Product Description

Ancient travellers called the Caucasus the mountain of languages. Greeks, Persians, Romans, Goths, Arabs, Mongols and Turks have all passed through the region; poets and artists have been inspired by its rugged beauty and yet its history is a tragic one - for centuries it has been ravaged by virtually continuous war. Every 50 years, it seems, Russia attempts to take control of this hugely strategic part of the world - sandwiched as it is between Iran, Turkey and Russia and crossed by some of the most valuable oil pipelines in the world. The latest conflict to sweep across the area began when Vladimir Putin invaded Chechnya in 1999. Thousands of Russian soldiers and thousands more Chechens - both rebels and civilians - died and Chechnya's towns and cities were bombed beyond recognition. Sebastian Smith travelled to Chechnya during this period. A mixture of travelogue, history and war journalism, 'Allah's Mountains' tells the story of the conflict between this nation of mountain tribes and the might of the Russian army.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #289264 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 328 pages

Review
'A moving example of how history can be written. Smith's account of the historical background to the conflict reads like a novel, but better, because it also has the intimacy and immediacy of an eyewitness account. He has given us a memorable, well-researched account of a peculiarly horrible war.' --Literary Review

'This is a riveting book, written with almost seemless elegance.' --International Affairs

About the Author
Sebastian Smith is a prize winning author and journalist. He has been a correspondent in Washington, Moscow and London for the English-language service of Agence France-Presse and is currently living and working in Georgia, Russia.

Customer Reviews

An outstanding insight into the war-torn Caucasus region
This book provides an extensive and detailed set of information on not only the Chechen war but also the people, politics, conflicts and society of the rest of the Caucasus. Sebastian Smith has obviously researched the material to a high standard and i recommend it above any other Chechnya or Caucasus titles i've read so far.

outstanding
phenomenal experience, heartfelt unbiase yet honest viewpoint of the plight of the chechens, covering the first chechen war 1994-1996. unfortunately history shows greater abuses were to come. sebastian smith documents the history behind the animosity of the russians to the chechens (300 plus years worth)in great detail and then documents his own experiences within the furnace of war and the political machinations behind the ongoing conflict. outstanding book, well written and highly recommended.

BRILLIANT
Anyone wanting to know about this region should not look further than this book; simply put, it is an excellent introduction to understanding this region and its people.

And once again, it shows that numerical strength does not naturally equate to success as now the Russians have been dealt two very harsh blows by the Afghans and now the Chechnyans.

The first half of the book is quite a slow read as the author paints a picture of what is a patchwork of cultures packed into a very small area. However, half through the book and onwards, he start to describe the actual war there and the book becomes more easy to read.

My only criticism is the title of the book; it is too sensational implying a "crusade" type war...and this is very much incorrect!

I highly recommend this book!