In the lonely passes and blazing deserts of Central Asia, a deadly struggle took place in the last century between secret agents of the two superpowers - Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia. One of the most gripping episodes in imperial history, it is known as the Great Game. Today, following the sudden collapse of Russia's mighty empire, its often violent repercussions are once again rocking the headlines, giving rise to what political analysts are already calling 'the new Great Game'.Peter Hopkirk's acclaimed, spellbinding account tells the story of this great imperial struggle for strategic and economic supremacy, fought across a cruel and desolate terrain stretching from the Caucasus to China. When play first began, the frontiers of Russia and British India lay some 2,000 miles apart. By the end, as the caravan towns of the old Silk Road fell one by one to the fast-riding Cossacks, this had shrunk to less than twenty in places. At times war seemed inevitable.Here is the real-life world of Kipling's Kim seen through the adventures of those on either side - espionage and treachery on a grand scale and in exotic settings. Based on meticulous scholarship and on-the-spot research, its heroes and villains include ambitious young officers, bloodthirsty Emirs, ruthless Russian generals, and Muslim holy warriors. Yet for all its glamour and romance, the Great Game has once again become ominously topical, as a new power struggle begins in Central Asia. Read Less