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CENTRAL ASIA & THE SILK ROAD

Central Asia & the Silk Road

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Books for

Essential Reading

Item EXCAS32. Buy these 5 items as a set for $101 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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The Great Game

The Great Game

by Peter Hopkirk

  • HISTORY
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 565 PAGES
  • FAVORITE
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

Hopkirk's spellbinding account of the great struggle for European supremacy in Central Asia takes us over the high mountain passes and through the scorching deserts and caravan towns of the Silk Road, capturing the glamour, intrigue, treachery and adventure of the time. (CAS09, $18.00)

The Lost Heart of Asia

The Lost Heart of Asia

by Colin Thubron

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 374 PAGES

In this classic account, Thubron recounts his travels to Samarkand, Bukhara and throughout Central Asia in the wake of the breakup of the Soviet Union. A fine writer, intrepid traveler and insightful observer, he's an outstanding guide to the history, people and culture of the region. (CAS07, $15.99)

The Silk Road, Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia

The Silk Road, Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia

by Frances Wood

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 270 PAGES

Wood draws on hundreds of archival photographs, manuscripts and paintings from the British Library in telling this lively story of the art, culture and history of diverse trade routes. With chapters on jade and silk, trade during the Han Dynasty, Dunhuang, the Great Game, explorers and the Silk Road today. (ASA36, $28.95)

Lonely Planet Central Asia

Lonely Planet Central Asia

by Lonely Planet

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 528 PAGES

A comprehensive, detailed guide to travel in the region, including Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. (CAS42, $32.99)

Central Asia Map

Central Asia Map

by Nelles

  • 2011
  • MAP

An up-to-date, double-sided shaded relief map at a scale of 1:1,750,000. (CAS37, $13.95)

 
Silk Road Countries Map, Central Asia

Silk Road Countries Map, Central Asia


by Gizi Map

  • 2003
  • 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, $14.95)

The Ancient Silk Road, An Illustrated Map

The Ancient Silk Road, An Illustrated Map


by Odyssey Maps

  • 2011
  • MAP

Three large annotated color maps, dozens of photographs and expert commentary illustrate sites across the Silk Road from China across Central Asia, the Middle East and Asia Minor. (ASA58, $14.95)

Insight Guide Silk Road

Insight Guide Silk Road


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2013
  • PAPER
  • 421 PAGES

From Xi'an across Central Asia to Turkey, Chris Bradley covers the sweep of the Silk Road in this gorgeously illustrated guide in the revitalized Insight series. Second Edition. (CAS200, $24.99)

Lonely Planet Central Asia Phrasebook

Lonely Planet Central Asia Phrasebook


by Justin Jon Rudelson

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 239 PAGES

A handy pocket phrasebook, which focuses on pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler on the Silk Road. (CAS38, $8.99)

Odyssey Guide The Silk Road, Xi'an to Kashgar

Odyssey Guide The Silk Road, Xi'an to Kashgar


by Judy Bonavia

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

With its photographs, maps, essays and lively sidebars on people, literature, food, religion, nature and customs, this is a terrific guide. (CAS13, $24.95)

Odyssey Guide Uzbekistan

Odyssey Guide Uzbekistan


by Calum MacLeod | Bradley Mayhew

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 331 PAGES

A concise introduction to Uzbekistan, its history, culture and attractions, featuring full-color maps and excellent photography. It covers in detail Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent. (CAS23, $27.95)

Empires of the Silk Road

Empires of the Silk Road


by Christopher I. Beckwith

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 504 PAGES
  • NEW

Beckwith rescues Central Asia from the periphery of world affairs with flair and scholarship, showing the sweep of empire, trade and cultural life over the millennia. (CAS171, $16.95)

Everyday Life in Central Asia, Past and Present

Everyday Life in Central Asia, Past and Present


by Jeff Sahadeo

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 401 PAGES

Dozens of scholars and ethnographers contributed to this lively reader on the peoples, cultures and customs across Central Asia. (CAS148, $28.00)

Silk Road: Monks, Warriors & Merchants on the Silk Road

Silk Road: Monks, Warriors & Merchants on the Silk Road


by Luce Boulnois | Helen Loveday

  • HISTORY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 575 PAGES

A history and guide to the Silk Road, organized chronologically and featuring a nice selection of contemporary photographs. (CAS111, $27.95)

Sons of the Conquerors, The Rise of the Turkic World

Sons of the Conquerors, The Rise of the Turkic World


by Hugh Pope

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

A lively, illuminating report on the Turkic speaking lands across Inner Asia from westernmost China to the Black Sea. (TKY104, $19.95)

Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia

Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia


by Ahmed Rashid

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 319 PAGES

This revised edition of Rashid's prescient account of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Central Asia in the 1990s includes a new chapter covering the period from 2000-2009. (CAS49, $17.95)

The Great Cities in History

The Great Cities in History


by John Julius Norwich

  • HISTORY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 304 PAGES

Each city is magnificently illustrated in color and with an essay by diverse dignitaries, including Jan Morris (New York), Colin Thubron (Samarkand), Simon Schama (Amsterdam) and Michael Coe (Angkor). This inspired book depicts the rise and fall of cities from Mesopotamia through ancient trading centers to Medieval Europe and today. (WLD171, $45.00)

The New Great Game, Blood and Oil in Central Asia

The New Great Game, Blood and Oil in Central Asia


by Lutz Kleveman

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 291 PAGES

An eyewitness account of current policies and conflicts in Caucasus and Central Asia, full of interviews, anecdote, history and polemic. (CAS112, $15.00)

