The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia

In the past Great Game, canny potentates, shahs and princes played Tsarist Russia and Imperial Britain one off the other through a series of proxy wars, treaties, and backdoor politicking that went on well into the twentieth century. Now, although the sun has set on the British Raj, the stakes are higher, and Russia and her "federation" continue to wheedle and deal, this time with oil as the prize. New players, namely the US and China, have stepped into the fray, and the Game has escallated into more than just a few stray spies skulking through the Hindu Kush. Kleveman rightly sees the area of the Stans as being the new center of the world. He takes us through areas previously behind the Stalinist iron curtain--and fast becomming the Islamist curtain--to storied "countries", their people and leaders, and the iron grip that the past still imposes on the present. It's thrilling reading, and sobering, too. If politics and economics move too fast to make this book current in ten years, it will still maintain its place as one the best overviews of the central Asian geopolitical scene available to the lay reader in English.

Make no mistake, behind the unassuming prose and relatively short length of this book lies an extremely astute and sharp analysis of the politics, history and significance of the caspian region.Like Michael Klare's "Resource Wars", the great strength of this book is that Kleveman focuses first on the distribution and location of the natural resources underlying the region (here mostly oil) and then "follows the money" to see how they shape the politics and intrigues within each country, and between them and the larger forces of the global economy.Kleveman seems to have an extraordinary ability to weave together history, personal observations, current affairs, and interviews into chapters that contain the essence of the information. I was particularly impressed with his knack at obtaining audiences with key players in politics and the oil industry who appear to speak very openly to him giving nuggets of insight unobtainable elsewhere. The bottom line is that this is an understated book, very easy to read, and essential.I cannot recommend this book enough, and I just hope this is the first of many books in the same vein by Kleveman. His capacity to cut through the crap and actually say something is truly remarkable. I would love to see him do something similar with Western Africa (where he apparently has done some reporting), the South China Sea, Eastern Europe, Latin America, etc...

One may agree or disagree with the political arguments Lutz Kleveman makes about U.S. energy imperialism in Central Asia, but his evidence is certainly startling and compelling. This makes the book very timely, especially in light of another oil war being in full swing in Iraq, and it should be part of the public discourse. But what I really loved about The New Great Game is the amazing journey the author took me on! He actually traveled to all the countries he writes about, often risking his neck, from Chechnya to Afghanistan. This is first-hand reporting at its best, really allowing the reader to see, hear, smell, and feel the places and people Kleveman encounters - be they warlords or oil tycoons. Some of them I will not forget in a long time. And all the while Kleveman keeps his sharp eye and clear mind for who and what is important for the oil story. I seriously and whole-heartedly recommend this wonderful book!

This is one of the most brilliant books I have read in years! Ever feel that the Bush administration's is hijacking the War on Terror to pursue U.S. oil interests in Iraq and Central Asia? Well, the journalist Lutz Kleveman traveled to the frontlines and oil fields to find out. What he discovered on his fascinating journeys from the Caucasus all the way down to Afghanistan is eye-opening.. And what an adventure tale this book is, too! The author beautifully weaves his bold political analysis into gripping travel writing. His encounters with the power players in the region, be they Russian oil bosses or Afghan warlords, make for a great read. I enjoyed every page of it!