- Hardcover: 342 pages
- Publisher: Random House (Mar 15 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0679408754
- ISBN-13: 978-0679408758
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 15.7 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 590 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#716,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Books > Travel > Asia > Turkmenistan
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The genteel title doesn't do justice to this entertaining and enchanting account of Maslow's quest to visit isolated Soviet Turkmenistan and to ride its noble breed of horses. In 1988, filled with wanderlust and possessed with this idea, the New Jersey author and naturalist ( Bird of Life , Bird of Death ) studied Russian and riding, and three years later hooked up with a Sister City delegation from Albuquerque. His misadventures in Turkmenistan include meetings with the Turkmen Friendship Society (aka KGB), bouts of hospitality ending in Soviet/Moslem melancholy, and some unexpected bonding over the Beatles. After Maslow sees the lustrous Akhal-Teke racehorses, "a work of art that can trot and canter," bribery and finagling get him to the countryside, and a return trip, ostensibly to help a horse marketer, leads to fulfillment of his dream--a ride "flying forward like a magic carpet." Maslow's narrative intersperses both local and horse history with warmth and sensitivity for an unusual place still politically constrained and off-limits to most travelers.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Maslow is a naturalist and writer (Bird of Life, Bird of Death, LJ 3/1/86) with a lifelong passion for horses. Upon learning of a unique breed near extinction in Turkmenistan, then a Soviet Socialist Republic north of Iran and Afghanistan, the author managed to tag along with a friendship group visiting the desert country. It wasn't long before he was suspected as a spy by the KGB, running afoul of arcane Soviet regulations, and narrowly avoiding incarceration on more than one occasion. In the meantime, however, Maslow managed to travel the countryside, befriend many locals, and, subsequently, film a documentary about the legendary horse. Containing a good bibliography, this work gives a glimpse of everyday life and emerging capitalism in a former Soviet state, interspersed with a thorough history of the region and Akal-Teke horse. Recommended for public libraries and travel collections generally.
Tim Markus, Evergreen State Coll. Lib., Olympia, Wash.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Tim Markus, Evergreen State Coll. Lib., Olympia, Wash.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
fantastic book,
By Kyle Cassidy (philadelphia, pa USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sacred Horses:: Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy (Hardcover)
maslow is a genius. it's truely a crime that this book is out of print as it should serve as a guide for all travel writing. maslow's ability to make any situation, no matter how grim hysterically funny makes me want to leap from my armchair into the most inhospitable places on the planet.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good history and traveloge,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sacred Horses:: Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy (Hardcover)
The book is very good. It covers the history of one of the most fascinating places in the world. The author also introduces us to many fascinating characters (the most unforgettable character I will ever meet). Finally he covers the history and current sadness of the people who are suffering from 80 years of communism
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating story of exotic horses and people.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sacred Horses:: Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy (Hardcover)
Maslow travelled to Turkestan (one of the newly independent Russian Central Asian states northeast of Iran) on a search for the fabled Akhal-Teke horse, perhaps theprogenitor of all modern horses from the Byerley Turk to Mr. Ed. His adventures in this rather unique locale range from hilarious to incredible. Run-ins with KGB agents who have nothing better to do, fixing the unsanitary sink in his host's home (a doctor, no less!), and taking the night train across the forbidding Kyzl Kum desert are just some of the fascinating adventures. If you like travel writing, horses, adventure, or just love a good book, this is one you owe it to yourself to check out.
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