This book has a number of things to recommend it. On one level it is a vivid travelogue of parts of the world most people have never visited - the Central Asian states, especially those surrounding the resource-rich Caspian Sea, as well as forays into Iran, China's Xinjiang province, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Few modern explorers have roamed such a vast swathe of disputed real estate. But it is Kleveman's analysis of the oil issue that underlie these blood-soaked territories that makes it such a worthwhile read. His talent for arranging last-minute interviews with a fascinating gallery of soldiers, monks, diplomats and rogues adds some brilliant pen portraits and the ring of authenticity to his findings.
What should also be mentioned is his undoubted physical courage: He puts his life at risk so often one wonders whether he will be around to write a second book. One certainly hopes so.
What the tale basically shows is the incredible range and penetration of US power. Irrespective of whether that power is wisely used or not, the impact of the US and its search for ever-cheaper oil has a massive impact on millions of people.
But despite the bombing of Afghanistan, the disputed invasion of Iraq and other controversial policies such as arming the most fanatical opponents to the Russians in Afghanistan, Kleveman is very careful not to single out the US as the bully boy. Indeed, his stories of the Russian troops scattered over the region killing and torturing locals while high on vodka show there are few heroes in this story.
As ethnic groups butcher each other in defense of habits and histories that seem largely indistinguishable to most observers, one is reminded of the fate of post-Tito Yugoslavia - or perhaps of the carnage of the First World War, when Europe was possibly culturally more unified than at any other point of its history.
His portrayal of Pakistan, the "cradle of terror", is also gloomy. He describes a state teetering on collapse as religious schools churn out Muslim fighters the military dictatorship cannot close down because it is already dangerously compromised in the eyes of the conservatives by its support for the US.
But Pakistan is a victim as well, of sorts: He manages to interview one of the top organizers of the Taliban in its fight against the Russians, who points out that all Pakistan wanted on its one flank, especially in light of the chaos on its other flank, Kashmir, was a stable neighbour - one which could act as a conduit for energy-starved Pakistan to central Asia.
Kleveman does not let the US off the hook lightly, however. His analysis is shot through with scepticism about the way "the war on terror" finds it battlegrounds in many of the most oil rich parts of the globe. Right at the end of the book, his dispassionate style breaks down a little on the news the US is attacking Iraq for the second time.
He sheds some of his reserve to share some thoughts on one of his most common experiences during his travels: hatred of the US. In fact, the US is not hated, one suave Iranian businessman points out. What is hated is US foreign policy, in particular the way the country allies itself with loathsome individuals and governments to further its aim, while at the same time preaching hypocritical cant to friends and allies alike.
Himself educated in the US, the businessman adores the US and describes his time there as some of the happiest in his life. But he seethes at his country being placed within the 'axis of evil'.
Indeed, Iran, which according to Kleveman's description seems a far more vigorous and open society than the US' long time ally Saudi Arabia, is engaged in a somewhat mysterious struggle with the US.
Partly, it is economic. Since the discovery of huge oil reserves in the landlocked Caspian Sea, crucial for decreasing US dependence on the Middle East, the question has been how to ship out these riches. Commercially, the best route would be through Iran, which would thereby earn lucrative transit fees.
However, the US has imposed sanctions on Iran. Further, the US has passed irresponsible legislation threatening foreign countries that break those sanctions. In one of those moments when one is thankful for French élan, they ignored the blustering and went ahead anyway - forcing the US government to back down.
The root cause of US animosity to Iran is puzzling. After all, Iran is Persian, not Arab, and therefore with no natural friendship to the Middle Eastern states. It also opposed the Taliban. One explanation is the US humiliation over the hostage crisis in 1979. Another explanation put forward by some of Kleveman's sources is that the country is used as a bogeyman to bolster US support for Israel. A third explanation could be simply US suspicion of Iran's commercial potential in the region.
The US preference is to build a pipeline from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, to a Turkish port on the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, this pipeline would have to go through Georgia, which has been engaged in bloody border wars and would find it difficult to safeguard the pipeline.
Georgia is one of those tragic countries in the mould of Belgium or Poland: its fate is to be the killing ground for its bigger neighbours. Russia, which in defiance of the smaller country's sovereignty, keeps thousands of troops in the country, is reluctant to allow the Caspian oil to flow West - it would rather the oil flowed along its own pipelines. It would also rather keep the source of the oil in the hands of a client state, for example Azerbaijan, which Russia sees as a traditional part of its sphere of influence.
But paying the price of losing the cold war, Russia has had to watch from the sidelines as the US beefs up its military presence on its very doorstep, with bases clustered around the Caspian in countries ruled by very unsavoury people.
More evidence of the convenience of the war on terror emerges when Kleveman discovers evidence that an oil pipeline route from the Caspian Sea could go also through Afghanistan, now conveniently cleared of the Taliban (although not of drug smuggling and despotic warlords), all the way to the Pakistani port of Gwadar.
Given its exploding energy needs and geographic position, China's Xinjiang province also gets a mention. Bordering oil-rich Kazakhstan, and with large oil reserves itself, but also full of Muslims, Xinjiang presents a special challenge to China. It seems to be meeting that challenge by a mixture of implacable enmity to potential and actual terrorists and massive economic development. Compared to the instability in many of its neighbours, the Chinese approach seems to be working.
Although Kleveman raises dozens of important issues and unexpected angles, he cannot solve them all. He does leave the readers with one thought however: Haunting the book is the notion of the Great Game - the seemingly unavoidably ruthless interplay of great power politics, first played by dapper British and Russian officer 200 years ago, played now with fearsomely higher and bloodier stakes between businessmen, Americans and half a dozen other nationalities; and doubtless to be further played for many years yet. But whether its victims feel they are involved in a 'game' is a question Kleveman answers with formidable clarity.
