Nomads and the Outside World

Cambridge Studies in Social Anthropology #44

by Anatoly M. Khazanov, Anotoly M. Khazanov, Julia Crookenden (Translator)

Hailed by reviewers as “majestic and magisterial,” Nomads and the Outside World was first published in English in 1984.  With the author's new introduction and an updated bibliography, this classic is now available in an edition accessible to students.

From reviews of the first edition:

“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

Genres: History, Anthropology, Nonfiction

442 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 1984

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic survey by a great Russian expert on the whole world of nomads as it evolved over the course of history.

[Tsai Wei-chieh · Rating 4 out of 5]

必讀書目。不過由於忽略了對內亞東部游牧民族的討論，導致結論有商榷餘地。

[Avital]

GN 387 K45