CENTRAL ASIA & THE SILK ROAD
Central Asia & the Silk Road   |   READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Essential Books These 5 items are available for $101, including
U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. EXCAS32)		  
The Great Game  •  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 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 breakup 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, $15.99)		   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, $28.95)		   The Silk Road, Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia
Lonely Planet Central Asia  •  Lonely Planet
GUIDEBOOK •  2010 •  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, $32.99)		   Lonely Planet Central Asia
Central Asia Map  •  Nelles
2011 •  MAP
An up-to-date, double-sided 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. Two Sides. 20x36 inches. (CAS37, $13.95)		   Central Asia Map



Also Recommended

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, $15.95)
 		  
The Ancient Silk Road, An Illustrated Map  •  Odyssey Maps    •  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 Guides   • GUIDEBOOK  •  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. (CAS200, $23.99)
 		  
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)
 		  
Odyssey Guide The Silk Road, Xi'an to Kashgar  •  Judy Bonavia   • GUIDEBOOK  •  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  •  Calum MacLeod  •  Bradley Mayhew   • GUIDEBOOK  •  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  •  Christopher I. Beckwith   • HISTORY • 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  •  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)
 		  
Murderers in Mausoleums  •  Jeffrey Tayler   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT • NEW  •  Tayler's riveting account of a three-month, 7,000-mile odyssey from Moscow to Beijing, through mighty Kazakhstan, across the Silk Road to Kashgar, Urumqi and onto Beijing, illuminates the red-hot geopolitics of Central Asia. (CAS168, $24.00)
 		  
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, $27.00)
 		  
Silk Road: Monks, Warriors & Merchants on the Silk Road  •  Luce Boulnois  •  Helen Loveday   • HISTORY • COMING IN JULY  •  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  •  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)
 		  
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia  •  Ahmed Rashid   • HISTORY  •  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)
 		  
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 Great Cities in History  •  John Julius Norwich   • HISTORY  •  Each city 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  •  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)
 		  
Islamic Arts  •  Jonathan Bloom  •  Sheila Blair   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  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  •  Kenneth Nebenzahl   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  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  •  Sven Hedin   • EXPLORATION  •  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, $18.95)
 		  
Tribal Rugs, Treasures of the Black Tent  •  Brian W. MacDonald   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  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  •  John Man   • EXPLORATION  •  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  •  Peter Hopkirk  •  Frederick Burnaby   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  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, $30.00)
 		  
Apples are from Kazakhstan  •  Christopher Robbins   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  Yes, apples do come from Kazakhstan. Tulips too. Robbins offers a rich cultural portrait of a remarkable country the size of Western Europe, sealed off from the world by the Tsars and Soviet Russia. (CAS160, $15.00)
 		  
Chasing the Sea  •  Tom Bissell   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  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, $14.95)
 		  
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, $15.00)
 		  
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, $24.95)
 		  
Life Along the Silk Road  •  Susan Whitfield   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  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, $24.95)
 		  
Night Train to Turkistan: Modern Adventures Along China's Ancient Silk Road  •  Stuart Stevens   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  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)
 		  
Out of Steppe, The Lost Peoples of Central Asia  •  Daniel Metcalfe   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  Metcalfe journeys throughout the five stans, Pakistan and Afghanistan in search of the Jews of Bukhara, Karalpaks, Hazaras, Kalashas. Yaghnobis and other threatened ethnic people of the steppes for this erudite, illuminating report from the field. (CAS191, $16.95)
 		  
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, $15.99)
 		  
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, $29.99)
 		  
The Trail of War  •  Sven Hedin   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  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, $16.95)
 		  
Flashman in the Great Game  •  George MacDonald Fraser   • LITERATURE  •  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  •  Raffael Aye   • FIELD GUIDE • COMING IN AUGUST  •  This compact Princeton Field Guide features 141 superb color plates and excellent introductory chapters on the region. (CAS209, $39.50)
 		  
 
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