Title: Silk Roads
Author: Peter Frankopan
First published July 15, 2016
636 pages, Hardcover
ISBN: 9781408839973 (ISBN10: 1408839970)
Rating: 4.17
Overview
The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan is a fascinating exploration of the ancient trade routes and the relationships being formed along them today. In a world of political upheaval, isolationism, and fragmentation, the author highlights the strengthening ties and mutual cooperation being established along the Silk Roads.
This timely contemporary history takes us on a journey from Europe to China, via Russia and the Middle East, assessing the global impact of the continual shifts in power that often go unnoticed by the western world. The Silk Roads urges us to reconsider our place in the world and the interconnectedness of our lives and livelihoods.
With over 1 million copies sold worldwide, this major reassessment of world history is a must-read for anyone who wants to better understand the world we live in.
About the Author
Peter is an accomplished historian and scholar with an impressive academic record. He studied History at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he was awarded the Foundation and Schiff Scholarships, and won the History Prize in 1993.
He excelled in his studies and graduated with an outstanding first-class degree. Peter went on to complete his D.Phil (Ph.D) at Corpus Christi College, where he was elected to a Senior Scholarship.
He later became a Junior Research Fellow at Worcester College in 1997, before being appointed as a Senior Research Fellow in 2000. He currently directs the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research at Oxford University.
Peter is a highly respected academic who has delivered lectures at prestigious universities around the world, including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. He is a regular contributor to national and international press, sharing his insights on current affairs and how history can help us understand the present.
His work has been translated into twelve languages.
Aside from his academic pursuits, Peter is also a successful entrepreneur. He chairs a group of family businesses in the UK, France, Croatia, and the Netherlands.
He founded A Curious Group of Hotels with his wife Jessica in 1999.
Peter is passionate about giving back to his community, and is involved with various charities, particularly those focused on education, international development, gender studies, and classical music. He is a Governor of Wellington College and a Companion of the Guild of Benefactors at Cambridge University.
He also chairs the Frankopan Fund, which provides scholarships and awards to young scholars from Croatia to study at leading academic institutions in the UK, USA, and Europe.
Music has always been an important part of Peter’s life. He was a chorister at Westminster Cathedral as a boy, and went on to become a music scholar at school and a choral scholar at Cambridge.
He has recorded many albums as a singer and instrumentalist.
Peter is also a talented sportsman, having won blues at both Oxford and Cambridge for minor sports. He has represented Croatia internationally in cricket and plays for the Authors CC, a team of writers that has toured India and Sri Lanka.
The team has even played against the Pope’s 1st XI – St Peter’s CC – in England and Rome. In 2013, Bloomsbury published Peter’s book, The Authors XI.
A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon, which received critical acclaim and was named one of The Guardian’s Books of the Year.
Editoral Review
The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that connected the East with the West. While it may seem like a distant and abstract concept to some, Peter Frankopans mesmerizing book, appropriately titled Silk Roads, shows us how this phenomenon shaped global history in a way that is still relevant today.
Frankopan is a specialist in Byzantine history and the director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research. Drawing on his vast knowledge of Eastern and Western civilizations, he presents a compelling argument that the Silk Road was the true center of the world, serving as the epicenter for cultural exchange, religious beliefs, and economic power for over two thousand years.
The authors style is engaging and poetic, weaving in and out of history with finesse. He takes us through the rise and fall of empires, from the Hellenistic period to the present day, highlighting the role that the Silk Road played in shaping the world as we know it.
The book is divided into six parts, each focusing on a specific period of time. Frankopan tells the story through the eyes of prominent figures, such as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Marco Polo, as well as through ordinary people who traversed the Silk Road for trade or religious purposes.
One of the strengths of Silk Roads is that it is grounded in meticulous research. Frankopan draws on primary accounts, archaeological evidence, and recent discoveries to build a compelling narrative.
However, he is far from a dry historian; his writing is engaging and accessible, making complex concepts easy to understand. The books main limitation is that it can feel overwhelming at times.
Frankopan covers a vast period, and the transitions between the different sections can be abrupt. It can also be challenging to keep track of all the characters and their respective timelines.
However, these are minor criticisms in the grand scheme of things. Silk Roads is a must-read for anyone interested in history, global politics, or cultural exchange.
It provides a refreshing perspective on a subject that is often overlooked in western curriculums. Frankopans ability to connect ancient history with current events makes his book a valuable contribution to our understanding of the world.
It promotes tolerance and understanding between people of different cultures, religions, and backgrounds. I would give Silk Roads an A+.
The book is well-written, impeccably researched, and engaging from start to finish. It is a tour de force of historical scholarship that is bound to spark conversation and debate.
