On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire

I have now read all of Peter Hopkirk's books for the Kindle, and to be honest I really didn't know what to expect of this one. Overall I am satisfied and somewhat surprised by the content of this book.All of Hopkirk's books are either directly, or indirectly related to "The Great Game". For those that don't know, this is a loosely defined period spanning the 19th century to the early 20th. To give a very brief explanation, it is the overt and covert actions taken by the British to keep India stable against the encroaching Imperial Russians. Even the book  Trespassers on the Roof of the World: The Secret Exploration of Tibet (Kodansha Globe)  makes reference to some of the people who participated in these events.The beginning of the book deals with the efforts of WWI Germany to sway Muslim populations into holy war versus the British and Russians. Obviously the alliance between the Germans and the last remnants of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) is covered. There are many things that Hopkirk asserts that I was unaware of including the desire of the Germans to build the "Baghdad Express": a direct rail line through Turkey to the Middle East. The Kaiser visiting the Middle East to much pomp and pageantry. Also covered are several missions to destabilize India including the attempt to sway the Afghans into Jihad. It is the classic "Great Game" being played by a new element, and Hopkirk does his typical masterful job describing the events.I have to admit though, the initial German parts of the story just did not fascinate me all that much. After reading the author's other works, his foreshadowing of events more or less gave away what was coming. The second half of the book made up for this however.The last part of the book deals with the Caucuses, a region I find fascinating. Within the last year I read  Shattering Empires: The Clash and Collapse of the Ottoman and Russian Empires 1908-1918  and very much enjoyed it. This book deals with the same material, only from the perspective of the British instead of the Ottomans. Hopkirk also draws from  Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia  and references several events that are explained in detail in that book. Some things I found absolutely fascinating:* The various governments that appeared in the Caucuses during the revolution period.* The fate of Stepan Shaumian and the 26 Commissars.* Dunsterforce attempting to defend Baku from the Army of Islam.Of course Mr. Hopkirk delves deeply into some of the players on the British side and recaptures some of the magic from his previous books doing so. Eventually the book focuses on Teague-Jones, a man who literally disappeared after the events covered in this book. The conclusion being that Mr. Teague-Jones died in anonymity; the last player of "The Great Game".I would recommend this book, though I must say that I am glad I read this book as the last of the series. Some people will really enjoy the beginning of the book. I thought it dragged a little due to the fact that besides the commonality of the German effort, the storyline seems disparate. So to me this book feels like two books. I enjoyed the second half very much. But besides the omnipresence of the German threat, the British effort in the Caucuses is the focus. In some ways it feels like Peter Hopkirk was trying to wrap up the loose ends of "The Great Game".

Peter Hopkirk was an extraordinary historian and writer. Having read his classic "The Great Game" I was greatly looking forward to reading this book - and was not disappointed. A thrilling book from cover to cover, Hopkirk relays in tremendous detail Germany's intense effort to create a Holy War in Central Asia to their efforts in World War I in an effort to both defeat Great Britain but also massively expand their political reach around the world.Hopkirk tells the story from both sides having done voluminous research into Germany's considerable strategic planning to inflame the region and Britain's intense efforts to counter it. What really stuns me as a student of history is how little attention has been paid to Germany's efforts to create an Islamic revolution in the region. You cannot help but wonder how Germany's efforts then helped create a spark that has led to the rise of radical, violent Islam today.Overall, what Hopkirk sheds light on is the end days of the Great Game as we knew it then (of course, we have entered into a new Great Game in the region with China joining Russia, the United States and, still to some degree, Great Britain struggling to influence the still rugged and dangerous region.On Secret Service East of Constantinople is a must read for anyone wanting to fully understand all the factors that have created the Central Asia we know today.

I love Peter Hopkirk's books and was surprised when I saw this one as I hadn't heard of it before. I didn't do my homework because it turns out this this book was published in the US under the title Like Hidden Fire (which I already own and have read). It has the exact page count and table of contents as this version. I'm not sure of the purpose of the name change: I think On Secret Service East of Constantinople is a more intriguing title than Like Hidden Fire. Anyway, if you are interested in Central Asia, this book, along with Hopkirk's other works, are informative and enjoyable reads.

Once again Peter Hopkirk has fascinated me with his entertaining account of the chicancery of the secret service work in Central Asia during the first half of the 20th century. Hopkirk's style weaves historical fact with entertaining antedotes which, as I read it, created a film of these events in my head. It is amazing these events are not more well known generally, as they had such an effect on the outcome of World War 1. Most of the public think of World War 1, as the battles in France, Gallipoli, Palestine and the Russian Revolution, not many of us are aware of the intriguing work of the secret agents in Central Asia. Must buy Greenmantle now.

If history has lessons for us at present, then it is worth reading as the events take place in a part of the world on a simmering fire.. Easy to read, lively and entertaining...

Five stars for this remarkable book. This well documented story about the German plot to bring down India is an exciting read. Hopkirk is the specialist of "The great game" and this is a very vivid account of the intrigues and dealings of Germany, the UK, Russians, Persian and Afghanis during the first world war in Turkey, Persia and Afghanistan. An exciting read by a great storyteller.

