I knew relatively little about the Chechnya conflict prior to reading this book, and I found it to be a good introduction to the background and history of the Chechens and their relationship to greater Russia. I am an absolute amateur, and I didn't find the book to be ponderous or academic; at times it was actually quite thrilling. Dunlop seems to be sympathetic to the cause of the Chechen people, yet I found him to be pretty balanced in his analysis. Only problem I had was keeping straight all of the long Russian names, especially not knowing how to pronounce them...

This book goes into details about the Chechen-Russian conflict beginning with the original Russian expansion into the region. It talks about the religious, social, and economic factors involved in the Chechen conflict, as well as details on the traumatic depopulation of Chechnya in 1944 and the appropriation of the lands for other, more "loyal" peoples. A little repetitious at times and NOT for someone doing some light reading, but definitely a good book on the subject.