Take a photo of a barcode or cover
kittyg 's review for:
The Silk Roads: A New History of the World
by Peter Frankopan
So I picked this one up on Audible by chance because I found myself in the mood for a historical non-fiction (this doesn't often happen as usually I prefer fantasy reading, but when it does I like to make the most of it and dive into a big one). I am very glad that I did pick this up, because it's focus on the East is fascinating and I learned a lot more about the Silk Roads and the trading routes and importance of the East that I wasn't at all aware of from my own reading. It seems that Western teaching is very focused on Western war-winning, and I feel that there's a whole side of history I had barely scratched upon before this book.
What I liked about this was the easy way it was written. It's hard, with history, to find a book that is entertaining but tells the facts, and I think the author got the balance right with this one. I really enjoyed the way that we moved through history steadily, and although the author doesn't often interject with his own ideas, he does mention that there are many areas we just aren't being taught in the West, and I think that's a loss for us.
I personally find I like ancient history a lot more than I like modern history (e.g. world wars etc.) and so I found the first 60% of this book really strong and exciting. I loved seeing the items most valuable in the East and the way different Empires were built and crumbled. Personally, the finery and extravagance that was traded back in ancient times is quite astounding and I think it's all the more enticing for these treasures being so rare today.
Unfortunately, because of my own preferences the World war and the war in Iraq which is mentioned a fair bit in the latter half of the book was less appealing. I didn't find I took as much away from this section, because much of it I already had some knowledge of or I was just not that interested in. It was good to learn about the fossil fuel distribution and the way the West has exploited the East here, but other than that I found that there were some bits I was bored by.
Overall, this was a solidly good book with a lot of information crammed in. I found a lot to learn and even more to investigate further because this is just the beginning of finding out more and I for sure want to do that. 3.5*s from me.
What I liked about this was the easy way it was written. It's hard, with history, to find a book that is entertaining but tells the facts, and I think the author got the balance right with this one. I really enjoyed the way that we moved through history steadily, and although the author doesn't often interject with his own ideas, he does mention that there are many areas we just aren't being taught in the West, and I think that's a loss for us.
I personally find I like ancient history a lot more than I like modern history (e.g. world wars etc.) and so I found the first 60% of this book really strong and exciting. I loved seeing the items most valuable in the East and the way different Empires were built and crumbled. Personally, the finery and extravagance that was traded back in ancient times is quite astounding and I think it's all the more enticing for these treasures being so rare today.
Unfortunately, because of my own preferences the World war and the war in Iraq which is mentioned a fair bit in the latter half of the book was less appealing. I didn't find I took as much away from this section, because much of it I already had some knowledge of or I was just not that interested in. It was good to learn about the fossil fuel distribution and the way the West has exploited the East here, but other than that I found that there were some bits I was bored by.
Overall, this was a solidly good book with a lot of information crammed in. I found a lot to learn and even more to investigate further because this is just the beginning of finding out more and I for sure want to do that. 3.5*s from me.