memories and a traditional outlook, and I applaud Mr. Elliot for meeting the Afghans none of us see in the news; a simple people with unpretentious hopes.
In the first part of the book, Mr. Elliot is involved with a band of Mujahideen fighters, enduring mortar shells, dodging bullets, treading minefields, and enjoying cups of tea and bread with them. It’s a particularly fascinating look at the lives of the fighters in their struggle to repel the Soviets across their rugged and beautiful land. Laughing in the face of danger, weeping at the loss of one of their own, yet willing to take up arms again and again should the need arise for them to do so, the story of the Mujahideen is one that needed to be told by people who experienced that war with them.
10 years later, he returns to Afghanistan, at the time the Russians had been booted out and the Taleban was rising. He makes long journeys with such wonderfully vivid Afghan characters, stopping in remote villages and spends time in the cities with other foreigners. Mr. Elliot managed to make me feel as if I was there by his side, standing his ground as bombs exploded not a few hundred meters from where he stood, sharing tea and food with fellow travelers, crowding around a fire, reveling in the generosity of strangers who invite him to stay in their homes as an honoured guest, being turned away from fellow foreigners; meeting the many faces of Afghanistan. The type of Islam practiced by regular Afghans was just like it was practiced in most places in the world; moderate. I admire how Mr. Elliot managed to convey the difference between what was political and oppressive as opposed to Islam as it is practiced, reflected in the true nature of the Afghans.
I feel privileged to have been allowed a glimpse of their resilience and love of life. If you read only one book on Afghanistan, make this the one. It is everything a travel book should be, a truly marvelous experience for the reader. ...more
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