In Search of Kazakhstan : The Land That Disappeared

Cover Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; Map; Prologue; 1. Apples Are from Kazakhstan; 2. My Neighbour, Trotsky; 3. National Treasures; 4. City of the Plain and the Vanishing Sea; 5. The Explorer, the Beatle and New Money; 6. Love and Death in Old Semipalatinsk; 7. Pickled Tomatoes from the Gulag; 8. The Howling of Wolves; Epilogue.;The only thing most people know about Kazakhstan is that it is homeland to Borat - and he isn't even real. Actually this vast place - the last unknown inhabited country in the world - is far more surprising and entertaining. For one thing, it is as varied as Europe, combining stupendous wealth, grinding poverty, exotic traditions and a mad dash for modernity. Crisscrossing a vanished land, Christopher Robbins finds Eminem by a shrinking Aral Sea, goes eagle-hunting, visits the scene of Dostoyevsky's doomed first love, takes up residence beside one-time neighbour Leon Trotsky and visits some of. Part travel diary, story book, and history text--an engaging look at a country that unfortunately is only known in the west because of the idiotic Borat of recent years.The author spent considerable time in Kazakhstan interviewing the president, traveling to all major regions, and researching its history in depth. I particularly enjoyed learning the history of certain regions through the stories of Dostoevsky, Trotsky, and Solzhenitsyn, who all spent considerable time there against their will. The author also shares little known but interesting facts; for example, the modern day apple originated in Kazakhstan and supposedly so did tulips, which grow wild in the south. In addition, a lot of time looking to the future of this country and its role in the global economy. The only thing most people know about Kazakhstan is that it is homeland to Borat - and he isn't even real. Actually this vast place - the last unknown inhabited country in the world - is far more surprising and entertaining. For one thing, it is as varied as Europe, combining stupendous wealth, grinding poverty, exotic traditions and a mad dash for modernity. Crisscrossing a vanished land, Christopher Robbins finds Eminem by a shrinking Aral Sea, goes eagle-hunting, visits the scene of Dostoyevsky's doomed first love, takes up residence beside one-time neighbour Leon Trotsky and visits some of the most beautiful, unspoilt places on earth. Criss-crossing a vanished land, Christopher Robbins finds Eminem by a shrinking Aral Sea, goes wolf-hunting by helicopter, visits the scene of Dostoyevsky's doomed first love, takes up residence beside one-time neighbour Leon Trotsky and visits some of the most beautiful, unspoilt places on the planet Kazakhstan is the most surprising country on earth, and certainly one of the most tolerant. The only thing most people know about Kazakhstan is that it is homeland to Borat - and he isn't even real.