Why read Central Asia?

Book cover of Central Asia: A New History from the Imperial Conquests to the Present

Book description

A major history of Central Asia and how it has been shaped by modern world events

Central Asia is often seen as a remote and inaccessible land on the peripheries of modern history. Encompassing Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the Xinjiang province of China, it in fact stands at…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Central Asia as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Joanna Lillis

Author

A new look at the history of a region close to my heart: Central Asia. This book shows how Xinjiang fits into the region's history - an important perspective since post-Soviet Central Asia and Xinjiang - now in China - are so often treated separately. I learnt a lot and it changed my outlook on a region I've lived in for nearly a quarter of a century.

From Joanna's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Shoshana Keller

Author

Since the 19th-century control over Central Asia has been split between Russia and China. This makes it extremely difficult for historians to write a coherent narrative of the region as a whole, but Khalid has pulled it off. His book is aimed at general readers while drawing on sources in multiple languages, including Uzbek and Uyghur. Khalid considers comparative imperialism and modernization.

From Shoshana's list on The best books on modern Central Asia.