The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

"Peter Frankopan is an omnivore. He’s seemingly interested in everything from Ireland to the East Indies and indulged his curiosity in this excellent volume. His goal was to shake up Western readers and get them to appreciate the many cultural centers along the way, with Central Asia figuring prominently in his account of the many culturally fertile lands along the route. He is a first-class writer. Frankopan did much to broaden our perspective on the Middle East, the Balkans, as well as Central Asia. Could he have gone deeper into the Central Asian story? Of course. There is no way that a single book—let alone a very readable book, which Peter Frankopan’s definitely is—could cover all of the Eurasian landmass in equal detail. For example, I wish that he had paid more attention to India and its complexities. Why? Because one of the greatest intellectual challenges before the world right now is to come to grips with the emerging India and its astonishingly rich past, its heritage. But The Silk Roads is a wonderful place to start, for it opens one’s eyes, if they’re not already open."