Nomads and the Outside World

Magisterial.... Combining a phenomenal erudition, a candid judgment, and a subtle sense of irony, Khazanov sets out to challenge the orthodox view of nomadic feudalism and, in the process, has produced the first comparative survey of pastoral societies that can claim to be truly comprehensive, covering their history in Eurasia, the Middle East, and Africa from the origins of pastoralism to the dawn of the modern era."—Tim Ingold, Current Anthropology

"This is the best study on pastoral nomadism that the reviewer has ever read. At last we have a major attempt to present the whole phenomenon in historical, ecological, spatial and structural perspective.... Superb scholarship. It is the kind of work that can only be produced as a result of years of specific research, much deep thinking... and a determination to reject cant."—John C. Wilkinson, Geographical Journal

"Khazanov's book on pastoral nomadism is a heroic endeavor of a kind no one has seriously attempted before.... Particularly valuable to western readers are the materials on the numerous peoples of Central Asia and Siberia... and their integration with analysis of more familiar societies such as those of North and East Africa and the Middle East.... The insights provided by this book are too numerous to list."—Caroline Humphrey, Times Literary Supplement