Not my first Hopkirk book; however, it lived up to the high standards I had for him based on how much I enjoyed his previous books. A non-fiction novel that reads like fiction and sheds light on a part of history rarely covered by other authors.

Detailed, Engaging A great read... The rest of the story and significant history running up to the Great War. Hopkrik's book, much like his others, pulls together both the Geopolitical situation with the people involved and keeps you reading.

One very odd thing about this book is the way it jumps about. The book begins by exploring the Turco-German friendship, then the Hindu-German conspiracy, then the Afghanistan mission of Niedermayer and the activities of agents in Persia, then the battles for Baku, and finally affairs in Transcaspia. None of these threads is followed all the way through- Hopkirk explores each area when it is most relevant, but each thing is dropped. You learn the important bits of each region's experience, but never a whole picture of the war in any given place. It works as a readable introduction to these separate aspects of the war, but no more than an introduction to each; you can't be an expert on the Caucasus on the war by reading a book where the Caucasus is barely mentioned until 1918!In some regards the book is outdated, too. Hopkirk's confident condemnation of Indian nationalists, as if no readers would view the British Empire as anything but an undisputed good, is rather jarring. So too is his depiction of Enver Pasha as a nationalist fanatic, with most modern works being rather more nuanced. Hopkirk devotes a whole chapter to the Zimmermann telegram, based on an alleged link to a German agent in Persia- but Sean McMeekin in his "The Berlin -Baghdad Express" argues that this is entirely founded on a misconception. The book should be praised for its examination of Captain Teague-Jones and the Baku commissars (Hopkirk tells us that, in the former case, he was the first to uncover much of the truth, which I have no reason to doubt) but I believe there may also be some more modern work on this too.If you don't care too much about being up to date with the latest WW1 scholarship, then the book is fine as a popular history, telling engaging stories about several fronts of the war in the east where secret agents and Lawrence-like figures take centre stage. But I think a modern expert in these areas would find a lot to pick holes in here, and so I think those with a serious interest in the war might want to look elsewhere, or at least treat this only as an introduction to these facets of the war.

This will keep you on the edge of your seat!The true story of Buchan's Greenmantle and further intrigues around world domination in Central Asia during WW1.Hopkirk at his best, telling the story of the lesser known and merciless war between the Great Powers that took place far away from the Western and Eastern fronts, yet so crucial to the shaping of the world as we know it. A blast!

The first book by Peter Hopkirk I read was his famous 'the Great Game' on English-Russian rivalry in Central Asia from the early 1800s up to British-Russian reconciliation just before World War One. This one takes off where 'the Great Game left' and deals with what happened in Turkey, the Caucasus, Persia, Afghanistan, India and Central Asia until the end of World War One.Perhaps the main storyline is about the German attempts to incite muslims living under British and Russian rule against their colonial rulers. This involved infiltrations in Persia (trying to get the Shah to invade British India or joint the Turks in their fight against Russia, but at the very least to tie down more British troops in the Gulf region), and a diplomatic mission via Persia to Afghanistan to convince the Afhgan king to invade British India. As we know now, all of this was way too ambitious and almost nothing was achieved - despite admirable efforts by the small German delegation.Another even more interesting storyline is on the events in the Caucasus - notably Baku - in the confused time from the November 1917 revolution to the end of WWI. I had never realized that the Turks, having now shed the burden of fighting the Russians, embarked on a final desperate offensive and actually managed to capture Baku just before their own capitulation (reportedly one of the reasons for Allenby's success in Jeruzalem and Damascus was the diversion of Turkey's best troops to the Caucasus). There is also an interesting sideline into Central Asia, where 'Transcaspia' (say Turkmenistan) rose against the Bolsheviks and fought them with limited British assistance.Hopkirk is a phenomenal writer. I really can't praise this book highly enough. Awesome!RE-READ AUGUST 2019: re-read this book after some 5 years, and enjoyed it just as much. What a story, what phenomenal writing, what a breathtakingly wide scope (covering the storming of Erzerum to shady arms deals in California, from the Zimmermann telegram (which would likely never have been revealed had the British not captured key German codes in the Persian outback) to the Battle of Baku. Just one critical note: Hopkirk might have talked a bit more about the main reason of Persia's importance to the British, namely the vast supplied of oil near the head of the Persian Gulf - this was in fact a good deal more important than Persia's role as a rather forward 'bulwark' of British India....

Read spies on the roof of the world some time ago which is excellent and am following it up with this which seems of the same quality. There have been a couple of Discovery channel programs covering these aspects but not with the detail of this book plus mainly the tv stuck to Turkey/Germany and the Dardanelles so this is much much better. How Mr Hopkirk found time to both do all this writing and the Rallying in Mini and then all accessories beats me but please keep it up.

An absolutely superb book, packed full of character. It brings to life this little known aspect of WW1 and just after and proves once again that true life can be just as gripping, as well as stranger, than fiction. Hopkirk’s style is crisp and moves the story along at a good pace. Can not recommend this book highly enough.