Shareen Brysac - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Shareen Brysac
The original Great Game (1800-1917), the clandestine struggle between Russia and Britain for mast... more The original Great Game (1800-1917), the clandestine struggle between Russia and Britain for mastery of Central Asia, has long been regarded as one of the greatest geopolitical conflicts in history. The prize, control of the vast Eurasian heartland, was believed by some to be the key to world domination. Teeming with improbable drama and exaggerated tensions, the conflict featured soldiers, mystics and spies. While the original Great Game ended with the Russian Revolution, the geopolitical wrangles for territory and power continued into the late 20the century - culminating in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. the authors' one-volume survey chronicles nearly two centuries of conflict.
World Policy Journal, 2011
World Policy Journal, 2011
... He recounts with relish his support for progressive reforms and his meetings with Kerala'... more ... He recounts with relish his support for progressive reforms and his meetings with Kerala's chief ministers and visiting celebrities, among them Jackie ... During one meeting with a sitting Communist official, Chairman KP Raveendran, who heads the municipal council of a mid-sized ...
World Policy Journal, 2007
Tehran, April 25, 1926. The Persian capital is bathed in sun and carpets Kermans, Kashans, Kashma... more Tehran, April 25, 1926. The Persian capital is bathed in sun and carpets Kermans, Kashans, Kashmars cluster edge to edge, covering balconies and windows. Red, white, and green bunting stretches across the streets and hundreds of pictures of the new monarch, Reza Khan Pahlavi, a former Persian Cossack colonel, hang from scaffolding as he makes his way through a triumphal arch and lines of soldiers to his coronation in his glass carriage a la Cinderella drawn by six horses. Waiting for him in the Gulistan Palace is an Armenian priest smothered in purple velvet, a Turcoman wearing a tunic of rose-red silk, his head wrapped in a great lambswool busby, an assortment of Kurds in fringed silk turbans, Bakhtiari tribesmen sporting black felt hats, and bearded Shiite mullahs in long robes and gigantic turbans. Huddled in one corner, dimly lit by candles, are the relatives of Persia's recently deposed Qajar ruler. Standing on the right is the tall, black-bearded, Emir of Bokhara. The Bolsheviks have recently driven him from his Central Asian home. Another attendee is the elderly but stately black clad Sheik of Mohammerah in Arab keffiyah, a friend of the British whose tribal independence had been usurped by Reza. He is now in exile in Tehran, remote from his imposing palace at Failiya surrounded by palm groves on the banks of the Karun River. Lacking experience with coronations the former ruling dynasty, the Qajars, had not followed any set tradition the Persians have appealed for advice to Lady Loraine, he wife of the head of the British Legation, Sir Percy Loraine, and Vita Sackville-West, wedded to Harold Nicolson, the newly appointed counselor. The two ladies pored over the descriptions of the Coronation of George V, noting the symbols of power th ones, swords, stones, crowns, rings, orbs, scepters that they intend to emulate in the Persian ceremony. They have scoured the jumble shops that are the Qajar jewel vaults; servants scurried about laying the treasures on a table covered in green baize. As Vita Sackville-West recalled: "The linen bags vomited emeralds and pearls; the green baize vanished, the table became a sea of precious stones. The leather cases opened, displaying jeweled scimitars, daggers mounted with rubies, buckles carved from a single emerald, ropes of enormous pearls. Then from the inner room came the file of servants again, carrying uniforms sewn with diamonds; a cap with a tall aigrette, secured by a diamond larger than the Koh-i-Nur [Mountain of Light}; two crowns like great hieratic tiaras, barbaric diadems, composed of pearl of the finest orient.... We plunged our hands up to the wrist in the heaps of uncut emeralds, and let the pearls run through our fingers. We forgot the Persia of to-day; we were swept back to Akbar and the spoils of India." Soon orders went out to shops throughout Europe, but after the intercession of Lady Loraine, Vita was given authority to orer china, glass, cutlery, and stationery from London's royal purveyors. She commissioned red liveries for the palace, modeled on those
PREFACE 1. Plotzensee 2. Transfiguration 3. Chum 4. Non-Conformist 5. A Radical Marriage 6. Schol... more PREFACE 1. Plotzensee 2. Transfiguration 3. Chum 4. Non-Conformist 5. A Radical Marriage 6. Scholar 7. Comrade 8. Pilgrim 9. Hostess 10. Literary Figure 11. Strange 12. Resister 13. Spy? 14. Prey 15. The Woman in Cell 25 16. Stalingrad's Scapegoat 17. A Life In The Files APPENDIX GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS NOTES ARCHIVES CONSULTED INTERVIEWS PHOTO CREDITS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INDEX
In a world replete with stories of sectarian violence, we are often left wondering: Are there pla... more In a world replete with stories of sectarian violence, we are often left wondering: Are there places where people of different ethnicities, especially with significant Muslim minorities, live in peace? If so, why haven't we heard more about them, and what explains their success? To answer these questions, Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac undertook a two-year exploration of oases of civility, places notable for minimal violence, rising life-expectancy, high literacy, and pragmatic compromises on cultural rights. They explored the Indian state of Kerala, the Russian republic of Tatarstan, the city of Marseille in France, the city of Flensburg, Germany, and the borough of Queens, New York. Through scores of interviews, they document ways and means that have proven successful in defusing ethnic tensions. This pathbreaking book elegantly blends political history, sociology, anthropology, and journalism, to provide big ideas for peace.
