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  • The Silk Roads: A New History of the World
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The Silk Roads: A New History of the World Audio CD – Unabridged, Feb. 16 2016

by Peter Frankopan (Author), Laurence Kennedy (Narrator)
4.5 out of 5 stars 9,023 ratings
4.2 on Goodreads
46,207 ratings

鶹

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From the rise and fall of empires in China, Persia, and Rome itself to the spread of Buddhism and advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to Western imperialism and the great wars of the twentieth century, this epic, magisterial work illuminates how the Silk Roads-the crossroads of the world, the meeting place of East and West-perhaps more than anything else, shaped global history over the past two millennia. It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures, and religions, and it was the appetites for foreign goods that drove economies and the growth of nations. From the first cities in Mesopotamia to the emergence of Greece and Rome to the depredations by the Mongols, the transmission of the Black Death, the struggles of the Great Game, and the fall of Communism, the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East. By way of events as disparate as the American Revolution and the world wars of the twentieth century, Peter Frankopan realigns the world, orienting us eastward, and illuminating how even the rise of the West five hundred years ago resulted from its efforts to gain access to and control of these Eurasian trading networks. In an increasingly globalized planet, where current events in Asia and the Middle East dominate the world's attention, this magnificent work of history is very much a work of our times.
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    HighBridge Audio
  3. Publication date
    Feb. 16 2016
  4. Dimensions
    16.26 x 2.79 x 13.46 cm
  5. ISBN-10
    1681680521
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1681680521
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HighBridge Audio
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ Feb. 16 2016
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Unabridged
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1681680521
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1681680521
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 423 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.26 x 2.79 x 13.46 cm
  • 鶹 Rank: #90 in History (Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 9,023 ratings

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Peter Frankopan

Peter Frankopan

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4.5 out of 5 stars
9,023 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the content of the book interesting, compelling, and important. They say it provides knowledgeable insight and a comprehensive overview of history from early Mesopotamia to recent events.

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ContentInformative
34 customers mention "Content"34 positive0 negative

Customers find the content interesting, compelling, and important. They say it's gratifying to read and one of the least boring history books they've ever read.

"Good book but I have to work to read through this. I am a history buff, so don't know why. Maybe I am too familiar with the material already. lol" Read more

"This is an excellent book which takes a different perspective on history than the usual run of history books...." Read more

"A well written and researched book that provides knowledgeable insight into the silk road that includes silk as a monetary commodity, the slave..." Read more

"...A good read." Read more

15 customers mention "Informative"15 positive0 negative

Customers find the book incredibly informative, well-written, and researched. They say it provides knowledgeable insight into the silk road. Readers also appreciate the comprehensive overview of history from early Mesopotamia to recent events, with lots of detail and hundreds of references.

"The very best historic analysis I have read. There but one constant in human activity : commerce...." Read more

"A very interesting well researched, well written history book with a new slant on world history from before the Roman Empire to present times." Read more

"Lots of detail going back to beginnings of recorded history. I can't remember all the details but it's a pleasure to read them all...." Read more

"...Informative, educative and also a really good enjoyable read...." Read more

Ebb and Flow of History
5 out of 5 stars
Ebb and Flow of History
The history of civilization is astonishingly short. It spans a mere 70 generations. Although many volumes would be needed to unsheathe its record, the truth is, as a collective, we haven’t been around for that long. This book interprets history as it unfolded along the silk roads. The fertile crescent was a melting pot for civilization. Weak empires became kindling for new ones. Tolerance became a staple feature of societies that were self-assured and confident in their identity – and when they wavered, they were swallowed by others. As people began to settle, so did their faith and fortune. Humans collectively benefited from a long streak of progress; but the fruits were not evenly spread: Europe, for much of history, was peripheral. Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama catapulted Europe from a terminus on the edge of the silk roads to the center of the world. Adam Smith in his famous book “The Wealth of Nations” identified the discovery of Americas and the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope as the greatest and most important event in history. Adam Smith was right, except that history of the world is not history of the West alone. It harkens back to the Babylonians, Macedonians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Romans, Persians and so forth. History is best understood not as East or West but rather as the ebb and flow of ideas. Wherever money and ideas flowed, so did history. Soldiers, prophets, and goods ran across the spine of Central Asia and underbelly of the Arabian Sea. This book stitches together that journey to construe our collective memory.
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Top reviews from Canada

