Tony Anderson set out in the summer of 1998 to walk through Georgia. He wanted particularly to visit the Georgian mountain tribes - Tush, Khevsurs, Ratchuelians and Svans - to discover if they shared a common mountain culture, and to test the old idea of the Caucasus as an impenetrable barrier from sea to sea. From Azerbaijan to Svaneti, Anderson found communities where the old customs and beliefs still triumphantly survive, despite years of Communist oppression and the terrible uncertainties since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Throughout his journey Anderson refers back to many other visits to Georgia, to the politics of independence, to the war in Abkhazia and Ossetia, to the civil war and Shevardnadze's accession to power, to the history of these people at one of the great crossroads of the world. It remains an abiding mystery that Georgia has managed to survive at all, devastated time and again by the vagabond hordes from the steppes and torn between the mighty empires that struggled over it. But survive it has with a vibrant culture still intact and, in the mountains, still deeply connected to its ancient ways.

'A remarkable book... His prose is so vivid that you can see and feel the landscapes' Independent

About the Author
Tony Anderson was born in 1950, read English at Oxford, and has taught languages both in Britain and abroad. He has worked as an editor and writer for television, books and theatre, and has recently edited works on Russian/Caucasian subjects. He lives in Somerset.

Reviews
Anderson's unusually reflective and observant narrative allows the reader to appreciate far more than the grandeur of nature... Full of knowledge lovingly amassed over years of other travels... His sheer joy at being in Georgia warms the reader's heart * Times Literary Supplement *
When I finished Bread and Ashes - hanging on every word - I could have wished it twice as long * Independent *



Book Information
ISBN 9780099437871
Author Tony Anderson
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Vintage
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 300g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 25mm