Book reviews

Abstract

This article is a case study of Kaliningrad's political elite's attempts to make Kaliningrad the ‘Baltic Republic within the Russian Federation’, and the fact that this regional programme was perceived by observers from Moscow and neighbours as leading to the creation of the ‘Fourth Baltic Republic’. The geopolitical and historical peculiarities of Kaliningrad, and their impact on Kaliningrad's regional programme, are also discussed. The article will conclude by arguing that although the Baltic Republic slogan is fading, Kaliningrad's ambitions and desire to remain an ‘actor’ are not.     

Book reviews

Canache, Damarys and Kulisheck, Michael (eds.) (1998), Reinventing Legitimacy: Democracy and Political Change in Venezuela. Mauceri, Philip (1998), State under Siege: Development and Policy Making in Peru. Ruth Berins Collier (1999), Paths Toward Democracy: The Working Class and Elites in Western Europe and Soth America. Sommer, Doris (ed.) (1999), The Places of History: Regionalism Revisited in Latin America. Rodr1Hguez‐Luis, Julio (ed.) (1999), Re‐Reading JoseHMartiH: One Hundred Years Later. Taylor, William B. (1996), Magistrates of the Sacred: Priests and Parishioners in Eighteenth‐Century Mexico. Purnell, Jennie. (1999), Popular Movements and State Formation in Revolutionary Mexico: The Agraristas and Cristeros of Michoacan. Evans, Sterling (1999), The Green Republic: A Conservation History of Costa Rica. Arthur, Charles and Dash, Michael (eds.) (1999), A Haiti Anthology: Libete. Sheahan, John (1999), Searching for a Better Society: The Peruvian Economy from 1950. Lesser, Je4rey (1999), Negotiating National Identity: Immigrants, Minorities, and the Struggle for Ethnicity in Brazil. Hanchard, Michael (ed.) (1999), Racial Politics in Contemporary Brazil. Brooke, Larson (1998), Cochabamba, 1550–1900: Colonialism and Agrarian Transformation in Bolivia. Gilderhus, Mark T. (2000), The Second Century: U.S.+Latin American Relations Since 1889. Palermo, Vicente and Novaro, Marcos (1996), Pol1Htica y poder en el gobierno de Menem. Tedesco, Laura (1999), Democracy in Argentina: Hope and Disillusion. Owensby, Brian P. (1999), Intimate Ironies: Modernity and The Making of Middle‐Class Lives in Brazil. Field, Les W. (1999), The Grimace of Macho Raton Artisans, Identity and Nation in Late 20th Century Western Nicaragua. Pichon, Francisco, Uquillas, Jorje and Frechione, John (eds.) (1999), Traditional and Modern Natural Resource Management in Latin America. Wilson, Fiona (ed.) (1999), Violencia y Espacio Social: Estudios Sobre Conflicto y Recuperacion. Koonings, Kees and Kruijt, Dirk (eds.) (1999), Societies of Fear. The Legacy of Civil War, Violence and Terror in Latin America.     

Book reviews

Gutiérrez, Natividad (2000), Nationalist Myths and Ethnic Identities. Indigenous Intellectuals and the Mexican State .
Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld (1999), The Native Leisure Class: Consumption and Cultural Creativity in the Andes .
Buxton, Julia and Phillips, Nicola (eds.) (1999), Developments in Latin American political economy - States, Markets and Actors .
Mignolo, Walter D (2000), Local Histories/Global Designs. Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking .
José Sánchez-H. (1999), The Art and Politics of Bolivian Cinema .
Rosaleen Howard-Malverde (ed.) (1997), Creating Context in Andean Cultures. Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics .
Clastres, Pierre (1998), Chronicle of the Guayaki Indians .
Rebhun, L.A. (1999), The Heart is Unknown Country: Love in the Changing Economy of Northeast Brazil .
Molloy, S. and Irwin, Robert McKee (eds.) (1998), Hispanisms and Homo-sexualities .     

Book reviews

General

Asia's Population Problems. With a discussion of Populations and Immigration in Australia. Edited by S. Chandrasekhar. London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. 311. Map. Index. 45s.

