CAUCASUS: An Introduction

by Thomas De Waal

This book reveals that the South Caucasus-Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, and their many smaller regions, enclaves, and breakaway entities-is a fascinating world unto itself. De Waal sheds light on how the region has been scarred by the tumultuous scramble for independence and the the conflicts that broke out with the end of the Soviet Union-Nagorny Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. The book examines the region as a major energy producer; offers an account of the Rose Revolution in Georgia, the rise of Mikheil Saakashvili, and the August 2008 war; and considers the failure of the South Caucasus to become a single viable region. In addition, the book features "boxes" which provide brief snapshots of such side topics as the Kurds, Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, and the most famous of all Georgians, Stalin.