​It’s been a while since I last posted on this blog.  Why the interlude?  To be honest, I have been wrestling with how to “blog” about a novel.  On one hand, Chaturanga is finished – and I don’t want to give away aspects of the story for those who haven’t yet read it.  On the other hand, the novel merely cracks the door on the wide diversity of stories that could be told about Central Asia.  There’s so much that remains to be learned and written… but perhaps that is material better left for another novel, not a blog.

So, in this post I’ll simply share a few things I've learned over the 10 months since Chaturanga was released.
 
1. Marketing books is not simple.  Shortly after publishing Chaturanga, I began to understand why researching, writing, and publishing a manuscript are just the first steps to “being a novelist.”  In fact, there’s a lot more to it than just telling a good story.  Getting your book into the hands of reviewers and readers is an entirely different process and skill-set.  While I don’t have a background in marketing, I’m learning more every day! 

2. Chaturanga remains relevant.  World politics seems to be getting crazier and more complicated every day – just take a look at the latest newspaper headlines!   How can someone possibly keep up with this avalanche of ever-changing news and events, to say nothing of rampant misinformation and stereotypes?  One reason I have long been drawn to geopolitics is its focus on deep-rooted, long-term, fundamental forces:  geography and history.  These forces are enduring – they continue to affect today’s world politics in ways that haven’t changed much across centuries.  Readers of Chaturanga will appreciate how these powerful forces have shaped Central Asia over the past, how they are affecting it today, and what will likely unfold in the coming decades.  In contrast to today’s sensational and dramatic news stories, Chaturanga takes the “long view” towards world politics. 

3. Today’s young readers still desire wholesome adventure fiction.  Surprisingly, not every middle or high school student is drawn to dark, apocalyptic, supernatural, romance, or classical literature novels.  In fact, at a recent book fair, I was encouraged by the number of students (mostly boys) who shared with me their frustrations at having to read books they don’t enjoy or can’t relate to – either because their teachers make them, or because they can’t find any good alternatives.  Boys will be boys – and there’s nothing wrong with a good, old-fashioned adventure yarn.  They are still my favorite kind of books! 

4. Parents appreciate “clean” entertainment for their kids.  Back when I was a teacher, I heard parents’ concerns about what their children were reading.  On many occasions, a mom or dad would ask my recommendations for books without profanity, violence, and adult themes.  But it wasn’t until I became a parent that I fully appreciated their concerns.  As a father, I am surprised and disappointed by the inappropriate adult themes woven throughout children’s and young adult books, shows, and movies.  While some kids have the intellectual abilities to understand advanced subject matter, they may not have the emotional maturity to process the other material. It’s nice to know there are many other parents who want wholesome reads that share positive, age appropriate messages.  

5. You never get it wrong, and you never get it done.  I completed Chaturanga over the course of 13 months – that includes time spent developing the idea, researching and writing the manuscript, designing the cover, and editing and publication.  For this, I am proud – there are gazillions of unfinished manuscripts in this world, and any author will attest to the accomplishment of simply finishing one.  That said, Chaturanga is far from being a “perfect” book.  There are plenty of details I would change, add, or plain leave out if I had to do it all again.  But I’m not going to do it all again.  Instead, I’m going to work on my next book – while trying to keep in mind that you never get it wrong, and you never get it done. There is no one, perfect story – there’s just life.  And life is simply the story that you decide to tell. 
                  – Andrew C. Katen

Despite Central Asia’s long history and enduring importance to world politics, today’s students are barely learning about this region.  When I recently thumbed through a middle school-level World History textbook issued by a major publisher, I found only 18 pages out of 800+ that touched on Central Asia.  By that estimate, Western students today spent no more than 0.02% of their time reading about one of the oldest and most important regions of the world!
 
As a former teacher, my point here is not to criticize textbooks or educators.  History is a vast subject, and there is no way to cover it all in a year.  Even if it could be done, the breakneck pace would only allow a surface-level investigation of most places and events.  And there is no single (or easy) way to organize such a large amount of information.  Thus, priority must be given to certain civilizations, cultures, or phases of societal development.  Nevertheless, Central Asia seems to have fallen between the chapters.

​1. Geostrategic value.  Central Asia is history’s most significant “pivot point.”  Since before Alexander the Great, empires bent on ruling Eurasia understood that they had to first control the steppes east of the Caspian.  Domination of these lands gave them flexibility of movement – the option to swivel their forces west to Europe, north to Russia, east to China, and south to the Middle East and India.  This strategic reality made Central Asia the focal point of the “Great Game” – a 19th century struggle between Russia and British India for supremacy of Eurasia.  Modern powers are not oblivious to Central Asia’s geostrategic value, leading many analysts to speculate that there is a New Great Game in progress today.

​2. ​Crossroads of trade.  For millennia, Central Asia’s place on the map has made it a crossroads of international trade.  Just as armies used the region to “pivot” in multiple directions, so too did Silk Road merchants traverse its routes and visit its oasis-cities to distribute their goods to and from the far corners of the world.  Today, traditional Silk Road powers like China, India, and Iran are reestablishing these geo-economic connections with the construction of a “New Silk Road” that will join the “Old World” via highways, railways, and pipelines across Central Asia.  Efforts such as these will rebalance international commerce in the coming decades.

​3. Abundant natural resources.  Central Asia possesses abundant natural resources, including massive energy reserves (oil, gas, and uranium), metals deposits (zinc, lead, chromite, copper, gold, etc.), precious stones, agricultural goods, and fish.  These resources will continue to entice resource-hungry powers like China and India (as well as adversarial powers that wish to cut them off from these resources).

4. Diverse culture and history.  Central Asia contains a great variety of ethnic groups, religions, and languages.  Ancient cities like Bukhara, Samarkand, Merv, and Kashgar were lighthouses for the study of science, mathematics, literature, and religion, as well as hubs for trade and commerce.  Today’s inhabitants are descendants of these great cultures and civilizations – an important point to keep in mind when considering their present-day perspectives, ambitions, and allegiances.

