*Central Asia*, by Adeeb Khalid

An excellent book, the best I know of on this region.  Here is one bit:

The first printing press in Central Asia was established in Tashkent in 1870…

I had not understood how much Xinjiang (“East Turkestan”), prior to its absorption into newly communist China, fell under the sway of Soviet influence.

I had not known how much the central Asian republics had explicit “let’s slow down rural migration into the cities” policies during Soviet times.

The book is interesting throughout, recommended.