AmajorhistoryofCentralAsiaandhowithasbeenshapedbymodernworldeventsCentralAsiaisoftenseenasaremoteandinaccessiblelandontheperipheriesofmodernhistory.EncompassingUzbekistan,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan,Kyrgyzstan,Kazakhstan,andtheXinjiangprovinceofChina,itinfactstandsatthecrossroadsofworldevents.AdeebKhalidprovidesthefirstcomprehensivehistoryofCentralAsiafromthemid-eighteenthcenturytotoday,sheddinglightonthehistoricalforcesthathaveshapedtheregionunderimperialandCommunistrule.PredominantlyMuslimwithbothnomadicandsettledpopulations,thepeoplesofCentralAsiacameunderRussianandChineseruleafterthe1700s.KhalidshowshowforeignconquestknitCentralAsiansintoglobalexchangesofgoodsandideasandforgedgreaterconnectionstothewiderworld.HeexploreshowtheQingandTsaristempiresdealtwithethnicheterogeneity,andcomparesSovietandChineseCommunistattemptsatmanagingnationalandculturaldifference.Hehighlightsthedeepinterconnectionsbetweenthe“Russian“and“Chinese“partsofCentralAsiathatenduretothisday,anddemonstrateshowXinjiangremainsanintegralpartofCentralAsiadespiteitsfraughtandtraumaticrelationshipwithcontemporaryChina.Theessentialhistoryofoneofthemostdiverseandculturallyvibrantregionsontheplanet,thispanoramicbookrevealshowCentralAsiahasbeenprofoundlyshapedbytheforcesofmodernity,fromcolonialismandsocialrevolutiontonationalism,state-ledmodernization,andsocialengineering.
