The Sabres of Paradise: Conquest and Vengeance in the Caucasus

The Sabres of Paradise: Conquest and Vengeance in the Caucasus

The definitive, epic biography of the Muslim chieftain Imam Shamyl, the â‚¬ËœLion of Daghestanâ‚¬, THE SABRES OF PARADISE took six years to complete, with research done in Russia and the Caucasus, including tracing his descendants in Turkey and Egypt. â‚¬â€¢ THE SABRES OF PARADISE is the story of two worlds (two faiths, two societies, two continents) brought into sudden juxtaposition. During the Caucasian Wars of Independence, the warring mountain tribes of Daghestan and Chechnya united under the charismatic leadership of Imam Shamyl, strengthened only by the desire for an independent Caucasus and their religious faith. â‚¬â€¢ For years Imam Shamyl defied his enemy, Tsar Nicholas I, who had taken his eldest son as a hostage to St Petersburg. The Muslim chieftain captured in turn two Georgian princesses (from the Tzarinaâ‚¬s entourage), a French governess, and the children, and kept them in his harem until they could be exchanged for his son. â‚¬â€¢ A universal saga, it is also a history of late 19th century Imperialist Russian rule. The struggle of the people of the Caucasus to remain independent of Russia had a powerful influence on Tolstoy and Pushkin, and is disturbingly relevant to our world today.â‚¬â€¢ It is set both in the Caucasus, a region of supreme natural beauty and mighty mountain ranges, and in St Petersburg, the most elegant and sophisticated of Russian cities.GUARDIAN: "Crammed with truly fabulous stories of fighting and love and violent death . . . this [is a] profound and exhilarating book."PHILIP MARSDEN: â‚¬Å“Like Tolstoyâ‚¬s, Lesley Blanch's sense of history is ultimately convincing not because of any sweeping theses, but because of its particularities, the quirks of individuals and their personal narratives, their deluded ambitions, their vanities and passions.â‚¬ÂHAMISH BOWLES in JACQUELINE KENNEDY: THE WHITE HOUSE YEARS: â‚¬Å“Jacqueline Kennedy and Khrushchev maintained a spirited badinage through dinner. Mrs Kennedy had recently read THE SABRES OF PARADISE, Lesley Blanchâ‚¬s dashing history of the Muslim tribes' resistance to Russian expansionism in the Caucasus, and attempted to engage the Soviet premier in conversation on the subject. He responded with the comparative numbers of teachers per capita in the Soviet and Czarist Ukraine. She cut him off with the playful riposte, â‚¬Å“Oh, Mr Chairman, donâ‚¬t bore me with statistics.â‚¬Â BRIAN ALDISS: "A book as thick with flavour as roast wild boar, tusks and all. One of the most nutritious books I have ever read."
Country USA
Brand Bookblast Epublishing
Manufacturer bookblast epublishing
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780993092725
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780993092725
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	Bookblast Epublishing
Manufacturer	bookblast epublishing
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780993092725
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780993092725
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

The Sabres of Paradise: Conquest and Vengeance in the Caucasus

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