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About Georgia: In The Mountains Of Poetry
Product Description This book is the first comprehensive cultural and historical introduction to modern Georgia. It covers the country region by region, taking the form of a literary journey through the transition from Soviet Georgia to the modern independent nation state. Peter Nasmyth traveled extensively in Georgia over a period of 5 years, and his lively and topical survey charts the nation's remarkable cultural and historical journey to statehood. This authoritative, lively and perceptive book is based on hundreds of interviews with modern Georgians, from country priests to black marketeers. Georgia: Mountains and Honour will be essential reading for anyone interested in this fascinating region, as well as those requiring an insight into the life after the collapse of the old Soviet order in the richest and most dramatic of the former republics. From Publishers Weekly An enthusiast for his subject, Nasmyth discovers Georgia precisely at the moment of the tiny democratic republic's post-Soviet reawakening. Notable for its hospitality, its wines, its intellectual tradition and a remarkable ability to preserve its national identity under successive occupations, Georgia appeals wildly to the senses even while its people face immense political and economic challenges. Nasmyth shows how this early Christian kingdom, once nestled between the Russian, Turkish and Persian empires, casts a spell over all those who visit. As he portrays Georgia's regions with descriptions of landscape and customs, Nasmyth also refers to a rich tradition of epic and religious writing and storytelling. While the interviews with people he encounters capture a portrait of Georgia in transition, there is a disappointing reliance on obvious metaphors to reflect the death of the Soviet order: rust, rickety buses, decrepit buildings and prostitution. Likewise, Nasmyth's digressions into the meaning of Soviet history and his occasional personal revelations are superficial and distract from an otherwise strong exercise in observation. Certain reminiscences are rewarding, however: wandering the twisting streets of Tbilisi, or imbibing a cold drink from a sacred pool in ancient cave dwellings. The author's occasional failure to provide profound commentary makes Georgia no less attractive as a destination. 170 b&w photos and illustrations. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal "All voyages are searches in disguise," says Nasmyth as he opens this disquisition on his travels through the former Soviet republic of GeorgiaAand at first readers may find this too annoyingly true. Nasmyth concedes that he's partly searching for himself here, and we hear rather too much about him as he weaves together impressions from his travels with the history of the country. But at least he's honest enough to admit it, and readers will learn a lot about Georgia from reading his book, though it's not really a comprehensive cultural and historical introduction, as it's billed. Rather, it is one slightly pushy but still pretty keen-eyed reporter's account of how the country opened up to him, with a somewhat stronger (and certainly welcome) focus on the arts than one typically finds in books of this sort. Nasmyth has been reporting on the Caucasus for 11 years (he currently runs a charity for children in the area), and though more of this material dates from early in his travels than one might like, he does vividly show us a society in flux. Recommended where Soviet/Russian studies, cultural studies, and unusual travelogs are popular.ABarbara Hoffert, "Library Journal" Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the Author Peter Nasmyth is a journalist and photographer.
