Drawing on recent scholarships and new ideas, Beckwith shows social, political and cultural life in the heartland of Central Asia from the chariot warriors to the Scythians, Atilla the Hun, Turkish empire, Mongol conquest and Soviet incursions and now in this sweeping, scholarly history. We especially enjoyed the epilogue in which Beckwith demolishes Western stereotypes of "The Barbarians."  (CAS171, $16.95)