The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia (Not a Series)

by PeterHopkirk (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1990

  $13.07

  This is an account of the encounter last century between the British in India and Tsarist Russia in Central Asia which became known as the Great Game. When the encounter began the frontiers of Russia and British India lay some 2000 apart. By the end, the gap had shrunk in places to 20 miles. As Russia pushed forward her frontiers young officers found the fulfilment of their dreams in the chance to escape garrison life and find promotion and glory in the Caucasus, China and Tibet.;Peter Hopkirk has also written Foreign Devils on the Silk Road, Trespassers on the Roof of the World and Setting the East Ablaze.

• Used

  Paperback
  1991

  $5.42

  The Great Game was an imperial, political, diplomatic, and military enterprise in which intrepid individuals played for high stakes in a struggle that stretched from the Causasus in the West to Chinese Turkestan and Tibet in the East. The prize was British India. When play first began, the frontiers of Russia and India lay some 2000 miles apart; by the end, the gap had reduced in some places to just 20 miles. Officers on either side, disguised as holy men and horse traders, or advancing in full uniform, delighted in the play as they sought to learn enemy positions, befriend powerful khans, or discover vital secrets. This book should appeal to those interested in espionage and diplomacy, the history of High Asia in Victorian period and superpower relations.

• New

  paperback
  

  $16.48

  For nearly a century the two most powerful nations on earth, Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia, fought a secret war in the lonely passes and deserts of Central Asia. Those engaged in this shadowy struggle called it 'The Great Game', a phrase immortalized by Kipling. When play first began the two rival empires lay nearly 2,000 miles apart. By the end, some Russian outposts were within 20 miles of India. This classic book tells the story of the Great Game through the exploits of the young officers, both British and Russian, who risked their lives playing it. Disguised as holy men or native horse-traders, they mapped secret passes, gathered intelligence and sought the allegiance of powerful khans. Some never returned. The violent repercussions of the Great Game are still convulsing Central Asia today.