Fascinating ... It does not claim to be comprehensive, and is all the better for it; instead, Sattin weaves a deft path through only those elements that interest him ... Sattin triumphantly tells the story of another way of living ... This is a book that does not labour in the fields but gallops full stretch towards the horizon.
A rather ethereal travel writer ... [Sattin's] hopelessly in love with nomads ... That sort of adoration is not conducive to critical thought. Sattin describes nomadic culture in prelapsarian terms — a quiet reminder of Eden in today’s world of greed and perfidy. He repeatedly insists that nomads exhibit a 'sublime harmony . . . with the natural world'. Yet less doe-eyed scholars have discovered that nomads have not always been paragons of green virtue ... Sattin’s subjectivity is nevertheless endearing. As he admits, this book 'is not a scholarly volume . . . nor is it a definitive history of nomads'. It is instead an unashamedly impressionistic paean to nomadic life, a bit of history interwoven with travelogue and memoir. His prose mirrors the nomadic life: it wanders across a landscape of 12,000 years, occasionally stopping to graze, constantly changing direction. Dates and precise places are seldom provided because they are unimportant to those of no fixed abode. Where are we? It doesn’t matter. Sensation, not time or place, is what matters ... In a book of sensitivity and grace, Sattin does not just describe the nomadic way of life, but also evokes it. This is a book of beauty and beguiling rhythm that offers unsettling lessons about our present-day world of borders.
Nomads delivers good stories, and Mr. Sattin makes a fair case for the outsiders, the unsettled, but his wandering folk are a very mixed bag ... Mr. Sattin presents an eccentric, romantic perspective ... Mr. Sattin returns to firmer ground when he describes the pastoral nomads, mounted on horseback, who emerged in the ninth century B.C.
A kind of rhapsody on how this aspect of human nature has contributed as much, if not more, to civilization, than the tillers of the soil ... Sattin’s argument for the importance of the nomad in history is on strongest grounds when he discusses the Mongol Empire and its successors ... His description of Tamerlane’s career as nomad turned world conqueror is erudite and evocative. The concept of nomadism is then stretched, like a gossamer over a number of other historical actors, less convincingly, including the Ottomans, the Safavids and the Mughals. Here he exaggerates in suggesting that these dynasties were in any meaningful way nomadic ... With his erudition and winning style, Sattin is not deterred by anachronisms and over-generous generalizations. He will be walking off into the mountains with shepherds or itinerant peddlers and swapping his stories for theirs. This book deserves to be read as an ode to mobility, and not a book of history or anthropology.
Detailed ... Sattin makes unexpected connections and draws novel comparisons, using an effective storytelling style. Sattin, who has spent considerable time with nomadic tribes in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, maintains that traditional historical accounts tend to ignore the contributions of nomadic societies, concentrating instead on empires and superpowers. This informative account effectively changes that narrative.
Brimming with literary, historical, and anthropological references, Sattin’s book makes a splendid rejoinder—and without its fictions—to Bruce Chatwin’s now-classic book The Songlines ... A treat for any thoughtful traveler, armchair or otherwise.
Insightful ... Sattin lucidly explains recent archaeological, linguistic, and genealogical research; draws vivid profiles ... He also makes a convincing case that the brutality of nomadic cultures has been overstated and that their virtues, including adaptability, inclusion, and respect for nature, offer valuable lessons for today. Enriched by Sattin’s evocative prose and tangible enthusiasm for the subject, this sweeping survey informs and entertains.
