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Central Asia & the Silk Road   |   READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE
Order an essential package, and we'll ship any additional items for free. We offer a mix of guidebooks, maps, field guides, novels and books on art, architecture, history, nature and culture.

Essential Books These 5 items are available for $89, including
U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. EXCAS32)
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Lonely Planet Central Asia  •   Lonely Planet
GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 528 PAGES
A comprehensive, detailed guide to travel in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the Lonely Planet series. With a good overview of the history and culture of the region, a modest section of color photographs, and 55 local and regional maps. (CAS42, $29.99)
  Lonely Planet Central Asia
The Great Game, The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia  •  Peter Hopkirk
HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 565 PAGES • FAVORITE • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE
A spellbinding, vivid, and riveting account of the great European struggle for supremacy in Central Asia. This is a romantic, glamorous tale of intrigue, treachery and adventure that takes us over the high mountain passes and through the scorching deserts and caravan towns of the Silk Road. With meticulous scholarship and on-the-spot research, the author describes the history of this region at the core of geopolitics today. With 39 photographs and fine maps. (CAS09, $18.00)
  The Great Game, The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia
The Lost Heart of Asia  •  Colin Thubron
TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2008 •  PAPER  • 374 PAGES
The intrepid Colin Thubron recounts his travels to Samarkand, Bukhara and throughout Central Asia in the early 1990s, in the wake of the break-up of the Soviet Union, in this thrilling travelogue. A fine writer, intrepid traveler and insightful observer, he's an outstanding guide to the history, people and culture of this complex corner of the world. (CAS07, $15.95)
  The Lost Heart of Asia
The Silk Road, Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia  •  Frances Wood
CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2004 •  PAPER  • 270 PAGES
A nicely illustrated overview of the art, culture and history of the Silk Road, largely drawn from the collections of the British Library. Frances Wood, head of the Chinese section at the library, makes good use of archival photographs, manuscripts and paintings in telling a lively story of these diverse ancient trade routes. She includes chapters on jade and silk, trade during the Han dynasty, Dunhuang, the Great Game, explorers, and the Silk Road today. With 102 color and 31 black-and-white photographs. (ASA36, $21.95)
  The Silk Road, Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia
Central Asia Map  •   Nelles
MAP
An up-to-date, shaded relief map of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Krygystan at the very good scale of 1:1,750,000. With inset plans of major cities. (CAS37, $10.95)
  Central Asia Map
 

Related Categories
Kazakhstan Map  •   Gizi Map    •  A excellently detailed map of Kazakhstan. (CAS107, $12.95)
 
 
Silk Road Countries Map, Central Asia  •   Gizi Map    •  A map covering the Silk Roads and surrounding territories from Western China and India across Asia to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Black Sea at a scale of 1:3,000,000. (CAS100, $12.95)
 
 
A Hedonist's Guide to Almaty and Astana  •  Lucy Kelaart   • GUIDEBOOK  •  The pocket guide with plenty of information on where to go and what to do covers Kazakhstan's capitals with style. (CAS158, $18.95)
 
 
Bradt Guide Kyrgyzstan  •  Laurence Mitchell   • GUIDEBOOK  •  An outstanding guide to the country, its people, history and allure in the pioneering British series. With a strong focus on adventure activities, and a section of suggested overland routes to China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. (CAS154, $26.99)
 
 
Lonely Planet Central Asia Phrasebook  •  Justin Jon Rudelson   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A handy pocket phrasebook, which focuses on pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler on the Silk Road. (CAS38, $8.99)
 
 
The Silk Roads, A Route and Planning Guide  •  Paul Wilson  •  Dominic Streatfield-James   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A compact, practical guide to the network of ancient trade routes extending from Turkey and the Mideast across Central Asia to China. (CAS21, $22.95)
 
 
A History of Inner Asia  •  Svat Soucek   • HISTORY  •  An admirable survey of the changing fortunes of people in the region, with chapters on Arab conquest and Chinese expansion, Mongols, Samanids, Timurids, Uzbeks, and other kingdoms and people in the region, including the 17th-19th century development of the trading cities. With 13 maps and dynastic charts. (CAS51, $33.99)
 
 
Everyday Life in Central Asia, Past and Present  •  Jeff Sahadeo   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  Dozens of scholars and ethnographers contributed to this lively reader on the peoples, cultures and customs across Central Asia. (CAS148, $24.95)
 
 
Religions of the Silk Road  •  Richard C. Foltz   • RELIGION  •  A scholarly survey of cultural traditions, and especially religions, along the trade routes through China and Central Asia from antiquity to the 15th century. (CAS52, $21.95)
 
 
Silk Road: Monks, Warriors & Merchants on the Silk Road  •  Luce Boulnois  •  Helen Loveday   • HISTORY  •  A history and guide to the Silk Road, organized chronologically and featuring a nice selection of contemporary photographs. (CAS111, $26.95)
 
 
Silk, Scents, and Spice, Retracing the World's Great Trade Routes  •  John Lawton   • HISTORY  •  A history and account of adventures on the ancient routes between Arabia, Asia and the West in quest of silk, spice and incense. (GEN335, $24.95)
 
 
Sons of the Conquerors, The Rise of the Turkic World  •  Hugh Pope   • HISTORY  •  A lively, illuminating report on the Turkic speaking lands across Inner Asia from westernmost China to the Black Sea. (TKY104, $19.95)
 
