On Secret Service East of Constantinople
- 464 pages
- 17 hours of reading
'Hopkirk has made the extraordinary field of Central-Asian espionage his own ... an enthralling story' Observer
Peter Hopkirk Book order
December 15, 1930 – August 22, 2014
Peter Hopkirk's writing delves into the captivating, often lawless frontiers of the British Empire and beyond, driven by a lifelong fascination with history and geography. His extensive journalistic career, marked by assignments in volatile regions, coupled with years of travel across Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, infused his work with a unique perspective. Hopkirk masterfully blended his experiences as a reporter and correspondent with meticulous historical research, creating compelling narratives of adventure, espionage, and cultural encounters. Inspired by classic accounts of exploration, his books illuminate the complex histories and human dramas unfolding at the edges of civilization.
- 2006
- 2006
'A gripping account of the terrible, confused struggle for mastery of Central Asia that followed the Russian Revolution' Evening Standard
- 2006
Quest for Kim
- 288 pages
- 11 hours of reading
'A fascinating, brilliantly written book' Times Literary Supplement
- 2002
Mission to Tashkent
- 314 pages
- 11 hours of reading
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.
- 2001
Peter Hopkirk's book tells for the first time the story of the Bolshevik attempt between the wars to set the East ablaze with the new gospel of Marxism. Lenin's dream was to liberate the whole of Asia, but his starting point was British India. A shadowy, undeclared war followed.Among the players in this new Great Game were British Indian intelligence officers and the professional revolutionaries of the Communist International. There were also Muslim visionaries and Chinese warlords - as well as a White Russian baron who roasted his Bolshevik captives alive. Here is an extraordinary tale of intrigue and treachery, barbarism and civil war, whose echoes continue to be heard in Central Asia today.
- 1995
Trespassers on the Roof of the World
- 284 pages
- 10 hours of reading
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.
- 1994
On Secret Service East of Constantinople
The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire
- 431 pages
- 16 hours of reading
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.
- 1994
The great game: the struggle for empire in central Asia
- 624 pages
- 22 hours of reading
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.
- 1990
This is an account of the encounter last century between the British in India and Tsarist Russia in Central Asia which became known as the Great Game. When the encounter began the frontiers of Russia and British India lay some 2000 apart. By the end, the gap had shrunk in places to 20 miles. As Russia pushed forward her frontiers young officers found the fulfilment of their dreams in the chance to escape garrison life and find promotion and glory in the Caucasus, China and Tibet.
