"For students of both history and cultural geography, the careful, well-referenced summaries of the activities of many political entities and nomadic peoples over time are a practical starting point into an area of study previously not well served . The author is flying the flag for a kind of scholarship which is too rarely seen." -- Asian Affairs "This book will be a fine guide for anyone seeking to understand the forces involved or trying to forecast the effects of China's Belt and Road initiative on the chequerboard of Central Asia." -- Literary Review "This book brings us to the present day and the emergence of the newly independent 'stans' and their growing influence and economic power. It brings to a triumphant conclusion Baumer's majestic History of Central Asia and I cannot see how this four-volume series can ever be bettered." -- The Geographical Review "For any author, regardless of their field of expertise, writing a history of Central Asia from the first traces of Homo sapiens to the 21st century is an incredibly ambitious undertaking. Christoph Baumer dared to do it, and he succeeded-brilliantly . Baumer presents the areas of politics, society, and culture, with all their developments, in a focused but comprehensive, sometimes surprising, always scientifically profound, and always exciting way to the reader.

" -- The Preetorius Foundation.