5. Relevance to current events.  Central Asia’s history and geography are useful lenses for understanding today’s “local” conflicts.  At the same time, they also shed light upon the present-day actions and policies of regional and world powers.  For example, the civil wars and separatist movements in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Xinjiang are largely driven by long-standing disputes among inhabitants over ethnic differences or farmland or water.  At the same time, these quarrels inevitably attract the attention and involvement of larger players (i.e., China, Russia, India, Iran and the United States) that each have their own interests to protect.  In fact, many of these local disputes are manipulated (and exacerbated) by great powers to advance their broader foreign policy agendas.   Therefore, study of Central Asia can also help students understand conflicts along the region's periphery, such as in Syria and Turkey.

​Teachers and parents may not have the time or resources to incorporate Central Asia into their curriculums.  Fortunately, there is a novel that makes this region’s history, geography, and current events understandable and relatable for young learners!
 
Chaturanga tells the story of 14-year-old Patrick Eaton’s journey on the Silk Road, and brings together learning with plenty of fun, adventure, and self-discovery.  The book contains no violence, profanity, or “adult themes,” making it appropriate for readers of all ages.  Get your copy here.
 
©2016 Andrew C. Katen.  All rights reserved. Permission is granted to share this article with others, as well as to print or post it on other websites, so long as credit is given to the author.

By Andrew C. Katen

​Last week’s failed coup in Turkey has led to diverse speculation about which direction the country will now take, and how this course will affect the region and world.  The reality is that nobody seems to know exactly what happened or why, or what will come next.  In fact, forecasting near-term political events is challenging because it involves predicting the thoughts and actions of individuals – human beings that are fickle, frequently unreasonable or irrational, and often influenced by the collective mentality of their tribe.  Added to this difficulty is the level of secrecy that cloaks every elite body’s decision-making and which makes interpretation of their intentions all the more difficult.  Simply put, nobody today knows for sure what will happen in Turkey over the coming days, weeks, or months.
 
Nevertheless, we can make some reasonable guesses about the long-term future of Turkey by understanding its geopolitical situation – that is, viewing the country in the context of its long history and enduring geography.  We can identify deep-rooted forces that have shaped the country’s behavior and fate up until now, and whose influence will likely continue into the foreseeable future.  While we do not have the benefit of a crystal ball, we can make sound assumptions based upon historical patterns and trends.  There may be deviations along the way, but in the long run geopolitics usually wins out because of its defining trait:  momentum.

Momentum is an essential concept to remember when differentiating short-term political circumstances from longer-term geopolitical trends.  A useful analogy involves a jet-ski and a cruise ship.  A jet-ski is small, fast, and can change direction “on a dime.”  When the rider lets off the gas, it basically “dies” in the water.  On the other hand, a cruise ship is large, slow, and comparatively unwieldy.  Even if its engines are cut, it will maintain its course for a considerable distance.  The reason, of course, is the cruise ship’s gargantuan mass, which gives it much more momentum than a jet ski.  Larger momentum means that a cruise ship will require much more force, distance, and time to stop (or change direction) than a jet-ski.  ​

​With this analogy in mind, let’s take a look at Turkey’s geopolitical situation.  What happens in Ankara or Istanbul over the next couple weeks or months is akin to the maneuvers of a jet-ski.  The situation may change quickly and drastically; after all, the country’s immediate course will be set by the decisions of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party, and possibly by external actors, as well.  While these decisions will have consequences, they will not likely alter Turkey’s larger geopolitical impetus.
 
In combination, Turkey’s geography and history are like a cruise ship whose momentum cannot be quickly or easily altered, and whose course over the past millennia suggests that more geopolitical turbulence is on the way.  Turkey is located in Anatolia, a landmass that has been repeatedly conquered by major powers since ancient times.  Long before Alexander the Great, this region served as a strategic square on the world’s chessboard.  It has continued to be an important land bridge between Europe and Asia, and its position astride the Turkish Straits affords whoever occupies Istanbul control over a critical maritime trade route and strategic bottleneck.  In fact, many historians have speculated that the Trojan War was not really fought over a woman, but rather over this key geopolitical chokepoint.

​Nearly three thousand years after the Greeks fought for the Turkish Straits, Russia’s Catherine the Great recognized them as a critical gateway for Russia’s navy to access the warm waters of the Mediterranean – a reality which prompted her to seize the Crimea and establish a naval base there in the late-1700s.   In actuality, her policy for the Black Sea region represented only a snapshot in a long history of geopolitical friction between Turkey and Russia.  The Russo-Turkish Wars (aka, the Ottoman-Russian Wars) are one of the longest series of wars in European history, involving at least 12 conflicts waged from the 16th to the 20th centuries.  Although they began as a confrontation over Ukraine, these wars soon grew to encompass wider struggles for influence over places such as the Caucasus, northern Persia (Iran), and the Balkans.  Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014, followed by the 2015 shoot-down of a Russian warplane by Turkey, simply reaffirm that this centuries-old geopolitical rivalry is far from finished. 

Turkey’s ethnic history is another important geopolitical theme to keep in mind when assessing current events and future policies.  Not surprisingly, the majority of the country’s inhabitants are Turkic.  But they represent only one segment of a geographically diverse collection of Turkic ethnic groups that are located throughout Eurasia.  Believed to have originated over 2000 years ago in what is now Mongolia, the Turkic peoples eventually migrated across Central Asia and into Eastern Europe and Anatolia.  In some cases, they have mixed with existing local populations; in other instances they have coalesced into great powers that dominate the landscape; examples include the Seljuks, Golden Horde, Timerids, Mughals, and Ottomans.  

​Today, Turkey is the world’s largest Turkic nation-state, but it is certainly not the only one.   In fact, the majority of the world’s Turkic peoples are still located throughout the Caucasus and Central Asia.  Most reside in the independent states of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan; however, Turkic peoples also constitute sizeable populations of Xinjiang (aka “Chinese Turkestan”) and eastern Moldova (bordering northern Ukraine), as well Russia, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan.  Regardless of where they live, however, the Turkic peoples are linked by strong cultural, historical, and linguistic bonds.  Furthermore, most of them are Sunni Muslims.
 
While ethnicity and Islam link Turkic peoples across Eurasia, Turkey maintains a singularly unique importance:  it is also the geographic and cultural heart of the Ottoman Empire.  For nearly 700 years – from roughly 1300 A.D. until the end of World War I – the Ottomans controlled much of the Middle East, as well as the Caucasus, southeastern Europe, and northern Africa.  During most of this time, the Ottoman Empire also held the title of Islamic caliphate – a designation that was kept until the empire was abolished in 1924 and replaced with the Republic of Turkey.  In the years that followed, founder and first president Mustafa Kemal Attatürk instituted a program of modernization and secularization, thereby supplanting Islamic decree with constitutional rule of law. 

