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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
This book focuses on the efforts of China to create a new silk road, the Road and Belt Initiative, and the role of other nations. The big emphasis is that China and the rest of Asia is focusing on cooperation while the US and Europe are focusing on isolationism and mutual suspicion. (Not sure if Canada is mentioned at all?) There is a lot of (deserved) ripping on Trump, and how his unpredictability and pettiness is causing the US to lose allies, and pushing them into China's orbit. The negative aspects of the Chinese government are addressed as well - the treatment of the Uighers and other minorities, bad loans to neighboring countries, etc. But the message seems to be that while we might not like their priorities at least they are consistent.
informative
slow-paced
Disappointingly tedious. It felt like a book of lists, with quotes and references piled on top of each other. I didn’t find the narrative especially coherent as it got lost in the details; you could see lots of trees but there were no paths to hills where you could see the forest. Or if there were, they were hidden in the undergrowth!
Not so much of a stand-alone non-fiction book but rather an extended (and revised) epilogue to the excellent [b:The Silk Roads: A New History of the World|25812847|The Silk Roads A New History of the World|Peter Frankopan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1472636067l/25812847._SY75_.jpg|45425898]. But even if you jumped straight in - there is still plenty to enjoy. I reckon it offers very fine journalist writing with an essential & insightful digest of the recent affairs (2016/17 onwards). Peter is a fantastic storyteller and he really helps to ‘join the pieces’ together and allow to see the patterns in time.
I would wish more people read this book with some level of attention paid to the premises and conclusions if offers.
PS: this was my first completed Audible book as well!
I would wish more people read this book with some level of attention paid to the premises and conclusions if offers.
PS: this was my first completed Audible book as well!
Less a book than a frantic jumble of headlines, statistics, and regurgitated press releases. Did not finish.
I've had high expectations in this book because of its prelude "The Silk Roads: A New History", written also by Peter Frankopan. But to my surprise, I found myself bored, and just finished the book hoping for a provocative and informative conclusion, which unfortunately, never happened.
It's dry and it lacks emotion. It's like I am reading a long list of facts, figures, and trivial information compiled. There are, also at some point, that the facts are just literally included and presented without any explanation why the author included those, as if every reader will notice connections, or are aware of those trivial historical information.
On the bright side, same as his earlier book, The New Silk Roads' facts and sources are plentiful enough to reach a comprehensive presentation of argument about this so-called "New Silk Roads" (literally and figuratively) being built by China and its impact on the American hegemony and the world. But still, the book is not enough to grasp the overview of the "present and future of the world" as said in its title. The book is too short to cover those topics.
It's dry and it lacks emotion. It's like I am reading a long list of facts, figures, and trivial information compiled. There are, also at some point, that the facts are just literally included and presented without any explanation why the author included those, as if every reader will notice connections, or are aware of those trivial historical information.
On the bright side, same as his earlier book, The New Silk Roads' facts and sources are plentiful enough to reach a comprehensive presentation of argument about this so-called "New Silk Roads" (literally and figuratively) being built by China and its impact on the American hegemony and the world. But still, the book is not enough to grasp the overview of the "present and future of the world" as said in its title. The book is too short to cover those topics.
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I try to not review books on the basis of the book I was hoping to read rather than the one I actually get, but this felt like such a missed opportunity to link the history of the Silk Roads to the present realities and changes happening along these routes. It’s really just a fun title for essentially what is an extremely perishable extended essay on China’s increasing power. This gets off to a fairly interesting start but eventually just teeters into very forgettable regurgitation of news stories about US foreign policy over the last 7 years. Whilst conceding Frankopan didn’t have the benefit of hindsight with Trump’s politics, failing to acknowledge that US foreign policy hasn’t always and likely would not always be played out on Twitter seems like an oversight too.
informative
slow-paced