4.0
dark informative reflective slow-paced

A competent book, but ultimately disappointing to me. 
I expected a history *of* the nations of the silk road. I wanted to learn about the Mughal empire, the Safavid empire, and the Ottomans. Instead, this book gave me a history of the foreign policy of western powers *as it concerned* those nations. In other words, it was a look at the regions of middle east and central asia from the western perspective. I enjoyed it, but I didn't learn what I picked up the book to learn.