For nearly a century the two most powerful nations on earth, Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia, fought a secret war in the lonely passes and deserts of Central Asia. Those engaged in this shadowy struggle called it 'The Great Game', a phrase immortalized by Kipling. When play first began the two rival empires lay nearly 2,000 miles apart. By the end, some Russian outposts were within 20 miles of India.
This classic book tells the story of the Great Game through the exploits of the young officers, both British and Russian, who risked their lives playing it. Disguised as holy men or native horse-traders, they mapped secret passes, gathered intelligence and sought the allegiance of powerful khans. Some never returned. The violent repercussions of the Great Game are still convulsing Central Asia today.
Chapter 2. Napoleonic Nightmare
Chapter 3. Rehearsal for the Great Game
Chapter 5. All Roads Lead to India
Chapter 6. The First of the Russian Players
Chapter 7. A Strange Tale of Two Dogs
Chapter 9. The Barometer Falls
Chapter 11. Enter ‘Bokhara’ Burnes
Chapter 12. The Greatest Fortress in the World
Chapter 13. The Mysterious Vitkevich
Chapter 16. The Race for Khiva
Chapter 17. The Freeing of the Slaves
Chapter 18. Night of the Long Knives
Chapter 20. Massacre in the Passes
Chapter 21. The Last Hours of Conolly and Stoddart
Chapter 23. The Great Russian Advance Begins
Chapter 25. Spies Along the Silk Road
Chapter 26. The Feel of Cold Steel Across His Throat
Chapter 27. ‘A Physician from the North’
Chapter 28. Captain Burnaby’s Ride to Khiva
Chapter 29. Bloodbath at the Bala Hissar
Chapter 30. The Last Stand of the Turcomans
Chapter 31. To the Brink of War
Chapter 32. The Railway Race to the East
Chapter 33. Where Three Empires Meet
Chapter 34. Flashpoint in the High Pamirs
Chapter 35. The Race for Chitral
Chapter 36. The Beginning of the End