Azerbaijan Diary : A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-rich, War-torn, Post-Soviet Republic

This underground classic tells the story of oil-rich Azerbaijan's first years of independence from Moscow. Goltz's vivid, personal account, filled with memorable portraits of individuals in high places and low, carries the reader from the battlefront to the oilfield, the voting booth to the negotiating table, always with an astute sense of how it all fits into the geopolitical firmament. In its first years as an independent state, the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan was a prime example of post-Soviet chaos -- beset by coups and civil strife, and losing the Karabakh war of secession, with a fifth of its territory occupied by Armenian troops. Azerbaijan may be endowed with vast oil reserves, but it also bestrides one of the greatest ethnic, religious, and political faultlines in the world. Thomas Goltz became an accidental witness to Azerbaijan's inglorious history-in-the- making when he was detoured into Baku in mid-1991 -- and decided to stay. This record of his years there alternates instyle between tragedy and farce. Throughout, the intensity of immediate experience is balanced by an acute awareness of contemporaneous events in Karabakh and Nakhjivan, Georgia and Armenia, Russia and Chechnya, Iran and Turkey, Washington and Houston. Azerbaijan is surely among the most complex of Soviet successor states, save Russia itself. Goltz enjoys the distinction of being probably the only Western correspondent whose personal courage and linguistic skill made possible this unique witness to the country's first years of independence. He takes us from his "illegal" entry during the last phase of Soviet rule through accession of former KGB chief and Azeri President Heydar Aliyev. As sheer adventure, the account stands by itself as compelling reading, but the scholarly minded will benefit as Goltz moves from the poverty of postindependence Baku through the chaotic war involving Armenia and the "Black Garden" of Nagorno-Karabakh. Excursions to Tashkent, Teheran, and Grozny add perspective with emerging Turkish-Iranian rivalry for influence. But the book's crowning feature is the author's interviews with the republic's three presidents and the reemergence of the opposition "Popular Front" against Aliyev This Underground Classic Tells The Story Of Oil-rich Azerbaijan's First Years Of Independence From Moscow. Thomas Goltz Became An Accidental Witness To Azerbaijan's Inglorious History-in-the-making When He Was Detoured Into Baku In Mid-1991 - And Decided To Stay. This Record Of His Years There Alternates In Style Between Tragedy And Farce. Throughout, The Intensity Of Immediate Experience Is Balanced By An Acute Awareness Of Contemporaneous Events In Karabakh And Naxjivan, Georgia And Armenia, Russia And Chechnya, Iran And Turkey, Washington And Houston. Getting There Fair And Square -- A Distant Coup -- Friday Evening On Freedom Square -- Karabakh : The Black Garden -- Home Sweet Baku -- A Reborn Republic -- Xodjali. By Thomas Goltz. Revised Ed. Of: Requiem For A Would-be Republic. 1994. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

This underground classic tells the story of oil-rich Azerbaijan's first years of independence from Moscow. Thomas Goltz became an accidental witness to Azerbaijan's inglorious history-in-the-making when he was detoured into Baku in mid-1991 - and decided to stay. This record of his years there alternates in style between tragedy and farce. Throughout, the intensity of immediate experience is balanced by an acute awareness of contemporaneous events in Karabakh and Naxjivan, Georgia and Armenia, Russia and Chechnya, Iran and Turkey, Washington and Houston.

New York Times Book Review

Goltz's account of six years as a freelance journalist in a volatile region where oil men, spies, Islamic militants, mercenaries and corrupt politicians jockey for power reads like a combination of John le Carre and Hunter S. Thompson.

In its first years as an independent state, Azerbaijan was a prime example of post-Soviet chaos - beset by coups and civil strife and astride an ethnic, political and religious divide. Author Goltz was detoured in Baku in mid-1991 and decided to stay, this diary is the record of his experiences.