Kazakhstan (Modern World Nations (Hardcover))

Charles F. Gritzner is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography at South Dakota State University in Brookings. In 2010, he retired from teaching after a 50-year career during which he taught more than 70 different courses. Dr. Gritzner has served as both president and executive director of the National Council for Geographic Education and received the Council's highest honor, the George J. Miller Award for Distinguished Service to Geographic Education, as well as numerous other national teaching, service, and research recognitions from the NCGE, the Association of American Geographers, and other organizations.

Grade 7-9-While the geography and history sections of this book provide decent overviews, the one on people and culture has a serious error. A chart indicates that between 1989 and 1999, the Uzbek population increased to 39.6 million and another minority population, the Uighurs, to 28.8 million, when in fact the figures should have been 39,600 and 28,800 respectively. Also, when discussing lifestyles, the author emphasizes the nomadic Kazakhs and their unique customs while ignoring the urban residents. A map in the geography section doesn't include all of the cities and regions or the important oil and natural gas reserves. In the final chapter on the future of Kazakhstan, the author suggests that there is a need for the formation of a bilingual society in which the majority of people speak both the Kazakh and Russian languages. In fact, many urban Kazakhs speak only Russian as do the ethnic Slavs. Finally, the last half of the book contains a number of annoying typos. The color photos are good; one only wishes that there were more of them, as in Pang Guek-Cheng's Kazakhstan (Marshall Cavendish, 2001).
Elizabeth Talbot, University of Illinois, Champaign
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