Warriors of the Steppe: A Military History of Central Asia, 500 B.C. to A.D. 1700 Paperback – November 6, 2001

I like to classify this one as another gateway book. It gives a great overview of steppe peoples as a whole. Tells the story of their lifestyles and hardships. It shows how steppe lifestyles allowed them to be such great warriors and conquerors. Truly a great book about how and why things happened. A gateway book because of how it makes you want to research further the peoples described in it.I'd like to add, that it was because of this book that I fully understand the concepts of the fears of the East,the "Russian Steamroller" and such. Even though the Russians were not steppe peoples, I can confidantly say that it is Western Civilization's experiences with Huns, Mongols, and other steppe peoples that have contributed to the fear of that "Eastern peril."

Excellent book if you are interested in the history of mounted warfare on the Asian steppe. It is written like a history book so it would be a slow read if you are not interested in the subject matter.

decent over-view of the various cultures of the Eurasian steppes and plains and their military impact through attack and conquest of more sedentary "civilized" countries and cultures.

History is one of the most conjecture ridden areas of human thought and the history of an illiterate peoples doubly so. So it is no surprise that theologians from all parts argue about the truth in Steppe warrior history. Nonetheless I consider this book to be the best concise distillation of Steppe culture history and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.

Very informative treatment of a fascinating and little understood subject, especially in regard to the first of these tribes, the Scythians. These people, and their Indo-Aryan cousins the Pazyryks, Sarmatians, Medes, Persians, Alan's and Parni (Parthians) were very important to the development of the modern peoples of Europe and the Middle East.

This is an introduction to the history of the Eurasian steppe. The author is mainly interested in warfare and mixes an outline history with discussions of horse archery and related matters. The Scythians were not Indo-Aryan. Darius did not go west after crossing the Danube. Xixia was not northwest of Chen. And so on. The book is an introduction or entertainment, not a reference.

Hildinger's is a wonderful introduction to the steppe tribes and their evolution from the Sarmations to the Manchus. For anyone new to the topic, this is the place to start. For an experienced steppe scholar, made not provide all the details but that was certainly not Mr. Hildinger's intention.

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