Want to know what books Per Gahrton recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Per Gahrton's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
First published in Vienna in 1937, this classic story of romance and adventure has been compared to Dr. Zhivago and Romeo and Juliet. Its mysterious author was recently the subject of a feature article in the New Yorker, which has inspired a forthcoming biography. Out of print for nearly three decades until the hardcover re-release last year, Ali and Nino is Kurban Said's masterpiece. It is a captivating novel as evocative of the exotic desert landscape as it is of the passion between two people pulled apart by culture, religion, and war.
It is the eve... more First published in Vienna in 1937, this classic story of romance and adventure has been compared to Dr. Zhivago and Romeo and Juliet. Its mysterious author was recently the subject of a feature article in the New Yorker, which has inspired a forthcoming biography. Out of print for nearly three decades until the hardcover re-release last year, Ali and Nino is Kurban Said's masterpiece. It is a captivating novel as evocative of the exotic desert landscape as it is of the passion between two people pulled apart by culture, religion, and war.
It is the eve of World War I in Baku, Azerbaijan, a city on the edge of the Caspian Sea, poised precariously between east and west. Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a Muslim schoolboy from a proud, aristocratic family, has fallen in love with the beautiful and enigmatic Nino Kipiani, a Christian girl with distinctly European sensibilities. To be together they must overcome blood feud and scandal, attempt a daring horseback rescue, and travel from the bustling street of oil-boom Baku, through starkly beautiful deserts and remote mountain villages, to the opulent palace of Ali's uncle in neighboring Persia. Ultimately the lovers are drawn back to Baku, but when war threatens their future, Ali is forced to choose between his loyalty to the beliefs of his Asian ancestors and his profound devotion to Nino. Combining the exotic fascination of a tale told by Scheherazade with the range and magnificence of an epic, Ali and Nino is a timeless classic of love in the face of war. less 
Per GahrtonThis is the story of a guy and a girl from different ethnic and religious groups falling in love, and the surroundings give this depth. Tbilisi now seems completely Georgian, but 100 years ago there were more Armenians than Georgians. (Source)
Nigar Hasan-ZadehIt’s a novel, and really it’s a love story between a young Muslim Azeri man and a Christian Georgian woman and it’s full of historical, cultural, political facts. (Source)
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2
A searing portrait of a country in disarray, and of the man at its helm, from "the bravest of journalists" (The New York Times)
Hailed as "a lone voice crying out in a moral wilderness" (New Statesman), Anna Politkovskaya made her name with her fearless reporting on the war in Chechnya. Now she turns her steely gaze on the multiple threats to Russian stability, among them President Putin himself.
Putin's Russia depicts a far-reaching state of decay. Politkovskaya describes an army in which soldiers die from malnutrition, parents must pay bribes to recover... more A searing portrait of a country in disarray, and of the man at its helm, from "the bravest of journalists" (The New York Times)
Hailed as "a lone voice crying out in a moral wilderness" (New Statesman), Anna Politkovskaya made her name with her fearless reporting on the war in Chechnya. Now she turns her steely gaze on the multiple threats to Russian stability, among them President Putin himself.
Putin's Russia depicts a far-reaching state of decay. Politkovskaya describes an army in which soldiers die from malnutrition, parents must pay bribes to recover their dead sons' bodies, and conscripts are even hired out as slaves. She exposes rampant corruption in business, government, and the judiciary, where everything from store permits to bus routes to court appointments is for sale. And she offers a scathing condemnation of the ongoing war in Chechnya, where kidnappings, extrajudicial killings, rape, and torture are begetting terrorism rather than fighting it.
Sounding an urgent alarm, Putin's Russia is both a gripping portrayal of a country in crisis and the testament of a great and intrepid reporter. less Per GahrtonThat’s quite another book. The author is, of course, well known in the world. I met her once. She was in Strasburg when I was at the European Parliament, and we had a discussion – that must have been a couple of years before she was killed. She was very upset about the development of Russia and the authoritarian attitude of Putin. He’s not a Stalinist dictator, but he’s reckless. He’s an... (Source)
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3
In this fascinating book, noted journalist Thomas de Waal--author of the highly acclaimed Black Garden--makes the case that while the Caucasus is often treated as a sub-plot in the history of Russia, or as a mere gateway to Asia, the five-day war in Georgia, which flared into a major international crisis in 2008, proves that this is still a combustible region, whose inner dynamics and history deserve a much more complex appreciation from the wider world.