Central Asia

Islam in the Soviet Union. By Alexandra Bcnningsen and Chantal Lemercier‐Quelquejay. London, Pall Mall Press in association with the Central Asian Research Centre, 1967. Pp. xiii + 272. Maps. Bibliog. Indexes. 50s.

A Sino‐Soviet Cultural Frontier. The Hi Kazakh Autonomous Chou. By George Moseley. Harvard University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. viii + 163. Index. 24s.

Afghanistan. By John C. Griffiths. London, Pall Mall Press, 1967. Pp. viii + 179. Maps. Index. 30s.

Afghanistan. By W. K. Fraser‐Tytler. Third edition, revised by M. C. Gillett. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xvi + 362. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 45s.

The Northern Tier: Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. By Rouhollah K. Ramazani. Van Nostrand Inc., London and New York, 1966. Pp. 142. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 12s.

South Asia

Cabinet Government in India. By R. J. Venkateswaran. London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. 200. Bibliog. Index. 35s.

Experiment with Freedom. India and Pakistan, 1947. By Hugh Tinker. Published for Chatham House by Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. x + 165. 15s.

The Making of Pakistan. A Study in Nationalism. By K. K. Aziz. London, Chatto and Windus, 1967. Pp. 228. Bibliog. Index. 35s.

Pakistan: Its Ideology and Foreign Policy. By Arif Hussain. London, Frank Cass, 1966. Pp. 186. Bibliog. Index. 35s.

Land Tenure in Village Ceylon. A Sociological and Historical Study. By G. Obeyesekere. London, Cambridge University Press, 1967. Pp. xi + 319. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 70s.

South West Asia

The Middle East Crisis: A Personal Interpretation. By Glubb Pasha. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1967. Pp. 48. Maps. 3s. 6d.

The Communist Movement in Iran. By Sepehr Zabih. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. London: Cambridge University Press, 1966. Pp. viii + 279. Bibliog. Index. $6.00. 48s.

South East Asia

Vietnam. A Diplomatic Tragedy. Origins of U.S. Involvement. By Victor Bator. London, Faber and Faber, 1967. Pp. 253. Map. Index. 42s.

Victor Charlie. The Face of War in Vietnam. By Kuno Knoebl. Translated from the German by Abe Farbstein. London, Pall Mall Press, 1967. Pp. xiv + 304. 42s.

A Concise History of Southeast Asia. By Nicholas Tarling. London, Pall Mall Press, 1967. Pp. xvix + 334. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 52s. 6d.

Malaysia and its Neighbours. By J. M. Gullick. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967. Pp. xiii + 194. Map. Bibliog. Index. Hard cover, 25s. Paperback, 12s. 6d.

Ideology in Indonesia. Sukarno's Indonesian Revolution. By Donald E. Weather‐bee. Yale University. South East Asian Studies. Monograph Series No. 8, 1966. Pp. x + 125. (No price.)

International Aid to Thailand. The New Colonialism. By Ronald C. Nairn. London, Yale University Press, 1966. Pp. vi + 228. Bibliog. Index. 48s.

The Rice Bowl of Asia. By David M. Davies. London, Robert Hale, 1967. Pp. 176. 25s.

Far East

Stages of Industrial Development in Asia. By Sung Jae Koh. University of Pennsylvania Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1966. Pp. 461. Index 96s.

Britain and the Rise of Communist China. A Study of British Attitudes 1945–54. By Brian Porter. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 195. Bibliog. Index. 35s.

Political Participation in Communist China. By James R. Townsend. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1967. Pp. 233. Index. 44s.

The Function of “China” in Marx, Lenin and Mao. By Donald M. Lowe. University of California Press, 1967. Pp. xiv + 200. Bibliog. Index. 40s.

The Party and the National Question in China. Edited and translated by George Moseley. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1966. Pp. ix + 186. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 60s.

The Role of the Chinese Army. By John Gittings. London, Oxford University Press for Chatham House, 1967. Pp. xix + 331. Bibliog. Index. 50s.