Thanks to Salem sea captains, Gilded Age millionaires, curators on horseback and missionaries gon... more Thanks to Salem sea captains, Gilded Age millionaires, curators on horseback and missionaries gone native, North American museums now possess the greatest collections of Chinese art outside of East Asia itself. How did it happen? "The" "China Collectors" is the first full account of a century-long treasure hunt in China from the Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion to Mao Zedong's 1949 ascent.The principal gatherers are mostly little known and defy invention. They included "foreign devils" who braved desert sandstorms, bandits and local warlords in acquiring significant works. Adventurous curators like Langdon Warner, a forebear of Indiana Jones, argued that the caves of Dunhuang were already threatened by vandals, thereby justifying the removal of frescoes and sculptures. Other Americans include George Kates, an alumnus of Harvard, Oxford and Hollywood, who fell in love with Ming furniture. The Chinese were divided between dealers who profited from t...
Kingmakers is the gripping story of how the modern Middle East came to be, as told through the li... more Kingmakers is the gripping story of how the modern Middle East came to be, as told through the lives of the Britons and Americans who shaped it. Some are famous (Lawrence of Arabia and Gertrude Bell); others infamous (Harry St. John Philby, father of Kim); some forgotten (Sir Mark Sykes, Israel's godfather, and A. T. Wilson, the territorial creator of Iraq). All helped enthrone rulers in a region whose very name is an Anglo-American invention. The aim of this engrossing character-driven narrative is to restore to life the colorful figures who gave us the Middle East in which Americans are enmeshed today.
Middle East Policy, Jun 1, 2000
Middle East Policy, Jun 1, 2000
The original Great Game (1800-1917), the clandestine struggle between Russia and Britain for mast... more The original Great Game (1800-1917), the clandestine struggle between Russia and Britain for mastery of Central Asia, has long been regarded as one of the greatest geopolitical conflicts in history. The prize, control of the vast Eurasian heartland, was believed by some to be the key to world domination. Teeming with improbable drama and exaggerated tensions, the conflict featured soldiers, mystics and spies. While the original Great Game ended with the Russian Revolution, the geopolitical wrangles for territory and power continued into the late 20the century - culminating in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. the authors' one-volume survey chronicles nearly two centuries of conflict.
World Policy Journal, 2011
World Policy Journal, 2011
... He recounts with relish his support for progressive reforms and his meetings with Kerala'... more ... He recounts with relish his support for progressive reforms and his meetings with Kerala's chief ministers and visiting celebrities, among them Jackie ... During one meeting with a sitting Communist official, Chairman KP Raveendran, who heads the municipal council of a mid-sized ...
