Central Asia: One Hundred Thirty Years of Russian ... (ISBN 0822315211)

Foremost American scholar in this field shares his knowledge:
Dr. Edward Allworth became the foremost scholar in the USA on Central Asian history with his book "Central Asia A Century of Russian Rule." His views were factual and less culturally biased than work by his British peers in the field. He has continued to update this work. Anyone who wishes to understand post-Soviet Central Asia must first begin with the creation of these nation states through 19th century Russian and 20th century Soviet manipulation of ethnic groups in the area. This book is authoritative, but perfectly accessible to the lay reader.