China Looks at the World. Reflections for a dialogue: eight letters to Tang‐lin. By François Geoffrey‐Dechaume. Translated from the French by Jean Stewart. Foreword by Philip Noel‐Baker, M.P.; Introduction by Professor Paul Mus. London, Faber, 1967. Pp. 327. Index. 36s.

The Chinese Chameleon. An Analysis of European Conceptions of Chinese Civilization. By Raymond Dawson. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 235. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

Biography and Autobiography

Gandhi's Emissary. By Sudhir Ghosh. London, The Cresset Press, 1967. Pp. 351. Illus. Index. 42s.

Rudyard Kipling. Realist and Fabulist. By Bonamy Dobrée. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. x + 244. Index. 30s.

Early English Travellers in India. By Ram Chandra Prasad. Delhi, Sunderlal Jain, 1965. Pp. xxii + 392. Map. Illus. Bibliog. Index. Rs.25.

Warlord: Yen Hsi‐shan in Shansi Province, 1911–1949. By Donald G. Gillin. Princeton University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xiv + 334. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 72s.

Ts'ao Yin and the K'ang‐hsi Emperor: Bondservant and Master. By Jonathan D. Spence. Yale University Press, 1967. Pp. xiv 4. 329. Map. Bibliog. Index. 56s.

Culture and civilization

Modern Arabic Short Stories. Selected and translated by Denys Johnson‐Davies, with an Introduction by Professor A. J. Arberry. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 194. 25s.

The Tree Climber. A Play. By Tewfik al Hakim. Translated from the Arabic by Denys Johnson‐Davies. London, Oxford University Press, 1966. Pp. 87. 6s. 6d.

Javid‐Nama. By Sir Muhammad Iqbal. Translated from the Persian with introduction and notes by A. J. Arberry. London, Allen and Unwin, 1966. Pp. 151. Bibliog. Index. 27s.

History

North‐West Frontier. People and Events 1839–1947. By Arthur Swinson. London, Hutchinson, 1967. Pp. 354. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 45s.

The West in Asia 1850–1914. By Michael Edwardes. London, Batsford, 1967. Pp. 216. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

Indochina. By Bernard Philippe Groslier, trans. James Hogarth. London, Frederick Muller, 1966. Pp. 283. Endpaper maps. 35 colour plates; 110 monochrome plates. Bibliog. Index. 70s.

Malaysia: Selected Historical Readings. Compiled by John Bastin and Robin W. W. Winks. Kuala Lumpur; London, Oxford University Press, 1966. Pp. xvi + 484. Maps. Bibliog. Index. £4 10s.

Henri Mouhot's Diary. Edited and abridged by Christopher Pym. Kuala Lumpur; London, Oxford University Press, 1960. Pp. xxii + 160. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 37s. 6d.

Stories by Sir Hugh Clifford. Selected and introduced by William R. Roff. Kuala Lumpur; London, Oford University Press, 1966. Pp. xviii + 225. 42s.

Trente Siècles d'Histoire de Chine. By Roger Lévy. Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1967. Pp. 309. Maps. F.10.

Strangers at the Gate. Social Disorders in South China, 1839–1861. By Frederic Wakeman Jr. University of California Press; London, Cambridge University Press, 1967. Pp. 276. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 48s.

Feudal Control in Tokugawa Japan. By Toshio G. Tsukahira. Harvard University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 228. Bibliog. Index. Paperback, 28s.

Foundations of Constitutional Government in Modern Japan, 1868–1900. By George Akita. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. viii + 292. Bibliog. Index. 68s.

Political thought in early Meiji Japan, 1868–1889. By Joseph S. J. Pittau. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. vi + 250. Bibliog. Index. 56s.

Religion and philosophy

Islamic Reform. The Political and Legal Theories of Muhammad ‘Abduh and Rashid Rida. By Malcolm H. Kerr. University of California Press; London, Cambridge University Press, 1967. Pp. vii + 249. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

Travel

Tibetan Venture. By C. G. Lewis. London, Robert Hale, 1967. Pp. 191. Illus. 21s.

Tribes and Tribulations. By Peter Somerville‐Large. London, Robert Hale, 1967. Pp. 188. Map. Illus. 25s.

