THE DUST OF EMPIRE puts into historical context the countries of Central Asia - Eurasia - which are among the most fabled and least known in the world today. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, many of these countries that were once colonies are now independent, and ancient rivalries have been rekindled where much is at stake, including one of the world's last untapped oilfields. Meyer describes the conflicts arising from the proliferation of self-determination and nation-states after the end of the Second World War, and assesses the brutality of empire and the expansionist fervour of the nineteenth century.

The subsequent chapters cover a different region or country in Eurasia: Russia, Persia/Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Caucausus. THE DUST OF EMPIRE is an impeccably researched and absorbing foray into the history and geo-political issues central to each of these countries, and in particular how these relate to current Western foreign policy and business interests.