The Silk Road, A Very Short Introduction


by James A. Millward

  • HISTORY
  • 2013
  • PAPER
  • 168 PAGES

Millward looks beyond the good exchanged and traveler's tales to the role of nomad empires and the spread of ideas in this pocket history. (CAS212, $11.95)

Islamic Arts

Islamic Arts


by Jonathan Bloom | Sheila Blair

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 445 PAGES

With color photographs, maps and site plans, throughout this survey of 1,000 years of Islamic architecture, design and decoration is a wonderfully illuminating, stimulating introduction tot he subject for anyone with an interest in art. (ISL01, $29.95)

Mapping the Silk Road and Beyond

Mapping the Silk Road and Beyond


by Kenneth Nebenzahl

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2011
  • HARD COVER
  • 176 PAGES

This visually stunning collection of 80 rare illuminated manuscripts, early modern masterpieces and archival maps traces two millennia of exploration across Asia. (CAS113, $29.95)

The Silk Road, Ten Thousand Miles Through Central Asia

The Silk Road, Ten Thousand Miles Through Central Asia


by Sven Hedin

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 344 PAGES

Hedin's enthralling account of adventure and derring-do -- and a telling portrait of Central Asia and its people in the 1930s, first in a trilogy that includes The Trail of War (CAS169, $16.95) and The Wandering Lake (CHN596, $19.00). (CAS170, $20.00)

Tribal Rugs, Treasures of the Black Tent

Tribal Rugs, Treasures of the Black Tent


by Brian W. MacDonald

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 304 PAGES

This survey documents the rich diversity of rugs, carpets and kilims of Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, the Caucasus and Central Asia in authoritative text and 220 color photographs. (CAS178, $85.00)

Xanadu, Marco Polo and Europe's Discovery of the East

Xanadu, Marco Polo and Europe's Discovery of the East


by John Man

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

As in Genghis Khan and Attila, John Man interweaves his own travels with history and biography, this time in the footsteps of Marco Polo across Asia to fabled Xanadu. (EXP84, $15.95)

A Ride to Khiva

A Ride to Khiva


by Peter Hopkirk | Frederick Burnaby

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 390 PAGES

The rousing real-life adventure of a Brit snooping in Russian Central Asia in 1875. The imposing Captain Burnaby rode a thousand miles across steppe and desert, through blizzards and snowdrifts, to forbidden Khiva. (CAS16, $35.00)

Chasing the Sea

Chasing the Sea


by Tom Bissell

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 388 PAGES

Self-confessed adventure junkie, Bissell skillfully interweaves anecdote, history and grim reports on ecological disasters in this smart, funny and informative account of travels through Uzbekistan and Central Asia in 2001. (CAS103, $18.00)

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World


by Jack Weatherford

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

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, $15.00)

In Xanadu, A Quest

In Xanadu, A Quest


by William Dalrymple

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 314 PAGES

Back in print! An intrepid traveler and entertaining writer, William Dalrymple deftly observed account takes in the people and places he encounters on a journey from Jerusalem across Central Asia to China along the Silk Road, ending like Marco Polo, at Xanadu, the summer palace of Kubla Khan. (CAS50, $15.95)

Khubilai Khan, His Life and Times

Khubilai Khan, His Life and Times


by Morris Rossabi

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 348 PAGES

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, $26.95)

Life Along the Silk Road

Life Along the Silk Road


by Susan Whitfield

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 253 PAGES

With insight, scholarship and dramatic flair, Susan Whitfield recounts the lives of ten diverse individuals on the ancient Silk Road, including four tales set in Dunhuang. With a superb 15-page history of Central Asia. (CAS44, $26.95)

Night Train to Turkistan: Modern Adventures Along China's Ancient Silk Road

Night Train to Turkistan: Modern Adventures Along China's Ancient Silk Road


by Stuart Stevens

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1988
  • PAPER
  • 239 PAGES

An entertaining account of hard travel from Beijing to Kashgar, following the route of Peter Fleming and his classic News From Tartary. (CAS77, $13.00)

Shadow of the Silk Road

Shadow of the Silk Road


by Colin Thubron

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 363 PAGES

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, $15.99)

The Great Railway Bazaar

The Great Railway Bazaar


by Paul Theroux

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

Theroux's account of his journeys across Asia by train display the writer's inimitable talent for portraiture, ego and the dismissive aside. He takes every two-bit train he can find from London across Europe, Turkey and the Middle East, India, Japan and China, returning home via the Trans-Siberian Express. (ASA40, $14.95)

The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane

The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane


by Beatrice Forbes Manz

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 231 PAGES

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, $30.99)

The Trail of War

The Trail of War


by Sven Hedin

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 272 PAGES

An enthralling account of high adventure and a telling portrait of Central Asia. Hedin recounts his journey through one of the most inhospitable regions of the world, involvement in a bloody war for independence, encounters with rebels and bandits and imprisonment and near execution. (CAS169, $18.00)

The Travels of Marco Polo

The Travels of Marco Polo


by Marco Polo | Ronald Lantham

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1975
  • PAPER
  • 380 PAGES

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, $15.00)

Flashman in the Great Game

Flashman in the Great Game


by George MacDonald Fraser

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 336 PAGES

What caused the Sepoy Mutiny, a pivotal moment in the Raj? How about Harry Flashman, the reluctant, much-decorated coward, cad and womanizer at the center of George MacDonald Fraser's wildly entertaining, irreverent series of historical novels. (CAS120, $16.00)

Birds of Central Asia

Birds of Central Asia


by Raffael Aye

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

This compact Princeton Field Guide features 141 superb color plates and excellent introductory chapters on the region. (CAS209, $39.50)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.