A new history of the world and by steppe, desert and ocean. The ancient silk road winds into the shah foladi valley near bamiyan in afghanistan. The region of the silk roads is obscure to many in the englishspeaking world. Instead, frankopan places the center the centre of the world in the region of modern iraq, iran, the caucasus and the russian steppes. The silk road and beyond by ivor whittall waterstones.
Yet the region linking east with west is where civilization itself began, where the worlds great religions were born and took root, where goods were exchanged, and where languages, ideas and disease spread. List of books and articles about silk road online research. Following the silk roads eastwards, from europe through to china, by way of russia and the middle east, the new silk roads provides a timely reminder that we live in a world that is profoundly interconnected. The temptation in writing any book subtitled a new. There is more going on, then, than the clumsy interventions of the west in iraq and afghanistan and the use of pressure in ukraine, iran and elsewhere. A new history of the world, by peter frankopan, bloomsbury, rrp. Falconer clearly did his research about the route itself its changing geography and climates, and the diverse and fascinating people, who lived along it during the th century. The book takes us by surprise right from the start. For my fourteenth birthday my parents gave me a book by the. It conjures up a hazy image of a caravan of camels laden with silk on a dusty desert track, reaching from china to rome.
Feb 16, 2016 throughout history, central asia has been a nexus of burgeoning trade in goods, people, and ideas. The silk road was once an ancient trade route through asia, but in 2011 an idealistic young man named ross ulbricht used the moniker for a new enterprise that the internet age had never seen. The silk road was the contemporary name for a complex of ancient trade routes linking east asia with. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery. This book brings the history of the silk road alivefrom its beginnings to the present day, revealing a rich history still in the making. To find out more about our authors and books visit here you will find extracts, author interviews, details of forthcoming. Best books to read about the silk road a list for senior travellers.
Silk roads has been named as one of waterstones 10 paperbacks of 2016 this stunning work is as much a crusade as it is a work of reference, with frankopan keen to resurrect the importance of the trade network that in a sense defined our planet. The silk roads have functioned as the worlds the traditional view that the world we know today was shaped by the romans and the greeks is challenged in this book. This important and ultimately hopeful book asks us to reread who we are and where we are in the world, illuminating the themes on which all our lives and. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Or would you be prepared to buy a more expensive pair but theyre made up the road in good conditions and people are paid a living wage. The new silk roads brings this story up to date, addressing the present and future of a world that is changing dramatically. A dark web site where everything from drugs and guns to passports could be bought and soldthis was the new silk road. On 27 april, peter did a joint event at waterstones in oxford broad street with legendary scholar sir barry cunliffe about their recent books, the silk roads. Sep 20, 2004 a new breed of explorer, part archaeologist, part cartographer, part spy, was seen on the silk road, while some of the ancient cities, long buried in sandblown dunes, began to give up their secrets. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk.
Buy extremes along the silk road by nick middleton from waterstones today. The silk road is as iconic in world history as the colossus of rhodes or the suez canal. Buy silk roads by susan whitfield from waterstones today. Buy the silk roads by peter frankopan from waterstones today. It looks at world history from the perspective of the lands along the silk roads the trading routes which brought silk from china to europe, and gold and silver in the other direction. The silk road was the contemporary name for a complex of ancient trade routes linking east asia with central asia, south asia, and the mediterranean world. Buy the silk road and beyond by ivor whittall from waterstones today.
The linking of asia to europe via eurasia for conquest and trade since at least 120bc is a unique part of the worlds history. Feb 16, 2016 this is an excellent book which takes a different perspective on history than the usual run of history books. As he mentions in his preface, somewhere, a friend suggested that he could weave all his tales into one overall book with a common theme of silk roads. From east to west, the silk roads are rising up once more. The silk road was never a single thread but an intricate web of trade routes silk roads linking asia and europe. Currently holding the post of professor of global history at oxford university, frankopan is best known for his globally bestselling history the silk roads. In june 2016 the silk roads was chosen to be the waterstones nonfiction book of the month. This is the question frankopan answers in this immensely entertaining work. Books to read about the silk road guide for seniors.
Extremes along the silk road by nick middleton waterstones. Questions for peter frankopan, author of the silk roads its been centuries since camel caravans crisscrossed eurasia along the silk roads. Silk road by colin falconer is well named because the silk road itself is the most complex, vivid and welldrawn character of the book. Drawing on prodigious sources, frankopan the first crusade. Buy driving the silk road by douglas mcwilliams from waterstones today. Buy the silk road by mark leggatt from waterstones today. Buy the silk road by valerie hansen from waterstones today. Central asia, afghanistan and iran by jonathan tucker, paul theroux from waterstones today. Reviews on the silk roads were generally positive and were published by the guardian, the independent, the telegraph, the times. The is right to look at the history of the world in a very different way. In his new book, the silk roads, frankopan has created something that forces us to sit up and reconsider the world and the way weve always thought about it. A new history of the world reprint by frankopan, peter isbn. The silk roads quotes by peter frankopan goodreads.
Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders. Nov 06, 2015 the concept of a silk road is not an ancient one. Yes, the founder of silk road, the worlds largest illicit marketplace, the man who had just ordered a hit on his own employee, was disturbed by the lack of integrity in this world. Traditional views of the past have become little more than a tissue of myths and stories that are comforting and familiar. This epic book traces the cycle of human creation and destruction along the silk roads, now rich in billions of dollars worth of oil, minerals and. Buy silk road by colin falconer from waterstones today. I was a bit disappointed when begining to read the book because i presumed it was about the original silk road. Peter writes for waterstones blog about his book on the silk roads the waterstones book of the month for june 2016. This book spends most of its time in detailing the trade and fortunes of the west instead of focusing on the various kingdoms of the silk road.