The Great Game

The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia (1990) by Peter Hopkirk is an entertaining and fascinating look at the quest for empire in Central Asia between Great Britain and Russia at the end of the 19th century. I was inspired to read this book since I was recently visiting Kirghistan and Kazakhstan. It was interesting to learn about how important Afghanistan played such a major role as the entryway to India from Central Asia. And India seemed to be the prize of both countries. Crisis is averted seemingly because of the Russo-Japanese War at the end of the century. Hopkirk wrote very readable chapters despite the numerous individuals that played a role in the great game. Furthermore, many of the countries discussed have new names and perhaps new borders-so just figuring out where and what Hopkirk was talking about was something of a challenge. Nonetheless, it was a compelling and fascinating look at specific place and time that had many interesting stories to be told.