Historical dictionary of Kazakhstan /

Written by several scholars who specialize in Kazakh history and politics, this dictionary features 400-plus entries related to the history of Kazakhstan from about 1200 CE to the present. Cowritten by Kassymova (KIMEP Univ.), Kundakbayeva (Al-Farabi Kazakh National Univ., Almaty), and Markus (formerly, Univ. of Kurdistan-Hewler, Iraq), entries are fairly short and lack bibliographies; however, an extensive general bibliography completes the work. Biographical entries are numerous and helpful, and much of the information here on historical and cultural figures is difficult to find anywhere else. Likewise, entries on historical events, political parties, and themes such as language, literature, and mass media are often lengthy and give excellent detail. Other entries on cultural concepts seem out of place: they are briefly described but often given no historical context. Unfortunately, the authors did not use any standard transliteration scheme (admittedly, the transliteration of Kazakh names and terms is problematic for scholars). However, the bibliography in particular clearly needed an editor, since typos and spelling errors abound in the Russian works listed. Nevertheless, this is a useful addition to the literature, since so few standard works exist for this country. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty. T. Miller Michigan State University

The authors professors at Kazakh universities begin this work with a short section explaining some of the choices in transliteration and spelling, followed by a brief introduction to the history and people of Kazakhstan, which borders Russia and China. The dictionary includes the names of historical and contemporary figures, cities, historic sites, ethnic groups, policies, and movements as well as definitions of words that are essential to understanding the Kazakhs. A good starting resource for someone with little knowledge of the country.--Lindstrom, Elaine Copyright 2010 Booklist