Central Asia - (Central Eurasia in Context) by David Montgomery (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Most Complete and Accessible Introduction to Central Asia Available Today

Book Synopsis

Honorable Mention, 2023 CESS Outreach Award

Central Asia is a diverse and complex region of the world often characterized in the West as exotic, remote, and difficult to understand. Central Asia: Contexts for Understanding offers the most comprehensive introduction to the region available for students and general readers alike. Combining thematic chapters with detailed case studies, readers will learn to appreciate the richly interconnected aspects of life in Central Asia. These wide-ranging, easy-to-understand contributions from many of the leading scholars in the field provide the context needed to understand Central Asia and presents a launching point for further reading and research.

Review Quotes

Central Asia: Contexts for Understanding offers an accessible and multi-faceted introduction to a crossroads and cockpit of world history. The authors offer chapters on everything from religion to cinema to the environment, providing a student-friendly approach to the modern history, contemporary condition, and lived reality of a complex region.--J.R. McNeill, Georgetown University, author of The Webs of Humankind: A World History

A seminal reading on social and cultural aspects of Central Asian societies.-- "Slavic Review"

At this time, when an assessment of the situation in Central Asia, broadly defined, is so vitally needed, this volume brings together detailed and specific reports on its various localities by respected experts from many disciplines to produce a work of critical importance for anyone interested in this strategic region and in fact in world affairs generally.--Robert L. Canfield, professor emeritus at Washington University, St. Louis

This volume assembles an impressive array of leading scholars and perspectives in Central Asian studies, combining beautifully-written thematic chapters with illuminating case studies. A multidisciplinary tour-de-force, the authors offer nuanced reflection, engaging analysis, and complex interconnections, which will inspire deeper understanding and generative insights for new students and established scholars of the region alike.--Regine Spector, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

About the Author

David W. Montgomery is research professor in the Department of Government and Politics and the Center for International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland and director of program development for CEDAR--Communities Engaging with Difference and Religion. His books include Practicing Islam: Knowledge, Experience, and Social Navigation in Kyrgyzstan; Living with Difference: How to Build Community in a Divided World; and Everyday Life in the Balkans.