This book is a splendid analysis of the Russian conquest of Chechnya and Daghestan between the late 1820s and early 1850s. Its central theme is the collision between imperial Russia and the Muslim peoples of the Caucasus. Gammer traces the origins of the 'Islamic revival' that occurred in the Caucasus in the second quarter of the nineteenth century and shows how, under the leadership of Imam Shamil, that revival assumed a military dimension that challenged Russia's presence in the region. Gammer insists that Shamil and his followers were by no means the 'fanatics' or 'terrorists' imagined by the Russians. He argues that Shamil was a genuine believer in God and in Islamic law; that Shamil first sought accommodation with the Russians but soon became aware that the Russians were only interested in establishing imperial hegemony in the region; that Shamil was a shrewd politician who very nearly succeeded in unifying the ethnically diverse peoples of Chechnya and Daghestan under a common Islamic banner. The book is based on profound scholarship, but it is written in a lively narrative style. The text is accompanied by helpful maps and suggestive illustrations. Although Gammer's book focuses on the nineteenth century, its subject is timely in light of the two recent wars between post-Soviet Russia and the Chechens who, since Shamil's rebellion, may never have accepted Russian rule.

An indepth look at an Amazing personality and the conditions surrounding his times. Moshe Gammer has done justice to his subject matter.