Although Attatürk's guiding principles were generally upheld throughout the remainder of the 20th century, they contradict Turkey’s much longer history as a regional hegemon and center of Islamic power.  Indeed, current trends are revealing Turkey’s inherent vulnerability to the ancient and powerful forces of geography, history, and culture.  At the start of the 21st century, Turkey still possessed many of the criteria established by Attatürk:  it was a constitutional democracy, modern and relatively secular, characterized by a strong legal framework, and guided by his noninterventionist policy of “peace at home, peace in the world.”  Yet, last week’s coup highlighted the return to Ottoman-like authoritarianism that has been advancing steadily over the past decade. 
 
Even if Attatürk’s vision for a modernist, secular Turkey survives the current instability, it does not alter the realities of the country’s deep-rooted geopolitical challenges (risks which I point out above, as well as in a 2013 article and here).  The recent diplomatic disputes with Russia expose a centuries-old conflict that will not soon be resolved.  As Russia and China expand into Central Asia, the Middle East’s borders unravel, militant Islam continues to spread, and Iran reemerges to pursue its own hegemonic goals, Turkey’s inherent geopolitical situation will only become more apparent. 
 
In conclusion, recent events in Turkey appear to validate the enduring significance – indeed, the enormous momentum – of geopolitics.   What these events mean for the country’s future cannot be stated with certainty.  That said, a return to a constitutional, secular republic – one that pursues peace and liberty in Turkey over authoritarianism and intervention in the wider Turkic region – does not fit the trend established over the past millennium.  This reality does not make it impossible for Turkey to halt, or even reverse, course – but the likelihood of doing so is analagous to stopping a cruise ship “on a dime.”  Geography and history are weighty forces, and Turkey’s long-term momentum will be very difficult to overcome.

©2016 Andrew C. Katen.  All rights reserved.
 
Permission is granted to share this article with others, as well as to print or post it on other websites, so long as credit is given to the author.

How to get your free download:

1. Visit Smashwords.
  (if you are not already a member, it is free to join). 
2. Click "Buy" button to the right of Chaturanga.
3. Enter the coupon code:  HP22Z. 
4. Download your free e-Book of Chaturanga. 

If you enjoy the book, I hope you will consider rating it and/or leaving a review on Smashwords. 

Less than one month after completing a dramatic journey across Central Asia, fourteen-year-old Patrick Eaton could easily be forgiven if he were still struggling to readjust to life back home.  After all, he had spent nearly three months immersed in a land and culture vastly different from his own.  But earlier this week, when I caught up with him in the cafeteria of Central High School, it appeared Eaton had already transitioned back into a typical American teenager.
 
“I couldn’t find my khakis this morning,” he said with a sheepish grin, arriving at our meeting in a wrinkled t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops.  He sat down across from me and lifted a threadbare baseball cap to reveal the shaggy hairstyle so popular with adolescents these days. 
 
Having worked with teenagers before, I replied that it was okay; this was not a job interview.  Besides, I added in a pitiful attempt to relate, it must be tough settling back into the cruel world of young adulthood.  He just smiled and shook his head.  “Actually, I just slept through my alarm this morning.”
 
Looking him over, I started to wonder if I was in the right place.  My editor had hooked me with the tale of an American boy who accompanied his father on a business trip to Azerbaijan, and was then whisked along a hair-raising adventure on the Silk Road.  Trekking across deserts and visiting far-flung oasis-cities, he had learned about the wider world and his place in it, surviving difficulties and dangers, and growing stronger and wiser as a result.  Could this be that same boy?

“Tell me about your summer,” I continued, reaching down to fish around my jacket pocket for a notebook and pen.  When I looked up again, a startling transformation had taken place.  The boyish grin was gone.  In its place was a cool smile and eyes that radiated energy as they focused on mine.  Leaning forward, he intertwined his fingers on the table between us and cleared his throat.  When he spoke, his voice bore the composure that I expected of a seasoned explorer. 
 
“Central Asia is beautiful… and complex,” he began quietly, and I knew in that moment that I did, in fact, have the right Patrick Eaton.  “It’s an ancient land, occupied over millennia by conquerors since Alexander [the Great], and the birthplace of its own great conquerors.” 
 
He went on to explain that he had known virtually nothing of the region before last summer.  “In school, we studied the big empires – the Greeks, Mongols, Persians, and Chinese.  But I had never heard of Azerbaijan or Uzbekistan.  I didn’t even know where Central Asia was before I went there.”
 
As he continued his story, my brain worked to recall where these places were.  I couldn’t, but I nodded along anyway, not wanting to reveal my ignorance to a kid wearing flip-flops. 
 
“It seemed like an accident that I went to Baku in the first place.”  As he spoke, his thoughts seemed to drift away from our table and out the cafeteria windows.  “I had planned to spend my summer playing baseball and video games.  Instead, I ended up learning about caravanserais, the oil and gas resources of the Caspian Sea, and the Soviet Union’s expansion into the Caucasus – that’s the region to the west of the Caspian.” 
 
As he emphasized this last point, his voice sounded almost paternal.  I wondered if he had sensed my poor grasp of geography, or if returning to a high school cafeteria was tugging at my own strings of insecurity.  But his expression was sincere and friendly, and I realized he was just excited to share what he had learned.
 
Eaton then pulled a well-worn map out of his backpack.  Over the next hour, using his finger as a pointer, he led me across the Silk Road while recalling each of the places he had visited.  He described what he had learned along the way, shared some of his favorite memories, and discussed particular moments when he had felt enlightened, scared, or inspired.
 
“I remember standing in this beautiful, ancient tomb, in a city that was all but forgotten, looking up at the sky and thinking about how many millions of people had stood in that very same place century after century.  It really hit me how old this part of the world is, and that people like myself don’t really know much about it.  We think it’s all deserts and nomads, full of wars and poverty.  But there’s so much more to it!  Central Asia has an incredibly deep and rich history and culture.  I mean, they had such large, diverse, sophisticated cities – visited by travelers from all over the world – at a time when people in France or Britain were still living in wooden huts!”
 
