Land Beyond the River: The Untold Story of Central Asia

Rating:
Summary: something for everyone
Review: I enjoyed this book a great deal. While it is best suited for those who are only beginning to learn about Central Asia, there's a lot of eyewitness information in here that experts would also find enlightening.
There were a few factual errors here and there which one would not expect from someone who lived in Central Asia for a number of years. Why, for example, is Abdulla Qahhor St. in Tashkent (formerly Zavodskaya Street) confused with Glinka Street? Furthermore, why is the predominantly Uzbek town of Shahrisabz spelled as Shahr-e Sabz? These details don't affect the overall message of the book but some explanatory notes might have been apropos.
While this book doesn't provide analyses of the root causes of the conflicts in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, or of the larger geopolitical issues, it is valuable for its eyewitness accounts of a number of key events of the past decade. It is an entertaining read and a page turner!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent set of interviews
Review: This comprehensive survey of the Mid East/Soviet areas of Central Asia offers the eyewitness perspective of BBC foreign correspondent Whitlock, who offers a history of the 206th century in following two central Asian families through social and political changes in their regions. What evolves is an excellent set of interviews which blends with unpublished letters and diaries from two families to present a personal account of Central Asia's modern politics and society.

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Summary: Land Beyond the River - Monica Whitlock
Review: This modern history of Central Asia is a primer for those who's knowledge of the region is scarce. BBC Central Asia correspondent Whitlock prepares the reader for the unfolding and unravelling of soviet central asia with the highlights of the regions 20th century history. Using the letters and verbal reminiscences of local people, from ordinary workers, to mullahs, to local and national leaders, she guides us effortlessly from the early parts of the 20th century through the collapse of the soviet state in 1989 and prepares the reader for the events which follow. Monica Whitlock uses archive material and local resources to conjer a descriptive narrative of the region which won't be bettered for years to come