I have travelled much of the area described in this book, including the two halves of what was once Turkestan, and on the Roof of the World which divides them. I collect old maps and books (including historical fiction titles) about the exploration of the region and the machinations of the Great Game. My book is the result of four years of research and writing.
I wrote
Mapping the Great Game: Explorers, Spies and Maps in 19th-Century Asia
This is one of the best popular history books describing the Great Game and is regularly referenced by later writers, including more serious works of history. Written in a truly engaging and exciting style by a former journalist turned accomplished author, it is also very thorough (562 pages) and covers the full historical spectrum as the game played itself out. It is a beautifully produced book with five hand-drawn maps and many illustrations and photographs.
THE GREATGAME: THE EPIC STORY BEHIND TODAY'S HEADLINES
Peter Hopkirk's spellbinding account of the great imperial struggle for supremacy in Central Asoa has been hailed as essential reading with that era's legacy playing itself out today.
The Great Game between Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia was fought across desolate terrain from the Caucasus to China, over the lonely passes of the Parmirs and Karakorams, in the blazing Kerman and Helmund deserts, and through the caravan towns of the old Silk Road-both powers scrambling to control access to the riches of India and the East. When play first began, the frontiers…
This is a shorter book by a well-established historian, who nevertheless writes in an accessible manner for the general reader. It is a good introductory text to the Great Game and contains a good map of the region and several illustrations and photographs.
This is a medium-length book by another well-established historian, who writes in a reasonably accessible manner. His is a more in-depth treatment of the Great Game, aided by Geoffrey Wheeler, an expert on Central Asia, who wrote the book’s Epilogue. It contains three maps and appendices (but no illustrations).
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907, Kipling immortalized the phrase ‘the Great Game’ in what was a masterpiece of writing and surely one of the best-loved English language novels of all time. His fictional portrayal of the Great Game forever touched it with a flavor of imperial romance.
Born Joseph Rudyard Kipling 30 December 1865 Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India Died 18 January 1936 (aged 70) Middlesex Hospital, London, England, United Kingdom Resting place Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, London Occupation Short story writer, novelist, poet, journalist Nationality British Genre Short story, novel, children's literature, poetry, travel literature, science fiction
This often-hilarious bestseller, which went on to spawn a dozen Flashman novels in total, is a thoroughly enjoyable read. It represents historical fiction at its best, covering the Great Game, the region (India and Central Asia), and the era (British Raj).
For George MacDonald Fraser the bully Flashman was easily the most interesting character in Tom Brown's Schooldays, and imaginative speculation as to what might have happened to him after his expulsion from Rugby School for drunkenness ended in 12 volumes of memoirs in which Sir Harry Paget Flashman - self-confessed scoundrel, liar, cheat, thief, coward -'and, oh yes, a toady' - romps his way through decades of nineteenth-century history in a swashbuckling and often hilarious series of military and amorous adventures. In Flashman the youthful hero, armed with a commission in the 11th Dragoons, is shipped to India, woos and…
The first need of an army in a strange land is a reliable map. So, when Great Britain and Imperial Russia faced off in Central Asia during the 19th century, it became a top priority to chart parts of the region previously left blank on maps. This book follows the explorers, spies and map-makers who braved the dangers of travel and terrain in order to create maps of Afghanistan, Turkestan and Tibet; thus enabling the Great Game to be played. The five informative maps and many images contained in the book help bring their true story to life.