Love and Hate in China. By Hans Koningsberger. London, Jonathan Cape, 1967. Pp. 150. 21s.     

Book reviews

Hauptstadtsuche. Hauptstadtfunktionen im Interessenkonflikt zwischen Bonn und Berlin, Frankfurt a. M. By Klaus von Beyme. (Edition Suhrkamp 1709, Neue Folge 709) Suhrkamp Verlag, 1991.

Enlargement without Accession: The EC's Response to German Unification. RIIA Discussion Paper no. 36. By David Spence. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1991. £5.00 pb.

A History of Germany 1815–1990. Fourth Edition. By William Carr. London: Edward Arnold, 1991. £12.95 pb.

The End of the East German Economy. By Philip J. Bryson and Manfred Melzer. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, 1991. £40.00 hb.

Federal Republic of Germany and EC Membership Evaluated. Edited by Carlchristoph Schweitzer and Detlev Karsten. London: Pinter, 1990. £30.00 hb.

Postmodern Politics in Germany: The Politics of Resentment. By Hans‐Georg Betz. Macmillan: Basingstoke and London, 1991. £35.00 hb.

Germany in the Twentieth Century. By David Childs. London: Batsford, 1991. £25.00 hb.

Upheaval against the Plan: Eastern Europe on the Eve of the Storm. Edited by Peter R. Weilemann, Georg Brunner and Rudolf L. Tökes. Oxford: Berg, 1991. £27.50 hb.

Germany and European Integration. The Common Agricultural Policy: an Area of Conflict. By Gisela Hendriks. Oxford: Berg, 1991. £25.00 hb.

Britain's Policy for West German Rearmament 1950–1955. Cambridge Studies in International Relations 13. By Saki Dockrill. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. £27.50 hb.     

Book reviews

Pride of Small Nations: The Caucasus and Post‐Soviet Disorder Suzanne Goldenberg London: Zed Books, 1994, xv, 233 pp, 1 map

The North Caucasus: Minorities at a Crossroads Helen Krag and Lars Funch Report of The Minority Rights Group International, 94/5, 45 pp (incl. map), 1994, £4.95

The Legacy of History in Russia and the New States of Eurasia. The International Politics of Eurasia Vol 1 Series editors, S. Frederick Starr (editor), Bruce Parrott and Karen Dawisha Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1994, xiii, 328 pp, $49.95 hb, $19.95 pb

Central Asia Reader: The Rediscovery of History H. B. Paksoy (editor) Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1994, ix + 206 pp $60 hb, $21.95 pb

National Identity and Ethnicity in Russia and the New States of Eurasia. The International Politics of Eurasia Vol 2 Roman Szporluk (editor) Series editors, Bruce Parrott and Karen Dawisha Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1994, xiii, 328 pp, $49.95 hb, $19.95 pb

Muslim Communities Reemerge: Historical Perspectives on Nationality, Politics, and Opposition in the Former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia Andreas Kappeler, Gerhard Simon and Georg Brunner, editors of the German edition: Edward Allworth, editor English edition Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1994, Caroline Sawyer, trans., xiv, 365 pp, $54.95 hb, $24.95 pb

The Making of Iran's Islamic Revolution Mohsen M. Milani Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, 268 pp

Torture and Modernity: Self, Society, and State in Modern Iran Darious M. Rejali Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, 289 pp

China's Minorities: Integration and Modernization in the Twentieth Century Colin Mackerras Hong Kong and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994, viii, 341 pp, $79.00

High Tartary Owen Lattimore New York, Tokyo, London: Kodansha International, 386 pp, illus, £11.99

Turkestan Reunion Eleanor Holgate Lattimore New York, Tokyo, London: Kodansha International, 323 pp, illus, £10.99

Islamic Urban Studies: Historical Review and Perspectives Masashi Haneda and Toru Miura (editors) London: Kegan Paul International, 1995, 365 pp, index, biblio, £55     

Book reviews

The Nationalities Question in the Post‐Soviet States Graham Smith (editor) New York and London: Longman Group, 1996, xiv + 524 pp. $21.00 pb (second edition)