I nodded and scribbled away in my notebook, forgetting that I was talking with a teenager.
 
Were you ever scared? I asked.  “Oh, yeah, lots of times.”  He leaned back, breathed deeply, and rubbed his hands together.  “Scared in different ways.”  How did you cope with this?  “Well, for one thing, I was with my dad, and he’s like one of the bravest people I know.”  His face lit up at this.  “And I was also surrounded by friends who cared about me and wanted to see me persevere.  So I relied on their guidance, as well as others who I couldn’t see but that I could feel were there with me.  Along the way, I began to see that courage is not about being fearless; it’s about keeping going when you’re most scared.” 
 
With my respect for this young man growing exponentially, I asked how he felt being back in the States – and back in school – after his experience abroad. 
 
“It’s nice,” he replied, nodding slowly.  “It’s good to be around my friends again, to get back into my routine, and to enjoy some of the comforts I’d taken for granted before… like knowing how to get to the local supermarket, or getting a reliable internet reception on my cell phone, or just sleeping in my own bed without having to worry about scorpions or sandstorms.”
 
What does he miss most about last summer?  
 
“Probably spending time with my dad, I guess.  That – and the friends I made along the way.  I met some really amazing people – really smart and kind people – who each shared perspectives with me, taught me something about the world, and helped me learn about myself, too.  And I miss the excitement of exploration and travel, too – never knowing what might happen, who you’ll meet, and what you’ll see, do, and learn along the way.  Traveling helped me learn how other people live, relate, and understand the world.  I think it made me a better person.” 
 
Now that he’s home, how does he find that people relate to his experience? 
 
“It’s been interesting,” he answers, laughing softly.  “Everybody seems to connect with a different part of my trip.  For example, my friends are mostly interested in whether I found any lost cities, or if I got arrested or chased by spies, or climbed a mountain peak, or met any girls – stuff like that.  My dad’s friends want to hear what I think about the energy business, and how I see falling oil prices affecting those countries.  My mom’s a lawyer, so of course she and her friends are interested in the region’s politics – how the people of Central Asia relate to each other and their own governments.  And my teachers mostly want to know about the culture, the history, the arts – those sorts of things.  But everybody’s different.  Everyone I talk with wants to hear about my summer through their own interests and biases.”
 
He looked at me for a moment, and I got that uncomfortable sensation again that he was able to read my thoughts.  “And some just want to know about me – how I’m different as a result of my experience.”
 
I took the bait and asked him how his summer changed him.  “Well, for one thing, I know that I want to do more traveling!”  His eyes danced with excitement.  Back to Central Asia?  I pressed.  “Definitely.  But other places, too.  I’ve learned that we live in a really big world.  There are still plenty of frontiers left to explore.”
 
He glanced across the cafeteria at tables full of talking and laughing teenagers.  “And I’ve learned that appearances can be misleading.  The people we are most afraid of or prejudiced against can end up our best friends.  Sometimes, those we trust can break that trust for reasons which may be unclear or difficult for us to understand.  Traveling really helped me appreciate that everyone’s different, but that we also have more in common than we realize.  You know what I mean?” 
 
I certainly did.  We spent another half-hour talking like old friends.  Despite my initial misgivings for interviewing a teenager about his summer vacation, I began to realize that I’d fallen victim to my own prejudices and was just as guilty of having been deceived by appearances.  Eaton may look like your ordinary teenager, but he’s also an incredibly thoughtful, smart, and open-minded young man. 
 
More than that, he seems to possess a special charm – a genuine desire to learn about and relate to others – which makes him incredibly likeable.  At one point, I caught myself sharing thoughts and opinions that I hadn’t spoken aloud in years.  When I realized this – and apologized if I’d talked too much – he just smiled and shrugged, saying something about how his great-grandfather possessed the real charm.  Patrick was just a guy trying to find his place in the world, he said, just like everyone else.
 
After meeting him, I can say that Patrick Eaton is certainly not the same as everyone else.  But then, none of us are.  On the other hand, sitting in his high school cafeteria – a place that could even make a seasoned journalist feel anxious – Patrick reminded me that if we look beyond appearances, we will find that we have a lot more in common then we think.
 
                                                                                       – Andrew C. Katen

Chaturanga is a work of fiction, but the novel incorporates places, events, issues – and people – that are all too real.  During his journey on the Silk Road, Patrick uncovers a legacy of exploration carved by earlier generations of Eaton men.  One of these men was his great-grandfather, Thomas – someone Patrick never met but whose daring exploits nearly a century earlier grip the 14-year-old’s awe, stir his imagination, and cause him to wonder if he, too, has what it takes to call himself an Eaton. 
 
Without a doubt, Patrick’s great-grandfather was an iconic explorer.  “During the first half of the twentieth century, Thomas Eaton lived the kind of adventures that most people today could only imagine in books or movies.”  His mental and physical toughness, self-assurance, knack for survival, and independence of thought are traits any boy would covet and wish to emulate. 
 
But while this character might seem too good to be true, in fact several real-life explorers of Central Asia provided the inspiration for Thomas Eaton.   Readers of Chaturanga will no doubt recognize aspects of each of the following men in the personality and daring feats of Patrick’s childhood hero.

Photo in the public domain.

Frederick Marshman (F.M.) Bailey (1882-1967) was a British intelligence officer and known as the last player of the Great Game.  He began his career as a soldier, first serving in India and later in the Battle of Gallipoli during WWI (where he was wounded twice).  Ultimately, he joined the Foreign and Political Department where he became a spy and traveled extensively through China, Tibet, and Central Asia.  He is perhaps most famously known for his 1918 mission to Tashkent (in today’s Uzbekistan) to gather information on the newly formed Bolshevik regime.  To escape the city, he impersonated a Cheka (Soviet secret police) officer who was pursuing… himself!  Bailey survived the Great Game, continuing to serve His Majesty’s Government through WWII, and retiring an old man.  Book recommendation:  Mission to Tashkent, by F.M. Bailey. 

Photo in the public domain.

