Here are the stories of two revolutions, a massacre of unarmed civilians, a civil war, a drug-smuggling highway, brazen corruption schemes, contract hits, and larger-than-life characters who may be villains, heroes, or possibly both. Restless Valley is a gripping, contemporary chronicle of Central Asia from a veteran journalist with extensive experience in the region.
Both Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have struggled with the challenges of post-Soviet, independent statehood, and both became entangled in America's Afghan campaign when the United States built military bases within their borders. Meanwhile, the region was becoming a key smuggling hub for Afghanistan's booming heroin trade.
Through the eyes of local participants-the powerful and the powerless-Shishkin reconstructs how Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have ricocheted between extreme repression and democratic strivings; how alliances with the United States and Russia have brought mixed blessings; and how Stalin's legacy of ethnic gerrymandering continues to incite conflict today.
"'The Stans'-as the far-off states of Central Asia are known in the White House, remain a lost world. But few of the old Soviet lands have fallen farther, or faster, amid plagues both ancient and modern: militant Islam, secular greed, a surging heroin trade, civil war, revolution and throughout it all the rule of dictatorships. Throw in the Pentagon's hunger for a staging ground to take on the Tal
Andrew Meier, author of Black Earth: A Journey through Russia after the Fall
"You'll finish the book with a greater understanding of Central Asia and the feeling that you yourself have been on a journey that you'll never forget, and made some friends along the way. Shishkin's writing evokes John Le Carré crossed with Raymond Chandler and the result is a mesmerizing read."
Jake Adelstein, author of Tokyo Vice
"This book offers an excellent account of everyday life in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as very personal and highly nuanced depictions of some of the most important individuals behind the political changes in the region."
Erica Marat, Eurasia expert, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program
