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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
I found this book hard to get into initially as it deals with ancient history and hundreds of years go by in a couple of pages of references to people I'd not heard of and places that no longer exist. The book started to grab me during the accounts of the crusades and particularly the passing of the baton from the British imperialists to the Americans and their interference in the middle east. As someone in their 30s, it was perhaps the first time for me to read about what seem like such recent recents such as the search for Osama Bin Laden and the second Gulf War from a historical perspective.
With regard to the modern end of this book, I found it very depressing as the connections made between blunders made in the past just seemed to repeat themselves over and over again just with different protagonists. In addition, as someone drawn to pacifism and against military expenditure, from reading this book it seems like such as stance leads to peril. This book gave me a much better understanding of how people from countries which have been so blatantly exploited such as Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan must feel towards their oppressors. In sum, if you want to realize just how unjust the world is, read "The Silk Roads".
With regard to the modern end of this book, I found it very depressing as the connections made between blunders made in the past just seemed to repeat themselves over and over again just with different protagonists. In addition, as someone drawn to pacifism and against military expenditure, from reading this book it seems like such as stance leads to peril. This book gave me a much better understanding of how people from countries which have been so blatantly exploited such as Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan must feel towards their oppressors. In sum, if you want to realize just how unjust the world is, read "The Silk Roads".
I picked up this book on a whim because the cover is gorgeous and I love history and especially history from a 'new' perspective (not the standard Western-savior point-of-view most American children are taught in school) and I spent time studying in Egypt and have a particular love for the people and history of the Middle East. After reading the 'Introduction' written by the author, Peter Frankopan, I was thrilled and excited to have found a book that would tell the ancient and varied history of the Silk Road and its essential place in world history!
I read the first 2/3 of this book at lightning speed, it was exactly what I wanted. A new and expansive understanding of the pivotal role the Silk Road and the Middle East played in world events in the ancient world and the years known as the Middle Ages from a Western perspective. Frankopan spoke not only to political history (war, rulers, economy, goods, etc.) but also to the essential role that the cultures of the Middle East played in the formation of many religious traditions and the influence of those traditions through the history of the Silk Road.
However, the final 1/3 of the book took me another two months to finish as Frankopan, unfortunately, fell into the European/American/Western perspective and understanding of the Middle East which was a huge disappointment. To be fair, I am much more interested in ancient history than modern history so that also could have contributed to my reluctance to finish the final 1/3 of this book as it covered the time period of approx. 1800-present and primarily focused on the political history of Europe and America in the Middle East.
While I am not frustrated that I read this book, I would have been much happier if it had either ended at 1800 or Frankopan had figured out a way to continue telling the story of the Middle East and the Silk Road from a non-western point-of-view. I absolutely adored his introduction and the mission he set out upon, however, by the end he had diverged from his original intention and fell into the same trap he warned us about at the beginning of his book.
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I read the first 2/3 of this book at lightning speed, it was exactly what I wanted. A new and expansive understanding of the pivotal role the Silk Road and the Middle East played in world events in the ancient world and the years known as the Middle Ages from a Western perspective. Frankopan spoke not only to political history (war, rulers, economy, goods, etc.) but also to the essential role that the cultures of the Middle East played in the formation of many religious traditions and the influence of those traditions through the history of the Silk Road.
However, the final 1/3 of the book took me another two months to finish as Frankopan, unfortunately, fell into the European/American/Western perspective and understanding of the Middle East which was a huge disappointment. To be fair, I am much more interested in ancient history than modern history so that also could have contributed to my reluctance to finish the final 1/3 of this book as it covered the time period of approx. 1800-present and primarily focused on the political history of Europe and America in the Middle East.
While I am not frustrated that I read this book, I would have been much happier if it had either ended at 1800 or Frankopan had figured out a way to continue telling the story of the Middle East and the Silk Road from a non-western point-of-view. I absolutely adored his introduction and the mission he set out upon, however, by the end he had diverged from his original intention and fell into the same trap he warned us about at the beginning of his book.
Want more book content? Follow me at thebookwar.com
Didn't read the subtitle close enough and assumed this book was a detailed look at the silk road as we traditional know it. It's actually a world history book told using the silk road as the instrument.
Learned quite a few things about the ancient world which was worth the skim. For example, previous to Hellenic influences, Buddhism was aniconic and did not involve representational forms like statues of the Buddha. The earliest Buddha statues bore remarkable resemblance to classic Hellenistic sculpture.
The Huns practiced skull shaping, creating deformed and elongated skulls. They also slashed their cheeks to prevent facial hair.
Didn't finish this book, arrive once we get to the middle ages my interest waned. Might pick it back up at some point
Learned quite a few things about the ancient world which was worth the skim. For example, previous to Hellenic influences, Buddhism was aniconic and did not involve representational forms like statues of the Buddha. The earliest Buddha statues bore remarkable resemblance to classic Hellenistic sculpture.
The Huns practiced skull shaping, creating deformed and elongated skulls. They also slashed their cheeks to prevent facial hair.
Didn't finish this book, arrive once we get to the middle ages my interest waned. Might pick it back up at some point
Most typical surveys of world history (at least those that originate in the west) tend to take a very Western European view of it all: Egypt, Greece, Rome, Western Europe (with a nod to the Islamic Empire), then branching out to the Americas and Asia post-Columbus. This book reorients world history around the key regions of central Asia, the Middle East and the Eurasian steppes. This is the region where major trade routes have facilitated the exchange at various times of silk (of course), horses, religion, inventions, slaves, plague, minerals, oil, wheat, and more. It was the birthplace of most of the world's major religions, and fought over by many of the world's great empires: Persian, Greek, Roman, Mongol, Ottoman, British, Soviet and American. This book wasn't quite what I expected -- I was expecting mostly older history, and was somewhat nonplussed to get to the 20th century and only be halfway through the book! Nonetheless, I found the modern stuff fascinating as well -- I never knew what a key role this region played in the geopolitics that created the conditions for both world wars. Anyway, not a quick read, but lots of good food for thought here.
This historical non-fiction focuses on the Silk Road trading route and its role in both in trade of goods and ideas and how it has played a decisive part in the rise and fall of some of our most major nations, religions and empires throughout history. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it took me on a stroll through history, learning of historic events from an Asian-centric perspective rather than a Euro-centric perspective which most history lessons I have experienced have been focused. Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning of our most significant historical events.4
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informative
medium-paced
This is a very interesting popular history book and it's also suitable for those with an appalling lack of knowledge about history (like myself). Some parts lagged a little bit but that's to be expected in a non-fiction book this size.
informative
reflective
slow-paced