Sven Hedin (1865-1952) truly was born to explore.  In his autobiography, Sven writes that as a young boy living in Sweden, he obsessed over maps and the feats of great explorers, and even slept with the windows of his bedroom open to inure his body to the frigid night air.  A trip to Azerbaijan as a young man catalyzed a career in exploration that lasted decades.  Hedin carried out four lengthy expeditions to Central Asia, where he mapped the Himalayas (spending months at a time above 15,000 feet), discovered the sources of the Brahmaputra and Indus Rivers, often traveled in disguise to elude Tibetan authorities, and helped fill in some of the few remaining “white spots” on European maps.  He also explored lower elevations, such as by undertaking numerous trips across the Taklamakan Desert to uncover long-lost Buddhist cities.  One of these trips proved particularly disastrous after his guide became lost; Hedin’s party lost most of its men, and he literally crawled out of the desert to summon help for surviving members.  Book recommendation:  My Life as an Explorer, by Sven Hedin.

Photo:  Roy Chapman Andrews on his horse, Kublai Khan.  (Public domain)

Roy Chapman Andrews (1884-1960) – aka the “Dragon Hunter” – was a paleontologist famous for scouring the Gobi Desert for dinosaur fossils in the 1930s.  His party was the first to utilize automobiles there (along with camels to carry extra supplies), which were driven deep into the unmapped and often dangerous interior of Mongolia.  Along the way, Andrews discovered the first nest of dinosaur eggs, as well as Protoceratops, Oviraptor, and Velociraptor (made famous in Jurassic Park).  Eventually, Andrews had to leave Central Asia due to its political instability.  He went on to serve as director of the American Museum before retiring to write books for young readers.  Today, Andrews is perhaps best remembered as the inspiration for Indiana Jones.  Book recommendation:  Dragon Hunter, by Charles Gallenkamp.

Photo source:  www.maclean.org.

Sir Fitzroy Maclean (1911-1996) was a Scottish political officer, soldier, and writer, whose intrepid journeys across Central Asia (and various other places) are relayed in his autobiography, Eastern Approaches.  On assignment to Moscow as a young man, Maclean became fascinated with Soviet Turkestan and was determined to explore it at any cost.  Though off-limits to westerners, Maclean undertook several trips south to the oasis-cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, and east to the Tien Shan Mountains.  Though frequently shadowed by Soviet secret police, Maclean made friends with all he met and was one of the few westerners to observe firsthand the devastation wrought by communism and Stalin’s political purges.  Maclean went on to serve in the British SAS (special forces) in Africa and Yugoslavia during WWII, and he ultimately achieved the rank of brigadier.  It is rumored that Maclean was the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s character, James Bond (007).  Book recommendation:  Eastern Approaches, by Fitzroy Maclean.
 
While these men probably never met – their journeys taking them to distinct corners of Central Asia – they shared many traits whose essence I hoped to capture in Thomas Eaton.  All of them knew what they wanted in life and were determined to get it; none accepted the hurdles laid by nature or man, nor did they accept “no” in answer to their quests.  They were each unwavering optimists who believed in themselves even when their situations seemed hopeless.  They always treated other people – fellow expedition members, strangers they met along the way, and adversaries alike – with kindness and respect.  They lead by example; not simply by issuing orders to others.  And, as Patrick comes to discover for himself in Chaturanga, great explorers never stop putting one foot in front of the next in dogged perseverance of their dreams.  They never quit and they never look back. 
                                                                         Andrew C. Katen

In a March 2014 article in Mining Engineering magazine, I played devil’s advocate by asking whether the risks of doing business in Turkey might outweigh those of sub-Saharan Africa.  As of late-2013, when I submitted the article, Russia had not yet invaded nearby Crimea and the Syrian war was in its infancy.  Back then, the idea that a modern, constitutional republic like Turkey could become as dicey for investors as conflict-ridden southern Africa might have seemed farfetched to some readers.
 
But events over the past two years have lent credibility to this proposition.  More importantly, they have reaffirmed the usefulness of geopolitics for identifying macro trends and cycles that may be overlooked by other risk assessment methodologies.
 
In brief, my article (entitled "Geopolitics and the Strategic Risks to Mining") presented geopolitics as a uniquely valuable tool for identifying long-term or strategic business risks.  Many of the publication’s readers are executives of companies that operate overseas and must, therefore, evaluate a wide variety of possible scenarios.  I pointed out that because geopolitical assessment focuses on geography, historical patterns, and the interconnectedness of world events, it can highlight threats and opportunities that go unaddressed by risk assessments which put emphasis on current circumstances (e.g., present-day regimes, boundaries, government policies, economic conditions, and social issues).  
 
Using Turkey as a case study, I offered two very different estimations of that country’s risk climate:

1. Based upon its current political situation (i.e., taking into account the regime and policies of late-2013), Turkey appears to be relatively low-risk.  The  nation-state:

• Is a constitutional republic.
• Is modern and relatively secular.
• Possesses a strong legal framework.

     2.  Based upon its geopolitical situation (i.e., taking into account geography
          and history), Turkey appears to be relatively high-risk.  It is situated on the
          Anatolian Peninsula, a landmass that:

• Has repeatedly been conquered by outside powers over millennia.
• Occupies the crossroads of Europe, Russia, Africa, and the Middle East.
• Serves as a cultural fault line between East and West.
• Sits astride a critical maritime chokepoint (Turkish Straits).
• Contains the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (which feed Iraq and Syria).
• Is crisscrossed by oil and gas pipelines.
• Is threatened by Kurdish secession.
• Is the geographic and cultural heart of the Ottoman Empire.
• Features heavily in the grand strategies of Russia and Iran.

Turkey's deep-rooted geopolitical risks are more obvious now than they were in late-2013.  Developments over the past two years have provided additional, tangible evidence that these risks are real and significant – and growing more acute:
 

• Russia’s occupation of Crimea and intervention in Syria, and its increasing involvement in the Caucasus (thereby enclosing Turkey on three sides).
• Russian warplane downed by Turkey.
• Attacks by ISIS and Kurdish separatists within Turkey.
• Turkey’s efforts to suppress free speech and escalating domestic tensions.

 
While students of geopolitics might be startled by how rapidly Turkey’s situation has changed, they won’t be surprised by the direction in which it appears to be headed.   On one hand, it is possible that the current conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Kurdistan, and the Caucasus will abate, and perhaps Turkey’s situation will improve.  On the other hand, for those who are listening, the beat of drums does not seem nearly as faint or far away as it did two years ago.
 
