[.ca] Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia (ISBN 0813513049)

Well worth reading even after six decades:
I first read this book twelve years ago and have been fascinated with the history of the Central Asian steppes ever since. Rene Grousset was one of those rare writers who could infect the reader with the same enthusiasm and interest that he himself possessed. Naomi Walford did a fantastic job translating from the original French text and retaining the spirit of the work. The 600+ pages cover in chronological order the history of steppe tribes from the Scythians to the Dzungar realm in the late 18th century. Throughout the work Grousset conveys to the reader a detailed picture of the various Turkic, Mongol, and Manchu tribes (and to a lesser extent Indo-Eurpoean tribes), and how political and military control of the steppe regions shifted between these tribes over the centuries. There is also a great deal of coverage on the more well-known known conquerors (Genghis and Kublai Khan, Tamerlane) and their empires. The book contains a great number of quotes from passages recorded by many civilizations throughout history which had come in contact with these Central Asian peoples, and these coupled with Grousset's writing style portray the events and personalities of that distant age in a more intimate light. The fact that Indo-Europeans had co-existed in close proximity to Turkic-Mongol tribes and Chinese peoples long before recorded history was a fascinating revelation to me. In addition to documenting the geographic parameters of the more significant empires and their direct contact with cultures from Poland to Iraq to India to Japan, Grousset also shows how events in Central Asia have indirectly affected distant regions by causing a chain of population displacements that resulted in military conquests far away from Central Asia. Although Grousset often resorted to speculations which have proved in time to be inaccurate, the detraction from the book's overall quality is minimal. One can read one of the many up-to-date books on this subject to clean up Grousset's inaccuracies, but I personally have yet to find one that has been of comparable pleasure to read.

The Men as Product of Nature:
This book sets out to expalin that the Steppe nomads are fiercely independent people, who are *only bounded* by the Landscape Terrain, and Mother Nature(wheather condition), where their source of food and livelyhoods are derived from. Their entire philosophy related to righteous way to-live and to-die are the byproduct of such living conditions. Their skills of warfare and horsemanships were far superior and no match for the people of sedentary civilization, at the time. But this book does not end there, it points out the similarities and also the subtle differences amongst the Steppe nomadic tribes of different races and ethnicities, who roamed in the areas ranging from the Far East Asia to Southern Russia. The Steppe nomads became uniquely Eurasians from the inter-mixing of various tribes, and became tolerant of various Races( Aryans, Turanians, etc), and Creed( Budhism, Nestorianism, etc ). Jenghiz Khan was able to unite and build greater royal armies because of this political philosophy, that were naturally derived and shaped by the Steppe nomadic culture. It's 14th century verison of democracy perhaps more superior than any modern, in my opinion.

The Best Book on the Impact of Nomads on Sedentary Peoples:
Of the 50+ books I have read on Central Asia, this book is by far the most insightful. This is more than a history of Central Asia -- it is a whole treatise on the impact of the nomads on the sedentary peoples. The book also places a heavy emphasis on the origins of various peoples (Turks, Mongols, etc.) and their relationships. The displacement of the Indo-Europeans by the Turks in Central Asia (from western China to present-day Uzbekistan) also makes for facsinating reading. There is also detailed discussions about Genghis Khan and the Mongols -- frankly much better than most other books I've read that deal with only that topic. On the negative side, the book focuses too much on Genghis Khan and generally has a pro-Mongol bias. Some of the maps are also quite unhelpful and do not correspond to the text too well. Nonetheless, this old book is still the best around after all these years.

Should come with a warning label...:
...that reads "not for the layman". Granted, I have only read about 100 pages of this book, but I doubt I will get to the end. It is divided into 3 sections on the Huns, Ghengis Khan, and Tamerlane. So far, so good, right? Nope. The author goes back and forth across such varied geographic areas and uses such far-flung place names so quickly that it is impossible for anyone without a PhD in Central Asian history or geography to keep up. Go ahead, I dare you to try. Now, I am not uneducated. I've read some great epic histories by Robert Massie and Steven Runciman that were hundreds of pages long and kept my interest to the very end. "Empire of the Steppes" barely held my interest at all. There are a few reviews here that say this book is the best on it's subject; surely there has to be one written in the last 60 years that is better...there has to be!! One written for the more casual reader who wants to be engaged, not overwhelmed.

Difficult but Worth It:
This book is absolutely complete and authoritative. It exhaustively covers the subject and is a panoramic history of the power of the nomadic peoples for over 2000 years until the sedentary world overtook them. I read it 20 years ago and still remember it with pleasure. Two caveats, however: (1)Unless you can read it in a shorter time than most of us can afford, the interleaving of the book in geographical (rather than time) segments mean you have to have either a very good memory or a notepad, and (2)The translator did his work with a very academic tone. (I remember the use of the word "autochtonous" rather than "native" in one spot.) Not an easy read, but worth the trouble.