Soul of Kazakhstan

The Soul of Kazskhstan paints a photographic and intellectual portrait of the depth and sonority of the Kazakh national culture. In the relatively sparse current literature on Kazakhstan, particularly in the West, this book opens a window through photographs and text that the layman and the scholar alike can savor and find edifying. Seven chapters illuminate what is uniquely and definitively Kazakh, covering the land, its history and antiquities, traditional life, applied arts, fine arts, performing arts and the thread of spirituality that runs through all of it from Shamanism to Zoroastrianism to Islam. Internationally known photographer Wayne Eastep brings sensitivity and a fine eye to his art. His photographs tell of a man who fell in love with a country and its people. Through nearly a year of travel throughout Kazakhstan, he developed a rapport that captures not just scenery and portraits, but spirit and soul. His work puts pictorial substance to the country's ethos. Dr. Alma Kunanbay, an anthropologist and ethnographer respected in both academic and cultural circles, opens each chapter with insightful and information-packed essays that also open a window into the country's cultural and spiritual heart. The facts, thoughts and feelings she has marshaled come together in a stirring and deep epiphany. The result is a book that melds a text rich in history and insight with photographs that mirror that traditional heritage as reflected in the faces of 21st century Kazakhstan-not its modern hotels, galleries and boutiques, but the glowing, expectant faces of youth and the history and tradition that several generations are rediscovering today.Eastep, Wayne is the author of 'Soul of Kazakhstan' with ISBN 9780970693907 and ISBN 0970693907.