World Policy Journal, 2007
Tehran, April 25, 1926. The Persian capital is bathed in sun and carpets Kermans, Kashans, Kashma... more Tehran, April 25, 1926. The Persian capital is bathed in sun and carpets Kermans, Kashans, Kashmars cluster edge to edge, covering balconies and windows. Red, white, and green bunting stretches across the streets and hundreds of pictures of the new monarch, Reza Khan Pahlavi, a former Persian Cossack colonel, hang from scaffolding as he makes his way through a triumphal arch and lines of soldiers to his coronation in his glass carriage a la Cinderella drawn by six horses. Waiting for him in the Gulistan Palace is an Armenian priest smothered in purple velvet, a Turcoman wearing a tunic of rose-red silk, his head wrapped in a great lambswool busby, an assortment of Kurds in fringed silk turbans, Bakhtiari tribesmen sporting black felt hats, and bearded Shiite mullahs in long robes and gigantic turbans. Huddled in one corner, dimly lit by candles, are the relatives of Persia's recently deposed Qajar ruler. Standing on the right is the tall, black-bearded, Emir of Bokhara. The Bolsheviks have recently driven him from his Central Asian home. Another attendee is the elderly but stately black clad Sheik of Mohammerah in Arab keffiyah, a friend of the British whose tribal independence had been usurped by Reza. He is now in exile in Tehran, remote from his imposing palace at Failiya surrounded by palm groves on the banks of the Karun River. Lacking experience with coronations the former ruling dynasty, the Qajars, had not followed any set tradition the Persians have appealed for advice to Lady Loraine, he wife of the head of the British Legation, Sir Percy Loraine, and Vita Sackville-West, wedded to Harold Nicolson, the newly appointed counselor. The two ladies pored over the descriptions of the Coronation of George V, noting the symbols of power th ones, swords, stones, crowns, rings, orbs, scepters that they intend to emulate in the Persian ceremony. They have scoured the jumble shops that are the Qajar jewel vaults; servants scurried about laying the treasures on a table covered in green baize. As Vita Sackville-West recalled: "The linen bags vomited emeralds and pearls; the green baize vanished, the table became a sea of precious stones. The leather cases opened, displaying jeweled scimitars, daggers mounted with rubies, buckles carved from a single emerald, ropes of enormous pearls. Then from the inner room came the file of servants again, carrying uniforms sewn with diamonds; a cap with a tall aigrette, secured by a diamond larger than the Koh-i-Nur [Mountain of Light}; two crowns like great hieratic tiaras, barbaric diadems, composed of pearl of the finest orient.... We plunged our hands up to the wrist in the heaps of uncut emeralds, and let the pearls run through our fingers. We forgot the Persia of to-day; we were swept back to Akbar and the spoils of India." Soon orders went out to shops throughout Europe, but after the intercession of Lady Loraine, Vita was given authority to orer china, glass, cutlery, and stationery from London's royal purveyors. She commissioned red liveries for the palace, modeled on those
PREFACE 1. Plotzensee 2. Transfiguration 3. Chum 4. Non-Conformist 5. A Radical Marriage 6. Schol... more PREFACE 1. Plotzensee 2. Transfiguration 3. Chum 4. Non-Conformist 5. A Radical Marriage 6. Scholar 7. Comrade 8. Pilgrim 9. Hostess 10. Literary Figure 11. Strange 12. Resister 13. Spy? 14. Prey 15. The Woman in Cell 25 16. Stalingrad's Scapegoat 17. A Life In The Files APPENDIX GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS NOTES ARCHIVES CONSULTED INTERVIEWS PHOTO CREDITS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INDEX
In a world replete with stories of sectarian violence, we are often left wondering: Are there pla... more In a world replete with stories of sectarian violence, we are often left wondering: Are there places where people of different ethnicities, especially with significant Muslim minorities, live in peace? If so, why haven't we heard more about them, and what explains their success? To answer these questions, Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac undertook a two-year exploration of oases of civility, places notable for minimal violence, rising life-expectancy, high literacy, and pragmatic compromises on cultural rights. They explored the Indian state of Kerala, the Russian republic of Tatarstan, the city of Marseille in France, the city of Flensburg, Germany, and the borough of Queens, New York. Through scores of interviews, they document ways and means that have proven successful in defusing ethnic tensions. This pathbreaking book elegantly blends political history, sociology, anthropology, and journalism, to provide big ideas for peace.
Thanks to Salem sea captains, Gilded Age millionaires, curators on horseback and missionaries gon... more Thanks to Salem sea captains, Gilded Age millionaires, curators on horseback and missionaries gone native, North American museums now possess the greatest collections of Chinese art outside of East Asia itself. How did it happen? "The" "China Collectors" is the first full account of a century-long treasure hunt in China from the Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion to Mao Zedong's 1949 ascent.The principal gatherers are mostly little known and defy invention. They included "foreign devils" who braved desert sandstorms, bandits and local warlords in acquiring significant works. Adventurous curators like Langdon Warner, a forebear of Indiana Jones, argued that the caves of Dunhuang were already threatened by vandals, thereby justifying the removal of frescoes and sculptures. Other Americans include George Kates, an alumnus of Harvard, Oxford and Hollywood, who fell in love with Ming furniture. The Chinese were divided between dealers who profited from t...
Kingmakers is the gripping story of how the modern Middle East came to be, as told through the li... more Kingmakers is the gripping story of how the modern Middle East came to be, as told through the lives of the Britons and Americans who shaped it. Some are famous (Lawrence of Arabia and Gertrude Bell); others infamous (Harry St. John Philby, father of Kim); some forgotten (Sir Mark Sykes, Israel's godfather, and A. T. Wilson, the territorial creator of Iraq). All helped enthrone rulers in a region whose very name is an Anglo-American invention. The aim of this engrossing character-driven narrative is to restore to life the colorful figures who gave us the Middle East in which Americans are enmeshed today.
Middle East Policy, Jun 1, 2000
Middle East Policy, Jun 1, 2000