The Caucasus is trapped between the Black Sea & the Caspian Sea. A borderland between Christian & Muslim worlds, the Caucasus is the front line of a clash of cultures: Russia vs. the predominantly Muslim mountain regions. Here, Griffin maps the rise of Islam through myth, history, & politics. He centers on the story of Imam Shamil, the greatest Muslim warrior of the 19th cent., who led a 25-year campaign against the invading Russians. Griffin follows the Imam's legacy into the present & finds his namesake, the Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, continuing his struggle. Today this continuing explosive conflict is complicated by a growing Islamic movement & a reputed 100 billion barrels of Caspian oil, & shows no sign of abating.