Reviews - The New Silk Roads

Shockingly poorly-written and rushed, “The New Silk Roads” fails to live up to the insightfulness of its excellent predecessor. Frankopan clearly is better suited to writing history rather than recounting recent events: unfortunately, developments in Central Asia from 2015 to 2018 make up the bulk of the book with little more analysis than a simple news recap. If you’re looking for a summary piece on the rise of the East during precisely these years, there is perhaps no better resource. I say those years because “The New Silk Roads” has aged astonishingly in just a little more than three years. Some of the tidbits of info are simply irrelevant due to the chaos of recent years. This outdatedness isn’t Frankopan’s fault; however, for a book which attempts to glean some insight into the future of shifting global powers it loses most of its appeal. At times it feels like barely-significant events are shoved in to fit into a hardly fleshed-out narrative.

bigcitydreamer's review against another edition

3.0

informative reflective medium-paced

While this book may have been more insightful and useful closer to publication date, I found for the most part that it was just a retelling of recent news stories without a lot of analysis. I learned enough facts to give it a 3 star rating but wouldn't really rave about it. Read for a good cursory look at recent history in the region, and light geopolitical overviews of potential outcomes.

jagoda_morgan's review against another edition

4.0

informative reflective medium-paced

sahdia's review against another edition

3.0

informative medium-paced

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