Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 4, 1994 TAG: 9409070009
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by MARIE S. BEAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Readers familiar with Jonathan Maslow's "The Owl Papers" and `"Bird of Life, Bird of Death" will welcome "Sacred Horses."
Maslow is an indefatigable researcher, going to whatever trouble it may take to get the story he is after. His research is impressive, his accounts of his adventures arresting, and on top of it all, he is funny. You get some idea of how seriously he takes himself from the title of Part I: Sofarawayistan. Indeed, the world he describes in "Sacred Horses" seems so exotic as to exist only in the realm of fantasy.
Maslow - writer, naturalist and filmmaker - traveled to Turkmenistan for the first time in 1991 to see and to ride the fabled horses of the steppes of Central Asia, the Akhal-Teke. The Akhal-Teke is unlike both the Arabian and the English thoroughbred. It is known for its incredible stamina, and for its stunning beauty. The iridescence of its coat Maslow compares to a beautiful hummingbird.
It is "a work of art that can trot and canter."
Turkmen, Maslow writes, value these horses above all earthly things. "The Akhal-Teke is not only the Turkmen's national pride, but also their cultural treasury and patron saint." The equestrian traditions of Turkmen were almost obliterated under Soviet rule, the Akhal-Teke almost wiped out. It is estimated that only 1,500 purebloods survive.
This is a book of varied attractions, as complex as a Bokhara rug. Maslow deftly weaves the elements of his memoir into a cohesive and highly entertaining work that keeps our interest. Always with great good humor at the ready.
Armchair travelers as well as horse lovers everywhere wil find "Sacred Horses" a satisfying reading experience. Be forewarned: one reading will not do justice to he book. You will pick it up again and again.
Marie S. Bean is a retired college chaplain.
by CNB