  • Daniel
    5.0 out of 5 stars excellent book
    Reviewed in Canada on August 4, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Lots of detail going back to beginnings of recorded history. I can't remember all the details but it's a pleasure to read them all. It focuses a lot on the world east of Western Europe, something we don't learn about in school. For much of history Western Europe was a backwater while the real action happened in the Middle East and Asia. Carries right on to modern times and provides a powerful new perspective that has opened my eyes. For one thing, the author carefully outlines how both world wars were driven by the great powers' desire to control the flow of oil. Makes our Western Europe-centred view seem so inadequate.
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  • Jawad Shuaib
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ebb and Flow of History
    Reviewed in Canada on February 1, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    The history of civilization is astonishingly short. It spans a mere 70 generations. Although many volumes would be needed to unsheathe its record, the truth is, as a collective, we haven’t been around for that long.

    This book interprets history as it unfolded along the silk roads.

    The fertile crescent was a melting pot for civilization. Weak empires became kindling for new ones. Tolerance became a staple feature of societies that were self-assured and confident in their identity – and when they wavered, they were swallowed by others.

    As people began to settle, so did their faith and fortune. Humans collectively benefited from a long streak of progress; but the fruits were not evenly spread: Europe, for much of history, was peripheral.

    Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama catapulted Europe from a terminus on the edge of the silk roads to the center of the world. Adam Smith in his famous book “The Wealth of Nations” identified the discovery of Americas and the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope as the greatest and most important event in history.

    Adam Smith was right, except that history of the world is not history of the West alone. It harkens back to the Babylonians, Macedonians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Romans, Persians and so forth. History is best understood not as East or West but rather as the ebb and flow of ideas.

    Wherever money and ideas flowed, so did history. Soldiers, prophets, and goods ran across the spine of Central Asia and underbelly of the Arabian Sea. This book stitches together that journey to construe our collective memory.
    Customer image
    Jawad Shuaib
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Ebb and Flow of History

    Reviewed in Canada on February 1, 2021
    The history of civilization is astonishingly short. It spans a mere 70 generations. Although many volumes would be needed to unsheathe its record, the truth is, as a collective, we haven’t been around for that long.

    This book interprets history as it unfolded along the silk roads.

    The fertile crescent was a melting pot for civilization. Weak empires became kindling for new ones. Tolerance became a staple feature of societies that were self-assured and confident in their identity – and when they wavered, they were swallowed by others.

    As people began to settle, so did their faith and fortune. Humans collectively benefited from a long streak of progress; but the fruits were not evenly spread: Europe, for much of history, was peripheral.

    Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama catapulted Europe from a terminus on the edge of the silk roads to the center of the world. Adam Smith in his famous book “The Wealth of Nations” identified the discovery of Americas and the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope as the greatest and most important event in history.

    Adam Smith was right, except that history of the world is not history of the West alone. It harkens back to the Babylonians, Macedonians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Romans, Persians and so forth. History is best understood not as East or West but rather as the ebb and flow of ideas.

    Wherever money and ideas flowed, so did history. Soldiers, prophets, and goods ran across the spine of Central Asia and underbelly of the Arabian Sea. This book stitches together that journey to construe our collective memory.
    Images in this review
    Customer image
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Valerie Ashbourne
    4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended unreservedly for its stimulating content and the ease with ...
    Reviewed in Canada on March 16, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Recommended unreservedly for its stimulating content and the ease with which the author communicates this complex material.
    Should be read by all like me who were brought up with an almost exclusively Western European and (a little) North American emphasis in their History lessons and reading. My own history education (at both school and university levels) virtually stopped at the Eastern borders of Germany and the Balkans - and that will be true of many who read this book, I think - I remember reading in my final year at school of the Ottoman siege of Vienna in the 16th century and thinking 'where the hell did they come from ?' ... well this book answers not only that question but much of the backstory which led to that and many other issues necessary to better understand our current world as Frankopan having started many centuries ago does not hesitate to bring us right up to date into the first years of the 21st century.

    Informative, educative and also a really good enjoyable read.

