The History of Central Asia: The Age of the Silk Roads Hardcover – November 26, 2014

This is one truly beautiful book. It is nicely written and more than interesting. Though oversized and lavishly illustrated, it does not read like a coffee table book but more like the best kind of text book. Some may consider that a criticism, but a really fine text book is valuable and this has definite hints of that kind of writing. I have learned a tremendous amount about a part of the world which is rarely touched on by our social studies curriculum. As I've suspected for some time, we really should try to include a unit on the contributions made by the people of this part of the world over the course of history.

Volume 2 is far superior to volume 1. Just about 1/3 done but I would recommend it.

Gorgeous and insightful book. A great treatment of an overlooked culture,

This is the second in a four volume series by the same author and weighty hardback at least twice the size of the volume I had expected to arrive through the post. But this is a terrific book, stunningly illustrated with full colour pictures that show the landscape, the archaeological artefacts and the ruins of the Central Asian societies that traded along the ancient Silk Roads. It was no surprise to discover that the author had originally studied Art History and that he subsequently explored parts of Central Asia in person. There is hardly a page of this book without a useful image or photograph to augment the text. Some are of museum objects, or the ruined remains of significant buildings, while others are placed to give the reader a glimpse of the various wilderness landscapes through which these trading 'roads' passed. The quality of the glossy paper used throughout the book does justice to these pictures. In particular, the explanatory maps that accompany the text are the best I have seen, with the information superimposed in colour onto satellite images of the entire area. This is a real boost to the reader's understanding of the regions, the distances and the terrains that it covers.The text is well written and historically accurate while the list of secondly sources referenced is formidable. I was also pleased to see an acknowledgment that religious beliefs, as well as material culture, were conveyed by the merchants, soldiers and travellers who used these ancient trails through desert places. This is especially evident in a section in chapter two on the east/west influences in Buddhist Gadhara art, located in modern Pakistan. Chapter four on the Tarim region was also interesting, beginning with an acknowledgement of the previous explorers of this place. So, over all, I think this book is a 'must' for anyone interested in the ancient history of Central Asia and the Silk Roads.

Sell in Kindle format--along with the other three volumes!

Good solid material for an introduction to the field. Pictures help create context of the prose very well.

This is a good history book. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Well done book on subject