Takeaway:  Recent developments involving Turkey underscore the value of geopolitics as a tool for identifying macro trends and strategic risks that are not addressed by other analytical methodologies.  A country’s or region’s short-term political situation may be very different from its long-term geopolitical situation.  While political, economic, and social issues of today can seem more tangible and acute, they can also hide less obvious but more significant concerns entrenched in geography, history, and culture. 
 
(To view a slideshow presentation on this topic, click here.)

What does this have to do with Chaturanga?

Geopolitics is not just for companies, investors, or governments.  Any student of international affairs can benefit from viewing world politics through the lenses of geography, history, and culture.  Geopolitics offers an understandable, visual, “big picture” overview of what, where, and why certain political events and trends may develop – both over the short- and long-term.  And it is versatile, too, meaning students can apply geopolitical methods to analyze any region or period of history. 

Chaturanga presents these basic geopolitical concepts in a way that makes learning fun, interesting, and relevant.  Told through the experiences and perspectives of 14-year-old Patrick Eaton, the story reveals how geography and history contribute to the current affairs of Turkey, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.  During his adventures along the Silk Road, Patrick learns that these ancient regions occupy strategic positions on a global chessboard – a fact which has shaped their inhabitants’ recurring roles as both vanquishers and vanquished.  He discovers why their vast mountains, deserts, and waterways have long served both as buffers and highways between empires.  He sees that the artificial boundaries of the 20th century are slowly being pulled apart by the ancient forces of culture and ethnicity.  And he understands why these regions’ natural resources and spider’s webs of highways and pipelines will continue to put them in the crosshairs of world powers.  Indeed, Patrick comes to realize that these parts of the world, like so many others, are still very much defined by their geography and history. 
 


©2016 Andrew C. Katen.  All rights reserved.
 
Permission is granted to share this article with others, as well as to print or post it on other websites, so long as credit is given to the author.

By Andrew C. Katen
 
“There will be a time when you believe everything is finished. 
That will be the beginning.”
– Louis L’Amour

             “The age of oil is coming to an end,” repeated Mr. Girard, looking very somber in his tie, pressed shirt, and wire-rimmed glasses.  He had just wrapped up a lecture about the future  of the world economy .  Now he sat on the corner of a student’s desk with his arms crossed over his chest.   Loosening his tie with one hand, his eyes scanned the room of freshman history students for questions or comments.  Aside from the clink of Jeff Hamilton’s pencil hitting the floor in the third row, the room was silent.
            After a long pause, Mr. Girard sighed and added, “In the last two years, oil prices have dropped from over 100 dollars a barrel to 30 dollars.  This proves the world no longer needs or wants oil.  We are moving away from our dependence on fossil fuels.”   After another pause, he asked, “Well?  What do you think?”
            Sitting in the back row, next to the windows, Patrick Eaton doodled in his notebook.  As he sketched a landscape of mountains and deserts – his mind seemingly far away from the discussion at hand – it suddenly occurred to him that he might look bored.  As Mr. Girard cast an eye over the class, no doubt making mental notes for assigning participation grades, Patrick realized that he might have already earned a zero for his apparent indifference.  In reality, Patrick had reflected upon every word spoken during the past forty-five minutes.  As he doodled, he was actually trying to summon the courage to share his own views in front of thirty of his peers.
            Ultimately, however, Patrick decided to keep quiet.  After all, what was the point?  Mr. Girard was no fan of fossil fuels.  He had made this perfectly clear at the beginning of the school year when Patrick shared that his dad was a petroleum geologist, and that they had spent the previous summer looking at oil and gas prospects in Central Asia.  Since Patrick’s grade in the class was hovering around a B-minus, the last thing he needed was to provoke Mr. Girard into adding another C to his report card.  In these situations, he knew from experience, it was often better to keep his eyes and ears open and his mouth shut.           
            As Mr. Girard began passing out worksheets, Patrick’s thoughts drifted back to the previous weekend, when his family had attended a barbecue hosted by his dad’s boss, Skip.  Patrick had come to know and like this loud, gregarious Texan years ago.  Last summer, during their adventure across Central Asia, the two had grown even closer.  Patrick had discovered that Skip was not just funny and smart, but also attentive to Patrick’s intense hunger for knowledge.  Even though Skip was a busy manager of an oil company, he always found time to address Patrick’s questions.  “Let’s talk level,” Skip would answer in his Texan twang, as if he and Patrick were colleagues.   