    The only reason to withhold the fifth star is the poor almost indecipherable maps ... and that is a real nuisance unless one is entirely au fait with the steppes of Southern Europe/Northern Asia and all of the **stans from the Balkans to the Pacific.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • David Moe
    5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book viewing world history from a different perspective than the conventional one
    Reviewed in Canada on March 11, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This is an excellent book which takes a different perspective on history than the usual run of history books. It looks at world history from the perspective of the lands along the "Silk Roads" - the trading routes which brought silk from China to Europe, and gold and silver in the other direction. Most books focus on European history and view historical events from an entirely Eurocentric point of view. Greece, and then Rome, and then Northern Europe are the main center of attention, with Asia being viewed as an afterthought - the vast lands along the Silk Roads are just a blank space on the map. This book looks at the world from the perspective of the Middle East and Central Asia, which was the cradle of civilization and today is the home of the largest oil reserves in the world. In ancient times it held some of the wealthiest lands in the world, and today it does so again - the focus has just changed from trading silk and spices to trading petroleum. The importance of the Middle East and Central Asia has been greatly overlooked by Eurocentric historians, and this book provides much information which has been overlooked. The barbarians who overran the Roman Empire and the Mongols who ravaged both Europe and China didn't just come out of nowhere, and the great religions of the world didn't happen by accident. They all got started in the vicinity of the Silk Roads and have always imperiled the civilizations there. Today, the largest oil exporters and most fanatical religious fundamentalists in the world reside in this area, in immediate proximity to each other. The Western world doesn't really understand them and ignores them at their peril.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Sylvia Iredale
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great new slant on the Silk Roads
    Reviewed in Canada on February 19, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    A well written and researched book that provides knowledgeable insight into the silk road that includes silk as a monetary commodity, the slave trade, the origins, advancement and uses of religion. It confirms that man has learned nothing. We are still facing the same political, territorial and medical challenges man faced in ancient history. A good read.
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  • Joey Diamond
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book
    Reviewed in Canada on March 29, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This is an important book in thst the information therein to undermine the lazy thinking amongst many in the West who believe (wrongly) in the western-centric focused history of economic development.
    Helpful
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  • 鶹 Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
    Reviewed in Canada on October 26, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Perfect book
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  • Gerrit Bilkes
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Silk Roads
    Reviewed in Canada on April 2, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I gave this book away as a Xmas gift. The recipient loved it. She is a teacher.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Snapdragon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Magisterial
    Reviewed in Australia on June 24, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This is an epic book with an epic theme: the fascinating history of the cultures of the Silk Roads from ancient to modern times. Really, it's a history of the world, as it takes in events in the Americas and Africa as well. The point is well made that a Euro-centric view of the world leaves out the people and places of the utmost importance. Just one example: there were far more Christians in Asia than Europe for centuries. Author Peter Francopan delivers scholarly insight in a very readable style. His review of Western (read US) perfidy towards Islamic countries in our era aids our understanding of terrorism. He concludes by pointing out the rich renewal of the Silk Roads thanks to massive energy finds, and predicts that the centre of world power will shift back to this region. A must-read for all of us. Very enlightening.
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  • Abdulla AlMarzouqi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good book and quick delivery
    Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on December 13, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Brilliant book, good read.
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  • Jin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Review
    Reviewed in Germany on November 30, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    When someone recommend me this book, I have expected to read something totally different.

    I was raised in Germany so most of history lessons were focused on Ancient Rome, World War I & II and a bit of basic history including Columbus finding America, US American main historic events and so on. Since I have an Asian background, I already kind of sensed that history is told and perceived differently from every country or culture. Therefore, it was very interesting to read this huge collection of historical facts from the point of view from the „middle of the world“.
    It’s so packed with facts and compressed to show the main events that I was very slow to read through each page chewing through every fact.

    I actually expected to see kind of a more subject commentary of the author on how history is currently being told in different cultures. Nevertheless, I also liked how this book was composed of; it felt like a mini-lexicon which skimmed through world history going through the forgotten protagonists and countries who actually played a huge role. But I can imagine that this book may feel too heavy and too much to those who are just beginning with world history or who are not at least a bit familiar with major world history events.
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  • uno+tajtocai
    5.0 out of 5 stars Reccomended
    Reviewed in Italy on September 27, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Well written and interesting account of the importance of the silk road countries in the past and how this area is becoming crucial to global trade today.
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  • Bernard Soh
    1.0 out of 5 stars Book in bad condition
    Reviewed in Singapore on October 23, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Book shows up in less than ideal condition!

    Dirty strained , pages are loose, the pages are uneven cut…avoid at all cost!
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