Regional Power Rivalries in the New Eurasia: Russia, Turkey and Iran Alvin Z. Rubinstein and Oles M. Smolansky (editors) New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 1995, xii 4‐ 290 pp, pb

Kochevaia tsivilizatsiia kazakhov: osnovy zhiznedeiatel'nosti nomadnogo obshchestva (Nomad civilisation of the Kazaks: bases of the life activity of a nomad society) Nurbulat Masanov Almaty: Sotsivest. 1995

Atlas Geopolitique Informatique du Caucase Nicolas Beroutchachvili and Jean Radvanyi (editors) Paris: Observatoire des Etats Post‐Sovietiques (INALCO) 1996

Aurel Stein. Pioneer of the Silk Road Annabel Walker London: John Murray, 1995, 393 pp, illus., £25

Empire's Edge. Travels in South‐Eastern Europe, Turkey and Central Asia Scott Malcomson London: Faber and Faber, 256 pp, £8.99, pb

Frontiers of Heaven. A Journey Beyond the Great Wall Stanley Stewart London: John Murray, 1995, 223 pp, illus, £16.99

Art and Nationalism in Colonial India 1850–1922, Occidental Orientations Partha Mitter Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994, 475 pp, illus, index, £60     

Book reviews

Iran and the Former Soviet South, Edmund Herzig, London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, Former Soviet South Project, 1995, ix, 60 pp, £9.50

The Party of Unbelief: The Religious Policy of the Bolshevik Party 1917–1929, Arto Luukkanen, Helsinki: Societas Historica Finlandiae, Studia Historica 48, 1994, 274 pp

Russians Beyond Russia. The Politics of National Identity, Neil Melvin, London: Pinter/Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1995, 170 pp

The Russian Policy Debate on Central Asia, Irina Zviagelskaia, London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1995, 41 pp

From the Gulf to Central Asia. Players in the New Great Game, Anoushiravan Ehteshami (editor), Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1994, 242 pp, £14.95

Empires in Conflict: Armenia and the Great Powers 1895–1920, Manoug J. Somakian, London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 1995, 276 pp, £39.50

Turkey and the New States of the Caucasus and Central Asia, Buent Gokay and Richard Langhorne, London: HMSO, 1996, 35 pp, £5

Central Asia, A Lonely Planet travel survival kit, John King, John Noble and Andrew Humphreys, London and Hawthorn, Australia: Lonely Planet, 1996, 539 pp, £11.99

Ornament and Amulet. Rings of the Islamic Lands, Marian Wenzel, London: the Nour Foundation in association with Azimuth Editions and Oxford University Press, 1993, 304 pp, illus., biblio., index, £135     

Book reviews

Roger Pethybridge, One Step Backwards, Two Steps Forward: Soviet Society and Politics under the New Economic Policy, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990, xi, 453pp., $80.00.

Masami Arasi, Turkish Nationalism in the Young Turk Era. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1992, 168pp., index, $45.

Alastair Lamb, Kashmir: a Disputed Legacy 1846–1990. Hertingfordbury, Herts: Roxford Books, 1991, xiv + 368pp., £25 hardback, £12.50 paperback.

Peter Hopkirk (ed.), Reginald Teague‐Jones, The Spy who Disappeared. Diary of a Secret Mission to Russian Central Asia in 1918. London: Gollancz, 1991, £5.99 paperback.

Suroosh Irfani and Fazal‐ur‐Rahman (eds), Afghanistan: Looking to the Future. Islamabad, Pakistan: Institute of Strategic Studies, F‐5/2, 158 pp., $6 paperback.     

