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1 Peter Hopkirk著：《大博弈：帝国在中亚的争霸》（The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia） This is one of the seminal accounts of the geopolitics that led to the original battles for colonial control of Central Asia in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. The Great Game was the name for this colonial struggle which sought to control 2000 miles of inhabited land between the Russian Empire and British India, and is part of why Afghanistan has the Wakhan Corridor snaking out to China – it was originally meant as a buffer zone so that the two empires would not have a direct land border. This history helps you understand the forces that shaped the region, and many of the forces that still influence it today. 2 Dilip Hero著：《中亚内部：乌兹别克斯坦、土库曼斯坦、哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、塔吉克斯坦、土耳其和伊朗的政治文化史》（Inside Central Asia: A Political and Cultural History of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Iran） This is an excellent survey book provides a nuanced dip into the histories of every country in the region, from internal politics of the Soviet Era to Turkey’s modernization and the Iranian Revolution. This is an absolute must-read to understand the forces that have shaped this region and the diverse paths its countries have followed since 1990. 3 Jeff Sahadeo and Russell Zanca著：《中亚的日常生活：过去和现在》（Everyday Life in Central Asia: Past and Present） This is a collection of essays about all kinds of different peoples and places across the region. Rather than some sweeping generic geopolitical history, though, this brings you down to the street level and the voices of locals. It has its issues but it’s definitely a worthwhile read. 4 Colin Thubron著：《投影丝路》（Shadow of the Silk Road） This is a travelogue of the author’s journey from China along the ancient Silk Road route, encountering modern peoples along the trading route that has been used for millennia. Definitely a different style of writing, but one that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading. 5 Colin Thubron著：《失去的亚洲中心》（The Lost Heart of Asia） A land of enormous proportions, countless secrets, and incredible history, Central Asia was the heart of the great Mongol empire of Tamerlane and scene of Stalin's cruelest deportations. A remote and fascinating region in a constant state of transition—never more so than since the collapse of the Soviet Union—it encompasses terrain as diverse as the Kazakh steppes, the Karakum desert, and the Pamir mountains. In The Lost Heart of Asia, acclaimed, bestselling travel writer Colin Thubron carries readers on an extraordinary journey through this little understood, rarely visited, yet increasingly important corner of the world. 6 Philip Shishkin，《不安的河谷》（Restless Valley） This is a stunner. Reading like a thriller novel, but completely true, Shishkin takes you right into the middle of the events he has witnessed first-hand in and around the Fergana Valley and Kyrgyzstan, including some of the only international accounts of some of these events that not even locals will discuss today. It’s definitely one of the most engrossing books about the region. 7 Morgan Y·Liu著：《所罗门王座之下：乌兹别克人重建奥什的愿景》 （Under Solomon's Throne: Uzbek Visions of Renewal in Osh） Under Solomon’s Throne provides a rare ground-level analysis of post-Soviet Central Asia’s social and political paradoxes by focusing on an urban ethnic community: the Uzbeks in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, who have maintained visions of societal renewal throughout economic upheaval, political discrimination, and massive violence. 8 Chingiz Aitmatov著：《查米莉亚》（Jamilia） Chingiz Aitmatov is one of the most celebrated authors of the entire Soviet Union. Aitmatov is Kyrgyz, but he wrote his books while living in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and other areas in several different languages, so his books carry an interesting universality with them through the region. This book, Jamilia, is widely considered one of his finest works, and tells the story of love on a Soviet collective farm in the days of the Kirghiz SSR. It’s a great first step into the literature of the region. 9 Christopher Alexander著：《骑毯去希瓦》（A Carpet Ride To Khiva） I really enjoyed reading this book while I explored Khiva back in September, and found it a fascinating look inside the community that lives there. It is the true account of a man who went to work in Khiva, and together with locals created a carpet and embroidery workshop that still works today and supports local women. 10 Christopher Robbins著：《来自哈萨克斯坦的苹果：消失的土地》（Apples Are from Kazakhstan: The Land that Disappeared）
'A captivating read notable for off-the-cuff candor and measured, eloquent prose.'—Kirkus Reviews, starred review A funny and revealing travelogue of Kazakhstan, a country rich with wild tulips, oil, nomads who hunt with golden eagles, and a disappearing landlocked sea. Closed to foreigners under Tsar and Soviet rule, Kazakhstan has remained largely hidden from the world, a remarkable feat for a country the size of Western Europe. Few would guess that Kazakhstan—a blank in Westerners' collective geography—turns out to be diverse, tolerant, and surprisingly modern, the country that gave the world apples, trousers, and even, perhaps, King Arthur. Christopher Robbins enjoyed unprecedented access to the Kazakh president while crafting this travelogue, and he relates a story by turns hilarious and grim. He finds Eminem-worship by a shrinking Aral Sea, hears the Kazakh John Lennon play in a dusty desert town, joins nomads hunting eagles, eats boiled sheep's head (a delicacy), and explores some of the most beautiful, unspoiled places on earth. Observant and culturally attuned, Robbins is a master stylist in the tradition of travel writing as literature, a companion to V. S. Naipaul and Paul Therou. 图文 图文来源：中亚及高加索发展报告 |
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