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Peter Hopkirk

    15 dicembre 1930 – 22 agosto 2014

    La scrittura di Peter Hopkirk si addentra nelle affascinanti e spesso senza legge frontiere dell'Impero Britannico e oltre, spinto da un fascino duraturo per la storia e la geografia. La sua vasta carriera giornalistica, segnata da incarichi in regioni turbolente, unita ad anni di viaggi attraverso Russia, Asia Centrale e Medio Oriente, ha infuso nel suo lavoro una prospettiva unica. Hopkirk ha sapientemente fuso le sue esperienze di reporter e corrispondente con una meticolosa ricerca storica, creando narrazioni avvincenti di avventura, spionaggio e incontri culturali. Ispirati da classici resoconti di esplorazione, i suoi libri illuminano le complesse storie e i drammi umani che si svolgono ai margini della civiltà.

    Foreign Devils on the Silk Road
    Setting the East Ablaze
    Trespassers on the Roof of the World. The Race for Lhasa
    The great game: the struggle for empire in central Asia
    On Secret Service East of Constantinople
    The Great Game
    • Už v 19. století představoval Tibet a jeho hlavní město Lhasa, ležící téměř tři kilometry nad mořem, pro mnohé cestovatele ten nejvytouženější cíl. Vábení tajemné země i její strategický význam vedly odhodlané cestovatele z viktoriánské Británie, carského Ruska, Ameriky a řady dalších zemí světa k tomu, aby se zas a znova a bez ohledu na neochotu, ba až odpor Tibeťanů pokoušeli do této izolované oblasti proniknout. Osudy oněch nejrůznějších dobrodruhů, mystiků, horolezců a misionářů líčí britský novinář, historik a spisovatel Peter Hopkirk poutavě a čtivě. Popisuje rovněž, jakými způsoby se Čína odjakživa snažila na „střeše světa“ udržet a prosadit zde svůj vliv, což vyvrcholilo čínskou invazí v 50. letech 20. století. V krátkém doslovu Hopkirk aktualizuje text pojednáním o dnešním Tibetu – okupovaném dodnes Číňany.

      Vetřelci na střeše světa. Soupeření o Lhasu.2023
      4,5
    • Quest for Kim

      • 288pagine
      • 11 ore di lettura

      'A fascinating, brilliantly written book' Times Literary Supplement

      Quest for Kim2006
      3,9
    • Mission to Tashkent

      • 314pagine
      • 11 ore di lettura

      In this remarkable book Colonel F.M. Bailey, the last true player of the Great Game, tells of the perilous game of cat-and-mouse, lasting sixteen months, which he played with the Bolshevik secret police, the dreaded Cheka.

      Mission to Tashkent2002
      3,9
    • Setting the East Ablaze

      Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia

      • 272pagine
      • 10 ore di lettura

      'A gripping account of the terrible, confused struggle for mastery of Central Asia that followed the Russian Revolution' Evening Standard

      Setting the East Ablaze2001
      4,2
    • Trespassers on the Roof of the World

      • 284pagine
      • 10 ore di lettura

      In ultimately tragic narrative, Peter Hopkirk recounts the forcible opening up of Tibet during the 19th and 20th centuries, and the race between agents, soldiers, missionaries, mountaineers, explorers, and mystics from nine different countries to reach Lhasa, Tibet's sacred capital.

      Trespassers on the Roof of the World2001
      3,7
    • On Secret Service East of Constantinople

      The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire

      • 431pagine
      • 16 ore di lettura

      Under the banner of a Holy War, the Germans and Turks set out in 1914 to foment violent revolutionary uprisings against the British in India and the Russians in Central Asia. This is the story of the Turco-German jihad told through the adventures of the secret agents and others who took part in it.

      On Secret Service East of Constantinople1994
      4,4
    • 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 in Kipling's Kim. 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 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 horsetraders, they mapped secret passes, gathered intelligence, and sought the allegiance of powerful khans. Some never returned.

      The great game: the struggle for empire in central Asia1994
      4,3
    • The Great Game

      • 576pagine
      • 21 ore di lettura

      Tells the story of the "Great Game", the imperial, political, diplomatic and military operation in British India, stretching from the Caucasus in the west to Chinese Turkestan and Tibet in the east.

      The Great Game1990
      4,4
    • Journey to Turkistan

      • 221pagine
      • 8 ore di lettura

      In 1933 Sir Eric Teichman and five colleagues undertook an epic journey to the Chinese province of Xinjiang in two ramshackle lorries. Their mission, to report back to the British Government on the confused situation in the Province which had been virtually taken over by the Russians - is part of the story, but the fascination of the book lies in Sir Eric's gripping account of their 2,500 mile journey, one of the pioneering feats of early motoring. This new edition includes an Introduction by Peter Hopkirk.

      Journey to Turkistan1988
      3,8