Book reviews

Waqf in Central Asia: Four hundred years in the history of a Muslim Shrine, 1480–1889 R. D. McChesney Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991, 319 pp

Des Ethnies aux Nations en Asie Centrale Olivier Roy (editor) Aix‐en‐Provence, France: Editions Edisud, 1992, 162 pp, paperback

En Asie Centrale Sovietique. Ethnies, Nations, Etats Olivier Roy (editor) Paris, France: Cahiers du Monde, Russe et Sovietique, and Editions de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, 1991, 166 pp, paperback

Asie Centrale. Aux confins des Empires, reveil et tumulte Catherine Poujol (editor) Paris: Editions Autrement, Serie Monde 1992, 253 pp, FF98, paperback

Le Cinema d'Asie Centrale Sovietique Jean Radvanyi (editor) Paris: Editions du Centre Pompidou, 1991, 19 pp, FF270

Red Odyssey, a Journey through the Soviet Republics Marat Akchurin London: Secker & Warburg, 1992, 431 pp, £17.99 hardback

Medieval Persia, 1040–1797 David Morgan London: Longman, 1992, 197 pp, index, bibliographical survey, £10.90, paperback

Nomad. A Year in the Life of a Qashqa'i Tribesman in Iran Lois Beck, University of California Press and I. B. Tauris, London, 1991, 489 pp, illustrated, bibliography, index, £16.95, paperback

Untying the Afghan Knot. Negotiating Soviet Withdrawal Riaz M. Khan Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1992, 402 pp, notes, index, £45.00.

Afghanistan Schuyler Jones (compiler) Oxford, Clio Press: 1992, 281 pp, £43.95

Agha, Shaikh and State. The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan Martin Van Bruinessen London: Zed Books, 1992, 373 pp, bibliography, index £19.95/US$35, paperback     

Book reviews

Alexandre Bennigsen and S. Enders Wimbush, Muslims of the Soviet Empire: a Guide. Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1986, xviii + 294 pp., $24.95, Foreword by Hans Bräker.

Viktor Kozlov, The People of the Soviet Union. Bloomington, Indiana and London: Indiana University Press and Hutchinson, 1988, xi + 251 pp., $45 (Pauline M. Tiffen, Trans.; Michael Rywkin, Intro.).     

Book reviews

Central Asia and the Caucasus After the Soviet Union: domestic and international dynamics Mohiaddin Mesbahi (Ed.) Gainsville, Florida: University Press of Florida, 1994, x, 353 pp, $49.95 cloth, $24.95 paper

Central Asia in Historical Perspective Beatrice F. Manz (Ed.) Boulder, Colorado and Oxford, UK: Westview Press, 1994, xii, 254 pp, $54.95/£40.95

The New Central Asia and its Neighbours Peter Ferdinand (Ed.) The Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, Pinter Publishers, 1994, 120 pp, £9.99, paper

Central Asia. 130 Years of Russian Dominance, a Historical Overview Edward Allworth (editor) Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, London: Academic & University Publishers Group, 1994, 647 pp, illus., £25.50/£65

Commonwealth or Empire? Russia, Central Asia, and the Transcaucasus William E. Odom and Robert Dujarric Indianapolis, Indiana: Hudson Institute, 1995, 290 pp, $12.95 paperback

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Russia and the former Soviet Union Archie Brown, Michael Kaser and Gerald Smith (editors) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994, 604 pp, illus, index, £40

Kyrghyzes and Their Ancestors: untraditional overview on the history and modernity T. Koychuev, V. Mokrynin and V. Ploskih Kyrghyzy i ih predki: Netraditsionnyi vzglaid na istoriu i sovremennost.Bishkek: Kyrghyzskaia Ensiklopedia, 1994, 128 pp, ISBN 5–89750–058–6

Independent Kyrghyzstan: Third Approach T. Koychuev & A. Brudnyi Nezavisimyi Kyrghyzstan: Tretii put. Bishkek: Ilim, 1993. 143 pp

Russians in the Former Soviet Republics Paul Kolstoe London: Hurst & Company, 1995, 272 pp, biblio, index, £37 hardback

The Revenge of the Past. Nationalism, Revolution and the Collapse of the Soviet Union Ronald Grigor Suny Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press/Cambridge University Press, 1993, 200 pp, £10.95 paper

Black Sea Neal Ascherson London: Jonathan Cape, 1995, 306 pp, chronology, index, £17.99

Turkey in Post‐Soviet Central Asia Gareth Winrow London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1995, 53 pp, £9.50