            After the barbecue dinner, as dusk settled in and the crickets began their nightly symphony, Skip, Dad, and Patrick had wandered from the crowded patio of Skip’s home to the fire pit at the back of his property.  Relaxing next to his dad on a log, Patrick watched Skip poke the crackling fire with a cattle iron as his other hand faithfully clutched an icy drink.   When the Texan finally settled into a camp chair, resting one cowboy boot against a log and his straw cowboy hat on his knee, Patrick prepared himself for a dose of “level talk.”  He didn’t have to wait long.
            “It’s getting ugly out there, fellas,” Skip growled as he stared into the flames.  “With oil prices this low, our company is gonna have to rein in some of our operations.  And you know what that means…”
            Dad nodded without looking up.  “Layoffs,” he answered, almost whispering.  “We’ll have to cut a lot of employees.”
            “Yep.  It’s a nasty bit of business… and nobody’s job is safe.”  Patrick thought he detected Skip’s eyes dart to his dad, but in the flickering light of the campfire perhaps it had only been an illusion.
            “What going on?” Patrick asked, surprised by the turn in conversation after what had seemed like such a festive dinner.  He tried to ignore the butterflies forming in his stomach.  Surely, this drop in prices wouldn’t affect his dad’s job.
            “Well, partner, the oil market is in the gutter,” Skip drawled, taking a sip from his glass as he swatted at a mosquito.  “Happens from time to time.  Oil prices are notorious for going up and down.  It’s a crazy business.  Price swings can wreak havoc on company finances and world markets… and my old ticker, too.”  He managed a weak smile.
            For what seemed like a full minute, nobody said anything.  But Patrick could hardly contain his curiosity.  Although he rarely spoke in Mr. Girard’s class, Patrick couldn't resist the urge to ask questions when he was around Skip.   
            “But last summer, you said fossil fuels provide most of the world’s energy…” Patrick probed.  “I thought oil and gas was going to be around for a long time.”
            Skip chuckled, lightening the mood a bit.  “Well, that’s still true.  Oil and gas aren’t going away.  While there are a lot of people claiming the oil industry is done with, it’s important to keep in mind the wider perspective.” 
            Skip sat up and reached for the iron rod.  Leaning over his knees, he drew a large “X” in the dirt, and then stared intently at his creation.
            “Supply and demand,” he said, as if to himself, still looking at the ground.  “That’s what drives prices up or down in any industry.  Simply put, when the supply of something goes up, the price goes down.”  He traced one line of the “X” with the cattle prod, and then pointed at the other line.  “When the demand for something goes down, the price goes down.  Right now, the supply of oil is up and the demand is down.  Put these factors together, and you get low oil prices.”
            Last summer, Patrick had talked with a lot of people about oil and gas, geopolitics, and the history of Central Asia.  Though Dad had often been nearby, he had seldom joined in, as if he wanted to give his son the chance to develop his own perspectives.  Tonight, he remained characteristically quiet, staring at the fire as he cupped his own icy drink.
            “Why is the oil supply so high right now?” Patrick asked.
            Skip tossed the ice from his drink into the fire and thumped his cowboy hat back onto his head.  This was going to get serious, Patrick thought.
            “Well, there’re lots of reasons.  For one thing, oil prices were over 100 dollars a barrel a few years ago.  Whenever prices go up – especially that high – it becomes more profitable to drill for oil.  And with high prices, a lot of companies signed contracts to provide oil to their customers.  Even though prices are lower now, we still have to fulfill these obligations, even if it’s not as profitable for us.”
            Skip looked at Patrick for several seconds, waiting for his words to sink in.
“Then there’s politics, of course,” he added.  “Remember when I said that whoever controls the energy controls the world?” 
            Patrick nodded, recalling their discussion in Baku.  Over the course of the previous summer, Patrick had learned a lot about the political aspects of the energy industry from Skip, as well as from others he had met along the Silk Road.  
            Skip continued:  “Right now there seems to be a price war being waged among producers.  Everybody is cranking out as much oil as they can to drive prices all the way to the bottom.  The idea is to knock competitors out of the market.  It’s like the game of ‘chicken’ – nobody wants to be the first to swerve.  But at some point, folks will begin to jump ship.  Oil producers that can’t survive basement-level prices will go out of business.”
            “All right, so there’s a huge supply of oil available,” Patrick summarized aloud.  “But why is demand falling?  You said that less people are buying oil, too.”
            Skip nodded vigorously.  “Yep, over the past few decades the world’s economy has grown a lot.  China has been a leader of this growth.  For years, Chinese factories cranked out all sorts of products, which they sold to the entire world.  China’s population has increased dramatically, too.  Taken together, the country has become the world’s biggest importer of oil.  But now its economy has slowed – and nobody knows what will happen next.  Maybe things pick up again, or maybe they will get worse.  Whatever happens to China will affect overall demand for oil – and the resulting price.”

             Muffled laughter from across the grassy lawn turned their heads momentarily.  When a log rolled out of the circle of rocks, their attention returned to the fire.  With the toe of his boot, Skip casually flipped it back into the flames. 
            “Then there’s the value of the dollar,” the Texan continued.  “Historically, the price of oil and the value of the dollar have had an inverse relationship.  That is, they are opposites.  When the dollar is strong (meaning you can buy more stuff with it), oil prices are low.  When the dollar is weak (meaning it buys less stuff), oil prices are high.  It’s been this way for decades.  Right now, the dollar is strong.”

            “So, has this ever happened before?” Patrick asked.  “You said oil prices go up and down, but have they ever been this low?”
            “Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Skip answered, pushing his hat back on his head.  “When you look at oil prices over the past 100 years, today’s prices are not that unusual.  Sometimes prices go down, but they have always gone back up.  In any case, the fundamental role of fossil fuels in the world economy has not changed.  Energy moves the world…”

             “And the world never stops,” piped in Dad, shifting his weight on the log.  Turning towards Patrick, he added, “The overall trend in the world has been increasing populations and rising standards of living.  Every year, there are more people, and they are living longer.   More people than ever want electricity, cars, and the internet.  They are hungry for the luxuries that we Americans take for granted.”

             “Think of it this way,” Skip interjected.  “If the internet was a country, it would be one of the world’s five largest consumers of power.  That’s how much energy is needed just to keep the internet going.  And with lower oil prices, gasoline becomes cheaper, too, meaning more people can afford to drive cars and use electricity.  Lower prices lead to higher consumption of oil.” 
            “But what about renewable energy?” Patrick countered.  “Mr. Girard says solar and wind power will make fossil fuels irrelevant.”
            “I hope so,” Skip replied, leaning back in his chair.  Patrick was surprised to hear this from an oil and gas professional.  “Honestly, I do.  If someday my grandkids can get all their energy from the sun or wind, all without producing a drip of pollution, that’d be fantastic.  But let me tell you something – even the most optimistic predictions agree that renewable energy will only provide 15% of the world’s energy by 2040.  And with today’s oil prices being so low, renewable energy is more expensive today than it ever has been.”

            “So, what would cause the price of oil to go up again?” Patrick asked.
            “Supply and demand,” Skip stated matter-of-factly.  “Low oil prices will force oil companies to cut production.  The result is that less oil will be available a year or two from now.  As I already pointed out, a reduction in supply tends to drive prices up.  When the economy eventually improves, demand will also increase, causing the price of oil to go up.  And then there’s the U.S. dollar.  If it loses value – which, by the way, it has been doing over the past hundred years – the price of oil will go up.”
            “And what about politics?”  Patrick asked.  “Could that drive the oil price back up?”
            “Absolutely,” Skip boomed.  “The collapse of oil prices actually creates a dangerous political situation.  Many governments around the world are dependent on oil profits for their survival.  Some are extremely corrupt and not particularly liked by their citizens.  Known as ‘petro-dictatorships,’ these regimes may be hanging onto power by a thread.  Without the billions of dollars that oil profits bring in every year, these governments won’t be able to pay for the projects that keep their citizens from revolting and overthrowing them.  Political upheaval in any of these oil-producing countries would not only reduce the world’s oil supply, it would also scare the pants out of the stock markets.  Just the fear created by such an event could blow oil prices sky high.”   
            “And then there’s terrorism,” Dad added.  “An attack against an oil facility by a group like ISIS or al-Qaeda – or the takeover of oil fields by insurgents – could send oil prices through the roof.”

