Macro-Advisory Limited has issued its annual mid-year compilation of the best business, political and general interest books published in 1H26, covering the twelve states in the Eurasia region plus Iran and Afghanistan. The document also includes the updated Recommended Reading list for the region (Ukraine-Russia conflict, Caucasus, Central Asia, Energy, etc) and, individually, for all fourteen countries. The books are those that Macro-Advisory considers to be the most useful for investors and multi-national companies.

The full report can be accessed as a free download from the Home Page on the www.macro-advisory.com website

Most useful & interesting books published in 1H26. This is a list of the most useful books covering the Eurasia region published in 1H26. Our definition of usefulness is from the perspective of strategic investors and businesses who need to better understand the region as a backdrop to their assessment of both opportunity and risk. Also included is the updated recommended list (Sections VI to XI) covering the Eurasia region, all twelve Eurasian states (plus Iran and Afghanistan), external trends, etc.

Trends. As noted in our last update, covering 2025, the number of books written by, or mostly by, AI programs continues to expand. In most cases, this is not a bad event as it means we are seeing many more books meticulously chronicling the history of countries not previously well covered, and also more detailed and specialist travel books for the region.

Caucasus. As expected, there has been a plethora of books issued covering the genocide in Armenia (2025-26 is the 100-year anniversary) and covering the recovery of Karabakh by Azerbaijan. One of the most useful for investors is Western Azerbaijan and the Zangezur Corridor: History, Economy, Law, and Regional Power Struggle by Vefa Kurban, especially as this transport corridor is now of great interest to Washington (the White House refers to it as the TRIPP Corridor) as a shorter route between the Caspian and Turkish ports.

Central Asia. There is nothing new covering geopolitics in the region, although there are some excellent country-specific books (see below). One well-written, historically significant book is The Great Game: Britain, Russia, and the Secret War for Central Asia by Oliver F Pennington. It adds to the library of Great Game books and is an excellent summer afternoon read.

Conflict updates. Not surprising there were fewer books published covering this topic in 1H26. The subject of how the conflict started has been exhausted with such excellent books as Simon Shuster’s The Showman (2024), Michael Kimmage’s Collisions (2024), and Owen Matthew’s Overreach (2022). Two of the more recent offerings worth mentioning are Russia-Ukraine War: Understanding the Causes, Impact, and Global Implications by David Miller and The War in Ukraine and the Changing World Order, edited by Stipe Buzar and Jean-François.

Afghanistan and Iran. The history of Afghanistan has been a particular target for AI-assisted books, most with useful facts, chronology, and context. But the standout book is The Finest Hotel in Kabul by the BBC’s foreign correspondent Lyse Doucet. Also useful is How the Taliban Regained Power in Afghanistan by Mona Kanwal Sheikh and Jan Werner Mathiasen. There are fewer books covering Iran, i.e., compared to 2024 and 2025, but one useful addition is Iran and the Revolution: A History by Homa Katouzian. No doubt there will be another surge in Iranian books once the current war ends and the legacies can be assessed. Russia and Iran by Nicole Grajewski also provides a very timely backdrop to the current conflict.

Kazakhstan. There have also been very few books covering Kazakhstan in 1H26, but one stands out as being particularly timely and authored by two people who are very well placed to cover the topic. The book is Kazakhstan as a Middle Power in Wartime: Relations with Russia After the Invasion of Ukraine by Nygmet Ibadildin and Vladimir Ryzhkov. The latter was a Russian Duma deputy for 13 years, until 2007, and then a Professor at Moscow’s HSE.

Uzbekistan. Books about central Asia’s most populous country are starting to appear (apart from the AI-generated tomes) and include Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan by Joanna Lillis, which is the first not mainly written as a PR brochure. The author highlights some areas of concern that will have to be addressed by the government in the next few years if the economy is to achieve the ambitious goals set for it by the President.

Other regional states. Most of the books focusing on other Eurasian states are historical or travel-focused. One exception is Conquering the North: China, Russia, Mongolia: 2,000 Years of Conflict by John Man, which addresses the challenges faced by the country because of its geography and trade dependency with its two neighbors.

Russia books. There are two standout books about Russia so far in 2026: Jason Corcoran’s Leaving Russia, which chronicles the experiences of a director, a musician, an investment banker, a billionaire entrepreneur, an opposition leader, and a tech founder, all swept up in the mass flight from Russia after February 2022. The other is Riding Through War and Peace by Michael Pugh. This is his diary of riding out of Russia – on horseback - in 2014 through Belarus, Ukraine, and Romania. This book was released in July but is included because it is a perfect summer read –an Englishman riding a horse around a war zone in summer – what could be more calming?

Russian politics. There are several books that add to the understanding of Russian politics and governance today. The Return of Russia: From Yeltsin to Putin, the Story of a Vengeful Kremlin by James Rodgers is written by a very knowledgeable author who has written other books on the topic over the past two decades. Russian Pendulum: Paradoxes, Practices and Patterns is authored by Alena Ledeneva, who is also the author of Can Russia Modernize (2013), which, although 13 years old, remains the definitive guide about governance and informality in Russia. Andrei Kolesnikov is ex Carnegie Russia and one of the very few to have stayed. He authored The Closing of the Russian Mind: How Putin's Ideology Took the Nation Hostage, which is a rare insight from somebody who has remained in Russia since 2022. Finally, it is worth reading The Putin Myth: How the West Invented Its Favorite Villain by Andrew Riffkin. 

Russian History. From Yeltsin to Putin and Back: The View from the Wings by Alexey Dyachenko – he was Yeltsin’s son-in-law from 1987 to 2001 – is a very good account of the last years of Yeltsin’s presidency and the arrival of Vladimir Putin. The August Coup: The Destruction of the Soviet Union and the Making of New Russia 1985-1991 by the prolific Robert Service is an excellent account of that turbulent period.

Other Russia books. There are again no useful books covering the Russian economy or business environment. The two most useful are Thane Gustafson’s Perfect Storm (2025), which looks at the impact of sanctions and defense spending on the economy, and Zero Sum (2024) by Charles Hecker, which focuses more on business trends and foreign companies, especially.

Global themes. Very timely is War in the Middle East 2026: Global Impact on Oil, Economy and Security by Daniel Kath, as is The German-Russian Century: History of a Tangled Relationship by Stefan Creuzberger. However, my two favorites are A Philosophy of War: Why We Fight by Frédéric Gros and the slightly quirky History Written by Losers: How the Grievances of the Defeated Forged the Modern World by Jason Hassett.