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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
A truly excellent take on world history with the Middle East and point east as the focal point. A fascinating look at history for a guy like me who has been coming from a Western European point of view all his life. It can bea little pedantic at times, but over all, I enjoyed it quite a bit. You all should read it!
Ok it took me an embarrassingly long time to read this book so bare with me.
For starters, I really appreciate the work Peter Frankopan put into this history - I've been longing to learn more about other non-western-centric regions and cultures and boy did he deliver. Overall I was very impressed and appreciative of the overview he provided of the "Silk Road," as I have very little knowledge and background about the region. I am truly thankful that historians like him have the talent and patience to translate these histories into a language I understand.
That being said, I also have some complaints. There was nearly nothing discussed about China, nearly no discussion of the far eastern states (now the -stan block of countries to the west of China's border), there was no discussion of the Ottoman empire nor real discussion of the 1600-1800s and for nearly half the book it felt like we completely focused on Europe and the US, which Peter explicitly said he would not do. I have read several other reviews that note similar (often stronger worded) ratings, and overall I agree with their complaints. Where I will defend Peter Frankopan is that his refocusing on the US and Europe did provide much appreciated context to why modern politics and people from the middle east tend to have incredibly negative views towards the west, and while I do not agree with the violence that has come as a result, I do see why these responses have taken place.
Overall I would rate this a good book to get your foot in the door on history for the regions between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean/Hindu Kush, but would caution readers that once you hit the 1600s, gears shift to focus on the impacts of western counties on those living in this region.
For starters, I really appreciate the work Peter Frankopan put into this history - I've been longing to learn more about other non-western-centric regions and cultures and boy did he deliver. Overall I was very impressed and appreciative of the overview he provided of the "Silk Road," as I have very little knowledge and background about the region. I am truly thankful that historians like him have the talent and patience to translate these histories into a language I understand.
That being said, I also have some complaints. There was nearly nothing discussed about China, nearly no discussion of the far eastern states (now the -stan block of countries to the west of China's border), there was no discussion of the Ottoman empire nor real discussion of the 1600-1800s and for nearly half the book it felt like we completely focused on Europe and the US, which Peter explicitly said he would not do. I have read several other reviews that note similar (often stronger worded) ratings, and overall I agree with their complaints. Where I will defend Peter Frankopan is that his refocusing on the US and Europe did provide much appreciated context to why modern politics and people from the middle east tend to have incredibly negative views towards the west, and while I do not agree with the violence that has come as a result, I do see why these responses have taken place.
Overall I would rate this a good book to get your foot in the door on history for the regions between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean/Hindu Kush, but would caution readers that once you hit the 1600s, gears shift to focus on the impacts of western counties on those living in this region.
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
I had high hopes for this, hoping for a Guns, Germs and Steel type look at Central Asia but instead it felt more Europe and US focussed look at how the Middle east evolved. It felt a bit flat and not what I wanted from the book.
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
From what I can see of other Goodreads reviews, I think this book may suffer a bit from misinterpretation. I am hoping that this review will help some who are interested in reading it.
This is not a book about the cultural, artistic, or even commercial progressions of the Silk Road in antiquity. BTW for a really entertaining take on that, I recommend you watch The Silk Road docu-series narrated by Alfred de Montesquiou from Paris Match. It is excellent. I found it on Amazon.
I see Dr. Frankopan as working to answer three questions with this book. First - How has the power dynamic shifted between the Middle East and the West over the past 3000 years? Second - what has that shift been motivated by, primarily, throughout history? Third- what does this historical perspective tell us about where power is shifting in the 21st century?
In the United States, focus is often placed on our history and relationship with Western Europe - especially since the 1500’s, and on Russia and now, China in the last 100 years. Frankopan shifts the focus so that the Middle East is at the center of the narrative, and in this he does an excellent job.
I feel I understand much better now how the power dynamic shifted as the Roman Empire ended, the Mongul empire moved in, how Europe rose from the ashes in the early 10th century (and headed to the Middle East), and the impact of the shift west as Europe emerged into conquest of Africa, India, and the Americas. The book really picks up steam as we move into the middle ages and the past 500 years, always keeping focus on the relationship between the Middle East and the West, specifically England and the United States.
There is a lot of concentration on Empire. And there is a lot left out of the book. It is a great primer if you are interested in history and how we got to where we are. What I admire the most about this book is precisely what may tick others off, and that is the successful focus on those three questions above. Frankopan does not stray, he maintains his focus and that must not have been easy to do.
I am so glad I read this book. It is an investment as it clocks in at about 500 pages. I found it highly informative and entertaining, and I am really looking forward to heading down the rabbit holes that it has inspired.
This is not a book about the cultural, artistic, or even commercial progressions of the Silk Road in antiquity. BTW for a really entertaining take on that, I recommend you watch The Silk Road docu-series narrated by Alfred de Montesquiou from Paris Match. It is excellent. I found it on Amazon.
I see Dr. Frankopan as working to answer three questions with this book. First - How has the power dynamic shifted between the Middle East and the West over the past 3000 years? Second - what has that shift been motivated by, primarily, throughout history? Third- what does this historical perspective tell us about where power is shifting in the 21st century?
In the United States, focus is often placed on our history and relationship with Western Europe - especially since the 1500’s, and on Russia and now, China in the last 100 years. Frankopan shifts the focus so that the Middle East is at the center of the narrative, and in this he does an excellent job.
I feel I understand much better now how the power dynamic shifted as the Roman Empire ended, the Mongul empire moved in, how Europe rose from the ashes in the early 10th century (and headed to the Middle East), and the impact of the shift west as Europe emerged into conquest of Africa, India, and the Americas. The book really picks up steam as we move into the middle ages and the past 500 years, always keeping focus on the relationship between the Middle East and the West, specifically England and the United States.
There is a lot of concentration on Empire. And there is a lot left out of the book. It is a great primer if you are interested in history and how we got to where we are. What I admire the most about this book is precisely what may tick others off, and that is the successful focus on those three questions above. Frankopan does not stray, he maintains his focus and that must not have been easy to do.
I am so glad I read this book. It is an investment as it clocks in at about 500 pages. I found it highly informative and entertaining, and I am really looking forward to heading down the rabbit holes that it has inspired.
I enjoyed this book and I learned a lot, especially from the chapters dealing with more recent times, the latter half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. There were a bunch of things that I didn't previously understand, didn't know I didn't understand and now make a lot more sense.