Product Description

This fascinating book covers more than 2,000 years of history, and is illustrated throughout with many manuscripts and paintings from the British Library and other museums worldwide. There are also unique and previously unpublished photographs by the great explorers Stein, Hedin and Mannerheim.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #128532 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Customer Reviews

Well-rounded introduction to the Silk Road
After visiting the Silk Road exhibition at the British Library, this book provided me with further background information about this fascinating geographical, historical and cultural concept. Stretching from the Bronze Age to the 20th century, the author provides intriguing glimpses into various aspects, such as the role of trade, exploration, archaeology, politics and economics in shaping the development of the route. My one regret is that the focus is on the eastern end of the route: one learns little of the route west of Samarkand. Extremely well written and produced, the book is published by the British Library, and therefore possesses the high standards that one would expect from this great institution.

Not quite what it seems.
I was a little disappointed by this book. It does focus very much on the Chinese end of the Silk Road and the western end and even the middle (including, for example, the historical development of the silk road cities of Khiva, Bukhara & Samarkand) are neglected by comparison. This reflects the author's expertise but it does mean the book is not really a history of the whole silk road. The early chapters do try to tell the economic history of the trade route and how silk and jade and horses and camels were particularly traded along it but a clearer historical narrative linking the economic trends to wider political developments would have been welcome. I also expected a map of known caravansarai and some discussion of the traces of silk road buildings and infrastructure that remain.