In The Caucasus, de Waal provides this richer, deeper, and much-needed appreciation, one that reveals that the... more In this fascinating book, noted journalist Thomas de Waal--author of the highly acclaimed Black Garden--makes the case that while the Caucasus is often treated as a sub-plot in the history of Russia, or as a mere gateway to Asia, the five-day war in Georgia, which flared into a major international crisis in 2008, proves that this is still a combustible region, whose inner dynamics and history deserve a much more complex appreciation from the wider world.
In The Caucasus, de Waal provides this richer, deeper, and much-needed appreciation, one that reveals that the South Caucasus--Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, and their many smaller regions, enclaves, and breakaway entities--is a fascinating and distinct world unto itself. Providing both historical background and an insightful analysis of the period after 1991, de Waal sheds light on how the region has been scarred by the tumultuous scramble for independence and the three major conflicts that broke out with the end of the Soviet Union--Nagorny Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. The book examines the region as a major energy producer and exporter; offers a compelling account of the Rose Revolution in Georgia, the rise of Mikheil Saakashvili, and the August 2008 war; and considers the failure of the South Caucasus, thus far, to become a single viable region. In addition, the book features a dozen or so "boxes" which provide brief snapshots of such fascinating side topics as the Kurds, Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, the promotion of the region as the "Soviet Florida," and the most famous of all Georgians, Stalin.
The Caucasus delivers a vibrantly written and timely account of this turbulent region, one that will prove indispensable for all concerned with world politics. It is, as well, a stimulating read for armchair travelers and for anyone curious about far-flung corners of the world. less Per GahrtonHe’s a good journalist too. Not the same as Goltz – perhaps more analytical. He’s been at it a long time around the Caucasus, and doing a newsletter that still appears on the web every week about Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. It’s the kind of news you don’t find in the big media – everyday news and political news. He summarises in this book what he knows about these three countries. It’s more... (Source)
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4
This book is the first comprehensive cultural and historical introduction to modern Georgia. It covers the country region by region, taking the form of a literary journey through the transition from Soviet Georgia to the modern independent nation state. Peter Nasmyth traveled extensively in Georgia over a period of 5 years, and his lively and topical survey charts the nation's remarkable cultural and historical journey to statehood. This authoritative, lively and perceptive book is based on hundreds of interviews with modern Georgians, from country priests to black marketeers. Georgia:... more This book is the first comprehensive cultural and historical introduction to modern Georgia. It covers the country region by region, taking the form of a literary journey through the transition from Soviet Georgia to the modern independent nation state. Peter Nasmyth traveled extensively in Georgia over a period of 5 years, and his lively and topical survey charts the nation's remarkable cultural and historical journey to statehood. This authoritative, lively and perceptive book is based on hundreds of interviews with modern Georgians, from country priests to black marketeers. Georgia: Mountains and Honour will be essential reading for anyone interested in this fascinating region, as well as those requiring an insight into the life after the collapse of the old Soviet order in the richest and most dramatic of the former republics.
less Per GahrtonThis is quite a different type of book. It’s a description of the land and the people of Georgia – not so much about the conflicts, but about the different parts of Georgia, their fantastic food and how they use grapes in funny ways that we don’t do in our part of the world. (Source)
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5
First Published in 2015. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor &; Francis, an informa company. more First Published in 2015. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor &; Francis, an informa company. less Per GahrtonThat’s a real war correspondent’s chronicle of the war in the early 90s ,when Georgia lost Abkhazia, the republic that later, in 2008, finally seceded formally and was recognised by Russia. But, in reality, Georgia had lost it already in the war in 1992-3 and, of course, there was at that time chaos both in Georgia and in Russia. I was in Georgia and Russia more or less at the time it happened –... (Source)
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