To Caucasus: The End of all the Earth

by Fitzroy Maclean

In this second volume of his trilogy which began with To the Back of Beyond, Sir Fitzroy Maclean transports us to one of the most exciting places on earth, to the vast mountain barrier of the Caucasus, with its towering, snow capped peaks and precipitous abysses, and beyond it to the mellow, sunlit uplands of Georgia and Armenia.

Genres: Travel, History, Russia

203 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Major General Fitzroy Hew Royle Maclean, Bt, KT, CBE.

Graduate of Eton and subsequently King's College, University of Cambridge. Joined the Diplomatic Service in 1932. Posted to Paris from 1933-1937 and then the British Embassy to Moscow from 1937-1941.

Veteran of WWII. In 1941, he chose to enlist as a private in the Cameron Highlanders, but was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant the same year. He was one of the earliest members of the elite SAS. By the end of the war, had risen to the rank of Brigadier. Maclean wrote several books, including Eastern Approaches, in which he recounted three extraordinary series of adventures: traveling, often incognito, in Soviet Central Asia; fighting in the Western Desert Campaign (1941-1943), where he specialized in commando raids (with the Special Air Service Regiment) behind enemy lines; and living rough with Josip Broz Tito and his Yugoslav Partisans. It has been widely speculated that Ian Fleming used Maclean as one of his inspirations for James Bond.

Unionist Party (Scotland) member of Parliament (MP) from 1941-1974.

Awarded a baronetcy, becoming 1st Baronet, Maclean of Strachur and Glensluain. Invested a Knight of the Order of the Thistle (KT). Appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Recipient of the Croix de Guerre (France), the Order of Kutuzov (Soviet Union), the Order of the Partisan Star (Yugoslavia), and, posthumously, the Order of Prince Branimir (Croatia).

Reviews

[Amelia Mulder · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the first part of the book, MacLean gives a concise history of the Transcaucasus - starting from a couple of hundred years BC to the book's present (it was published in 1976). Here the focus is mainly on all the different occupying forces and the accompanied wars and pillages. This does get a bit exhausting, as the area never seemed to have any political stability over these thousands of years lasting more than a century or two. My favourite bits were probably those about David "The Builder" (king of Georgia from 1089) and his great granddaughter Queen Tamara.
The second and most interesting part of the book consists of a first-hand account of the author's travels through the area, which at the time was still under Soviet rule. MacLean gives an insightful account of the people, culture, food, architecture and landscape that he and his wife encountered in Georgia, Armenia and to a lesser extent, Azerbaijan. His account is accompanied by his own colour and black-and-white photographs.
I picked this book up from the library, as I wanted to know what life was like for Georgians under Soviet rule - and the second part of MacLean's book was definitely illuminating in this regard. I had been wondering, for instance, how Georgia managed to keep its religion in tact when Communism was known for trying to stamp out religion, and the answer, according to the author, is that Stalin (who had been born and raised in Georgia) was afraid of his mother - a staunch member of the Georgian Orthodox Church! Incidentally, Stalin had studied at a Georgian Orthodox seminary (though he never finished) before becoming a Bolshevist revolutionary.
Although my interest was mainly in Georgia, MacLean's account of Armenia has now also sparked my interest in that country, and I'm hoping to be able to add it to my itinerary when I visit Georgia next year.

[Jared Raikkonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This contemporary ethnographic and historical account of the Caucasus is a must read for any enthusiast, anthropologist, or traveler interested in the Caucasus.