Waiting for Winter to End: An Extraordinary Journey Through Soviet Central Asia - Hardcover

Geyer, Georgie Anne

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9780028811109: Waiting for Winter to End: An Extraordinary Journey Through Soviet Central Asia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0028811100 ISBN 13: 9780028811109

Publisher: Brassey's Inc, 1994

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Soviet Central Asia: an exotic region of harsh deserts and rugged mountains shut off by communism since 1917, mysterious lands that still evoke images of the ancient Silk Road caravans. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tatarstan, and Azerbaijan are primarily inhabited by Muslim peoples of whom we know very little.
Now that the long winter of communism has ended and these new republics slowly open to the West, syndicated columnist and television personality Georgie Anne Geyer has taken it upon herself to learn more. A modern-day Marco Polo, she shares her eye-opening personal experiences in Waiting for Winter to End. Join her as she sets out from Moscow for Kazan and Alma-Ata, Bishkek and Tashkent, Samarkand and Baku. Sit in on her interviews with nascent political leaders about the post-Soviet situation, in which possible dangers for the United States are revealed. Travel with a witty, observant, and knowledgeable companion to a resources-rich region that will become more and more important for the world. Georgie Anne Geyer's latest book is a lively, multifaceted account of her adventures in places to which few Westerners have gone before. Part travelogue, part history, part insider's political briefing - an entirely enjoyable and entertaining read.

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From Library Journal:

Central Asia has been, and continues to be, the fracture zone among the peoples of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It is a region of deep ethnic divisions, economic chaos, political confusion, and enormous environmental problems. Both of these titles strongly convey a sense of increased political instability resulting from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Geyer, an American journalist who spent a month in 1992 in Tatarstan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan under the sponsorship of the Radio Free Europe Fund, skillfully weaves a fabric of political reportage, historical background, and personal travel narrative. Thubron (Where Nights Are Longest, Grove/Atlantic, 1987) travels even farther, and rougher, and complains less about his discomforts in doing so. Where Geyer interviews high-ranking officials, Thubron mingles with a cross section of people. He gets near the borders of China and Afghanistan, places seldom visited by foreigners. Both authors have a long-time fascination with the region, speak some Russian, and sympathize with the plight of all groups. We are fortunate to be offered two excellent books on a part of the world that deserves more attention in these dangerous times of shifting political and economic balances. Libraries should acquire both books, if they can.
Harold M. Otness, Southern Oregon State Coll. Lib., Ashland
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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