 
Tamerlane: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World  •  Justin Marozzi   • HISTORY  •  Marozzi deftly interweaves history, politics and his own travels across the deserts, steppes and mountains of Central Asia in this vivid account of the life and ambitions of Amir Temur, the fearsome 14th-century Tatar conqueror. (CAS122, $18.00)
 
 
The Bazaar, Markets and Merchants of the Islamic World  •  Walter Weiss  •  Kurt-Michael Westermann   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  In addition to hundreds of color photos, this celebration of bazaars throughout the Islamic world includes a history of caravan trade, an overview of the setup of medinas and portraits of bazaars from Marrakech to Samarkand. (CAS36, $50.00)
 
 
The New Great Game, Blood and Oil in Central Asia  •  Lutz Kleveman   • HISTORY  •  An eyewitness account of current policies and conflicts in Caucasus and Central Asia, full of interviews, anecdote, history and polemic. (CAS112, $15.00)
 
 
Tournament of Shadows, The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia  •  Karl Meyer  •  Shareen Blair Brysac   • HISTORY  •  Journalists Meyer and Brysac recreate the blundering, xenophobic exploits of Russia and, especially, the British in 19th-century Central Asia in this grand tale. (CAS41, $19.95)
 
 
Hundred Thousand Fools of God  •  Theodore Levin   • MUSIC  •  An engaging account of adventures in ethnomusicology in contemporary Central Asia, Levin is a wonderful guide to musical traditions in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. With an accompanying CD featuring the traditional music of Central Asia. (CAS59, $29.95)
 
 
Islamic Arts  •  Jonathan Bloom  •  Sheila Blair   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  A comprehensive survey of 1,000 years of Islamic architecture, design and decoration. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, maps and site plans. (ISL01, $24.95)
 
 
Mapping the Silk Road and Beyond  •  Kenneth Nebenzahl   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  Presented chronologically, this visually stunning collection of 80 rare illuminated manuscripts, early modern masterpieces and archival maps traces two millennia of exploration across Asia. (CAS113, $49.95)
 
 
A Ride to Khiva, Travels and Adventures in Central Asia  •  Peter Hopkirk  •  Frederick Burnaby   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  The real-life adventure of a Brit snooping in Russian Central Asia in 1875. (CAS16, $30.00)
 
 
Extremes along the Silk Road  •  Nick Middleton   • EXPLORATION  •  A geographer with a taste for extremes (and a television program), Middleton sets out in the footsteps of Marco Polo, Alexander the Great (and many modern compatriots) on the great overland trade route between China and Istanbul. (CAS131, $15.95)
 
 
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World  •  Jack Weatherford   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  Weatherford, who has lived and studied in Mongolia, interweaves his own travels and field work on the Central Asian steppes, much of it on horseback, with a lively portrait of Genghis Khan and the world of the medieval Mongols. The Mongols introduced not only mayhem, but also paper, printing, gunpowder, the compass and trousers to their far-flung empire. (CAS106, $14.95)
 
 
In Xanadu, A Quest  •  William Dalrymple   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  An epic journey in the footsteps of Marco Polo through the Middle East and Central Asia to China. An intrepid traveler and entertaining writer, Dalrymple offers an anecdotal history of the people and places he encounters en route. (CAS50, $14.95)
 
 
Khubilai Khan, His Life and Times  •  Morris Rossabi   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  This fascinating, scholarly portrait of the culture and politics of 13th-century Asia examines Khubilai Khan's rise to power, the submission of Korea and the attempted invasion of Japan. (CAS10, $22.95)
 
 
Life Along the Silk Road  •  Susan Whitfield   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  With insight, scholarship and dramatic flair, Susan Whitfield recounts the lives of ten individuals on the ancient Silk Road. (CAS44, $18.95)
 
 
Shadow of the Silk Road  •  Colin Thubron   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  Thubron returns to Central Asia in this lyrical, erudite account of a 7,000-mile trek across Asia, visiting archaeological sites, people and cities from Xi'an and Dunhuang to Samarkand, Bukhara, Afghanistan and Iran. (CAS133, $15.95)
 
 
The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane  •  Beatrice Forbes Manz   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  A portrait of the great nomadic conqueror who rose to power in 1370 on the ruins of the Mongol Empire and led campaigns from Moscow to Delhi. (CAS11, $27.99)
 
 
The Travels of Marco Polo  •  Marco Polo  •  Ronald Lantham   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  The memories of a 13th-century journey to China along the Silk Road, among the most famous travel accounts ever. Describing exotic plants, birds, precious gems, silks, and spices with a merchant's eye, this superb geographer recounts his 20 years of travel. (CAS05, $13.95)
 
 
Silk Road to Ruin, Is Central Asia the New Middle East?  •  Ted Rall  •  Ahmed Rashid   • LITERATURE  •  The wickedly pointed cartoonist skewers American and Soviet ambitions in Central Asia along with the corruption, chaos and madness of the place in this graphic novel. (CAS140, $22.95)
 
 


Related Categories
Here are some other groups of books that might interest you. Click to view a listing:

More Books
For Kids
Uzbekistan
The Ancient Silk Road
Xian & the Chinese Silk Road

 



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