             “Absolutely,” Skip agreed.  “And there are plenty of other geopolitical risks, too.  Maybe Russia cuts off its gas supply to Europe?  Or perhaps Iran and Saudi Arabia go to war?  Or the next U.S. president decides he wants to bomb Iran?  And then there’s the risk of nationalism – suppose one of these petro-dictatorships decides to seize the private oil companies operating within its borders?   Yep, there are plenty of geopolitical powder kegs around the world.  Take your pick – any one of them could go off and drive up the price of oil.”
            “So what happens now?”  Patrick asked, looking from Skip to his dad, and then back to Skip.
            The Texan took a deep breath, pushed back his hat again, and let out a sigh.  “Good question, partner.  For now, we batten down the hatches and prepare for nasty weather.  Until oil prices recover, we do what we have to in order to stay afloat.  This means capping wells, closing offices, and letting go of employees… even good friends.” 
            This time Patrick was certain that he saw Skip glance at his father.  But before Patrick could speak, Dad stood up, stretched his legs, and put a hand on Patrick’s shoulder. 
            “Well, buddy, that’s a lot to think about for now.  It’s getting late, and we better hit the road.” 
            Strolling back across the dew-covered lawn, with his dad’s arm around his shoulder, Patrick was unsure what he had just heard, let alone how he felt about it.  As fireflies flashed all around them, and the laughter, clinking of glass, and mouthwatering aroma of barbecue reached them from the porch, Patrick felt as if he were in a dream.  While he couldn’t be certain, something told him the ground was shifting under his feet.   When he spotted the look on his mother’s face as her eyes met his dad's, Patrick knew he was right.  Their lives were about to change. 
           Remembering the advice uttered so often by his grandpa, Patrick made an effort to stay positive.  Fighting back the sting in his eyes, he took a deep breath, managed a smile for his mom, and tried to imagine what new and exciting adventure awaited the Eatons. 

©2016 Andrew C. Katen.  All rights reserved. 
Permission is granted to share this article with others, as well as to print or post it on other websites, so long as credit is given to the author.

Whether your middle schooler likes to read or avoids it entirely, here are ten simple and effective ways to engage and encourage him to read more often.

1. Connect books to life.  If your reader likes Harry Potter, consider learning magic with him.  If he likes Diary of a Wimpy Kid, help him create a journal.  If he likes Hunger Games, go to an archery range.  If he likes Chaturanga, learn secret code writing.  If he likes mystery, create a dinner mystery at home.  If his book has been made into a movie, ballet, or play, go see it.  If he likes outdoor adventure books, go hiking or camping.  Bringing a book to life through real-world activities is not just fun, it also helps your reader connect with story and characters on a deeper level.
   
2. Create a “book culture.”  Take your reader to book signings.  Go to local author events.  Research an author, his background and interests – maybe write him a letter and ask him questions (authors really do enjoy these).  Schedule trips to the bookstore on Saturday mornings, during which you each get breakfast and coffee/hot chocolate, and read or peruse books for an hour. 
3. Go to a university library.  Take your reader to the archives where the “old” books are kept.  Imagine how much time and effort someone put into writing each one.  See who can find the oldest (or weirdest) book.  Look at the pictures.  Smell the books.  Look for ghosts.  Then let your reader observe all the “cool” college kids reading at the library.
4. Create a Summer Reading Challenge…for the entire family.  Set a page count to be reached by the end of summer.  Identify individual goals that are appropriate for each family member.  Choose a fun reward to enjoy when the family reaches its goal (maybe a family rafting trip). Create a log so that reading progress can be tracked throughout the summer – review this at dinner time.
5. Encourage your reader to create his own stories.  These don’t have to be entirely original (you might notice they are based loosely on a book currently being read).  Story-making unlocks imagination, nurtures appreciation of the creative process, and encourages outside-the-box thinking.
6. Listen to books on tape.  Take a minute to count up all the time you spend in the car together – on the way to and from school, the grocery, baseball practice, on trips, etc.   Ask your reader to pick out a book on tape/CD from the library, and keep this in the car stereo.  Every time you go somewhere, you can listen to another chapter.  This offers a much better alternative to radio “noise,” helps your child transition to new activities, and provides a much needed escape from the reality of school and the dramatic lives of young adults.
7. Let him read what he wants.  If your reader is drawn only to Calvin and Hobbes, that’s fine.  If he likes sports magazines, no problem.  The goal is to encourage him to read, not to dictate what he reads.  Kids are far more likely to read when they can pick what interests them.  Besides, an astute parent knows that what a child chooses to read offers key information about his natural passions, interests, and gifts… pay attention to these selections, as they can provide invaluable direction when it comes time to select a college major or career years from now.
8. Read what he is reading… and read with him.  If your reader enjoys Harry Potter, read Harry Potter.  If he likes history, adventure, and travel, read Chaturanga.  And better yet, read a chapter or two every night with him.  This activity shows love, respect, and interest in your reader.
9. Let him see you reading.  If you want your child to read, model reading.  Turn off the television and unplug the internet.  Make a cup of cocoa and a snack, put on some classical music if you’d like, and read.  Or pack a picnic, go to the park, and pick out a nice shade tree.
10. Get an evaluation.  If your child avoids reading altogether, complains about his eyes hurting, skips (or rereads) lines, inserts (or misses words), or has difficulty recounting what he has read…. consider having him evaluated to rule out a visual processing problem or other challenge that may negatively impact his ability to read.

  
Have more ideas?  Please comment below or email me with your own tips – I will compile them in a follow up blog post.  -- Andrew

I had the pleasure of visiting KAFM 88.1 Grand Junction a couple of weeks ago to talk about Chaturanga. 

Host, Jeff Shuldener, and I discussed my inspiration for the book, intended audience, the process of writing an educational novel, and more. 

Thanks to "Community Hour" for having me on the air!

"MPK1-426 Sykes Picot Agreement Map signed 8 May 1916" by Royal Geographical Society (Map), Mark Sykes & François Georges-Picot (Annotations) - This file is from the collections of The National Archives (United Kingdom), catalogued under document record MPK1/426. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.