The Rise of the Indo‐Afghan Empire, c. 1710–1780 Jos J. L. Gommans Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994, 219 pp, appendices, index, biblio, $65.75

Revolutionary Horizons. Regional Policy in Post‐Khomeini Iran John Calabrese Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK: Macmillan Press, 1994, 221 pp, biblio, index, £40

The Cambridge History of China/Volume 6, Alien regimes and border states, 907–1368 Dennis Twitchett (Ed.) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994, xxix + 864 pp, £80

China Deconstructs. Politics, Trade and Regionalism David S. G. Goodman and Gerald Segal (Eds) London: Routledge, 364 pp, 1994, £40/£12.99 paperback     

Book reviews

ABSTRACT

This essay looks at the figure of echolalia, the pathological repetition of someone else’s speech, to examine how Wicomb’s novel conceives of the formation of identity as an activity of speech in which the speaker is external to her own discourse. Speakers in this novel frequently disavow the agency and originality of their own voices as a way of distancing themselves from recent history. This disavowal of agency and culpability (“I didn’t vote for them,” etc.) paradoxically works to establish a subjective framework within which they can conceive of themselves as agentic individuals capable of social mobility through hard work. It ultimately argues that Wicomb’s novel offers an implicit rebuke to the politics of “the between” championed by many postcolonial theorists such as Homi Bhabha. Moreover, Wicomb’s novel offers a formal response to a problem of subjectivity that has been too cleanly swept into the aesthetics of liminality and hybridity.     

Book reviews

Russland als Vielvolkerreich. Entstehung, Geschichte, Zerfall. Andreas Kappeler. München, Germany: C. H. Beck, 1992, 395 pp, bibliography, index.

A Traveller's Companion to Central Asia. Kathleen Hopkirk. London: John Murray, 1993, 292 pp, £16.

Samarkand and Bukhara. John Lawton. Photographs by Francesco Venturi. London: Tauris Parke Books, 1992, 128 pp, £16.95. Mirror of the Orient. Roland and Sabrina Michaud. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992, 96 pp, £12.95, paperback.

The Continuing Conflict in Kashmir. Regional Conflict in Jeopardy. Iftikhar H. Malik. London: Research Institute for the Study of Conflict and Terrorism, 1993, 25 pp, £10.     

Book reviews

Transcaucasian Boundaries John F. Wright, Suzanne Goldenberg and Richard Schofield (editors) London: UCL Press, 1996, 248pp, £40 and £14.95

The Russian Policy Debate on Central Asia Irina Zviagelskaia London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1995, X, 41 pp, £12.50

CIS Integration Trends: Russia and the Former Soviet South Mark Webber London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1997, IX, 72 pp, £12.50 Both distributed by Plimbridge Distributors Ltd, Estover Road, Plymouth. Devon PL6 7PZ, and in North America by the Brookings Institutional Press, Washington DC.

Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition Tadeusz Swietochowski New York: Columbia University Press, 1995, xvi, 290 pp, $34.95

The Soviet Socialist Republic of Iran, 1920–1921 Cosroe Chaqueri Pittsburgh, Pa: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995, xvii, 649 pp, $75.00

Bibliography of Islamic Central Asia Yuri Bregel (editor and compiler) Bloomington, Indiana: Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, Indiana University, 1995, in three volumes: Pt. I, LXXTV+773 pp; Pt. II, XLIII+774–1512 pp; Pt. III, XXXII+1513–2276 pp, $299

Mohieddin Alempour. A Tajik Visionary Baqer Moin (editor) London: BBC Persian Service, Bush House, 1997, illus, 140 pp, £20

Tatar Costume M. Zavyalova Kazan: Zaman Publishers Fund Turan, 1996, illus, 252 pp, $50     

Book reviews

Carey Schofield, Inside the Soviet Army. London: Headline Book Publishing, 240 pp., £19.95 hardback.

Karlernst Ziem, Afghanistan: Voraussetzungen und Chancen für eine Nichtmilitarische Losung des Konflikts (Perspectives and Chances for a Non‐military Resolution of the Conflict). Ebenhausen, Germany: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, 105 pp.