An excellent new look at the history of Central Asia and the Silk Road. Frankopan begins the book with a brief chronological overview and then moves on to look at the movement of goods and ideas from the Far East to Europe from several points of view - luxury goods exchange, idea exchange, culture exchange, religion exchange, slave exchange, disease and plague exchange. He also pursues the topic beyond the traditional overland route and includes the move to trade by long distance European sailing ships in the concept of Silk Road. He pursues it into the modern age, looking at the Suez Canal and the eventual Suez Canal crisis as part of the history of the Silk Road. The book continues right up to contemporary times where Central Asia is undergoing a little recognized renaissance as a trading centre due to its rich natural resources - overlooked perhaps because the benefits largely seem to accrue to the top social echelons, which is actually the traditional wealth distribution structure in Central Asia way back to early Silk Road times.
He also notes patterns in this trade route through the ages - the importance of slave trading as a generator of wealth and capital at the beginning of each group's period of dominance - arabs, Vikings, Europeans. The tendency of wealth to accrue at the top of society.
Worth rereading.
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