Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War

by Thomas de Waal Narrated by Julian Elfer

Overview

Since its publication in 2003, the first edition of Black Garden has become the definitive study of how Armenia and Azerbaijan, two southern Soviet republics, were pulled into a conflict that helped bring them to independence, spell the end the Soviet Union, and plunge a region of great strategic importance into a decade of turmoil. This important volume is both a careful reconstruction of the history of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict since 1988 and on-the-spot reporting of the convoluted aftermath. Part contemporary history, part travel book, part political analysis, the book is based on six months traveling through the south Caucasus, more than 120 original interviews in the region, Moscow, and Washington, and unique historical primary sources, such as Politburo archives. The historical chapters trace how the conflict lay unresolved in the Soviet era; how Armenian and Azerbaijani societies unfroze it; how the Politiburo failed to cope with the crisis; how the war was fought and ended; how the international community failed to sort out the conflict. What emerges is a complex and subtle portrait of a beautiful and fascinating region, blighted by historical prejudice and
conflict.

Editorial Reviews

Foreign Affairs

"Never have all the twists and turns, sad carnage, and bullheadedness on all sides been better described-or, indeed, better explained . . . Offers a deeper and more compelling account of the conflict than anyone before."

Armenian Freedom Network

"This book is a major milestone in the Western scholarship on Karabakh."

Parameters

"This book is helpful because in order to craft a final resolution to the conflict, one must understand what events transpired in the first place. De Waal's book significantly contributes to this purpose and establishes itself as one of the standard works for understanding this conflict."

The New York Review of Books

"Admirable, rigorous. De Waal [is] a wise and patient reporter."

Time

"Brilliant."

Time

"Brilliant."

From the Publisher

"This book is a major milestone in the Western scholarship on Karabakh."- Armenian Freedom Network

"Brilliant."- Time

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177003900
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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