This handbook provides a ready introduction and practical guide to the Abkhazian people and language. It includes chapters written by experts in the field, covering all aspects of the people, including their history, religion, politics, economy, culture, literature and media, plus pictures, chronologies and appendices of up-to-date statistics, maps and bibliographies. This volume forms part of the Peoples of the Caucasus series which is an indispensable - and accessible - resource to all those with an interest in the Caucasus: journalists, aid workers, regional specialists in government, law, banking, accounting, as well as tourists, business people, students and academics.

The Abkhazians are an ancient Caucasian people living mainly on the eastern shores of the Black Sea in the shadow of the Great Caucasus Mountains. Aside from their Caucasian homeland of Abkhazia, there are significant numbers of Abkhazians and their descendants settled throughout Russia and the Middle East, particularly Turkey. Their history, like other peoples and nations of the region, has been closely linked with the expansion of the Russians; the collapse of the Soviet Union, however, resulted in further domination, this time by the Georgian Republic, leading to the catastrophe of the War of 1992-3 and the scattering of the people that followed. With the publication of this book, which includes an entirely new interpretation of Abkhazia's union with Russia over the period from the 18th century to 1917, the relevant facts about Abkhazia have finally become accessible to the English-speaking world.

Why do some people age in failing health and sadness, while others grow old with vitality and joy? In this revolutionary book, bestselling author John Robbins presents us with a bold new paradigm of aging, showing us how we can increase not only our lifespan but also our health span. Through the example of four very different cultures that have the distinction of producing some of the world’s healthiest, oldest people, Robbins reveals the secrets for living an extended and fulfilling life in which our later years become a period of wisdom, vitality, and happiness. From Abkhasia in the Caucasus south of Russia, where age is beauty, and Vilcabamba in the Andes of South America, where laughter is the greatest medicine, to Hunza in Central Asia, where dance is ageless, and finally the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa, the modern Shangri-la, where people regularly live beyond a century, Robbins examines how the unique lifestyles of these peoples can influence and improve our own. Bringing the traditions of these ancient and vibrantly healthy cultures together with the latest breakthroughs in medical science, Robbins reveals that, remarkably, they both point in the same direction. The result is an inspirational synthesis of years of research into healthy aging in which Robbins has isolated the characteristics that will enable us to live long and–most important–joyous lives. With an emphasis on simple, wholesome, but satisfying fare, and the addition of a manageable daily exercise routine, many people can experience great improvement in the quality of their lives now and for many years to come. But perhaps more surprising is Robbins’ discovery that it is not diet and exercise alone that helps people to live well past one hundred. The quality of personal relationships is enormously important. With startling medical evidence about the effects of our interactions with others, Robbins asserts that loneliness has more impact on lifespan than such known vices as smoking. There is clearly a strong beneficial power to love and connection.

Ask any child where their food comes from, and the chances are he or she will say the supermarket. And most adults don’t know a lot more about how food ends up on their plate either. We have taken food for granted. It’s a mistake for which we are paying dearly. Food doesn’t grow on supermarket shelves. According to the United Nations, a disease tsunami is sweeping the world. Humanity is dying out. This is the result of our deep ignorance about our food. Food processing and health care are now multi-trillion-dollar industries.

The South Caucasus has traditionally been a playground of contesting empires. This region, on the edge of Europe, is associated in Western minds with ethnic conflict and geopolitical struggles in August 2008. Yet, another war broke out in this distant European periphery as Russia and Georgia clashed over the secessionist territory of South Ossetia. The war had global ramifications culminating in deepening tensions between Russia on the one hand, and Europe and the USA on the other. Speculation on the causes and consequences of the war focused on Great Power rivalries and a new Great Game, on oil pipeline routes, and Russian imperial aspirations. This book takes a different tack which focuses on the domestic roots of the August 2008 war. Collectively the authors in this volume present a new multidimensional context for the war. They analyse historical relations between national minorities in the region, look at the link between democratic development, state-building, and war, and explore the role of leadership and public opinion. Digging beneath often simplistic geopolitical explanations, the authors give the national minorities and Georgians themselves, the voice that is often forgotten by Western analysts. This book was based on a special issue of Central Asian Survey.