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THE ANCIENT SILK ROAD
More Books
Asia Overland
• Bijan Omrani
ANTHOLOGY •
2010 •
PAPER
• 496 PAGES
A collection of historical accounts that read like travel literature, the diverse stories that Omrani has compiled in this volume give a sense of this historical and geographical immensity of these trade routes. Over a hundred full color photos provide rich visuals to the humorous anecdotes from the tsars, khans, and humble merchants who frequented these roads - a great way to prepare for any trip to central Asia.
(CAS180, $29.95) |
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Central Asia: 130 years of Russian Dominance
• Edward Allworth
HISTORY •
1994 •
PAPER
• 650 PAGES
A scholarly historical overview of foreign -- and especially Russian -- influence in the region, revised with a new chapter covering the eventful years from 1989-1993
(CAS26, $27.95) |
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The Central Asian States, Discovering Independence
• Gregory Gleason
CULTURAL PORTRAIT •
1997 •
PAPER
• 256 PAGES
A timely analysis of the emergent independent republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan after 70 years of Soviet rule. Both scholarly and accessible to the general reader, this book discusses cultural, political and economic foundations and change in the region. With maps, illustrations, an excellent chronology and extensive bibliography.
(CAS27, $42.00) |
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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
• Jack Weatherford
BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •
2005 •
PAPER
• 352 PAGES
In this revisionist biography, Weatherford refurbishes the popular image of the great Mongol leader Genghis Khan, portraying him not just as a tyrant but also a religiously tolerant family man and entrepreneur on a world scale (not to mention military genius and crack administrator). The book is a lively portrait of Genghis Khan and the world of the Medieval Mongols, who once ruled the largest land empire on Earth. 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. Professor Weatherford is a cultural anthropologist who teaches at Macalester College in St. Paul.
(CAS106, $15.00) |
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A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia: Volume I: Inner Eurasia from Prehistory to the Mongol Empire
• David Christian
HISTORY •
1998 •
PAPER
• 472 PAGES
A comprehensive history of the region from the Stone Age to the 13th-century Mongol Empire. With a few maps and photographs, helpful chronology and the usual scholarly paraphernalia. A volume in the ambitious "Blackwell History of the World" series, this book will appeal to the traveler with a serious interest in the cultural origins of the region.
(CAS35, $62.95) |
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Islamic Art and Architecture
• Robert Hillenbrand
ART & ARCHITECTURE •
1999 •
PAPER
• 288 PAGES
Covering one thousand years and the geographic scope of Islam, this book is a wide-ranging guide to the arts of Islam, including architecture, calligraphy, ceramics and textiles. A marvelously compact synthesis, it focuses on major styles associated with Muslim dynasties including the Ottomans. With a useful glossary of Islamic terms, time line, maps and 270 illustrations, many in color.
(CAS17, $21.95) |
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Life Along the Silk Road
• Susan Whitfield
BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •
2001 •
PAPER
• 253 PAGES
With insight, scholarship and dramatic flair, Susan Whitfield recounts the lives of ten individuals on the ancient Silk Road. Spanning the eighth to tenth centuries, she draws on surviving manuscripts and firsthand accounts in this vivid, entertaining portrait of everyday life in China and Central Asia. Whitfield is director of the International Dunhuang Project.
(CAS44, $24.95) |
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Life Along the Silk Road
• Susan Whitfield
BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •
2001 •
PAPER
• 253 PAGES
With insight, scholarship and dramatic flair, Susan Whitfield recounts the lives of ten individuals on the ancient Silk Road. Spanning the eighth to tenth centuries, she draws on surviving manuscripts and firsthand accounts in this vivid, entertaining portrait of everyday life in China and Central Asia. Whitfield is director of the International Dunhuang Project.
(CAS44, $24.95) |
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Life Along the Silk Road
• Susan Whitfield
BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •
2001 •
PAPER
• 253 PAGES
With insight, scholarship and dramatic flair, Susan Whitfield recounts the lives of ten individuals on the ancient Silk Road. Spanning the eighth to tenth centuries, she draws on surviving manuscripts and firsthand accounts in this vivid, entertaining portrait of everyday life in China and Central Asia. Whitfield is director of the International Dunhuang Project.
(CAS44, $24.95) |
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Lost Cosmonaut, Observations of an Anti-tourist
• Daniel Kalder
TRAVEL NARRATIVE •
2006 •
PAPER
• 288 PAGES
Kalder's offball, offbeat and rather strange report from forgotten corners of the ethnic republics of Tatarstan, Kalmykia, Mari El and Udmurtia in what was once the Soviet Union. Kalder revels in being no-place. Obsessed with a quest he never fully understands Kalder boldly goes where no man has gone before: in the deserts of Kalmykia he stumbles upon a city dedicated to chess and a forgotten tribe of Mongols; in Mari El, home to Europe's last pagan nation, he meets the Chief Druid and participates in an ancient rite; while in the bleak industrial badlands of Udmurtia, Kalder looks for Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK 47 and inadvertently becomes a TV star. Profane yet wise, utterly honest yet full of lies, Lost Cosmonaut is an eye- opening, blackly comic tour of our alien planet.
(EUR199, $19.95) |
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Odyssey Guide Uzbekistan
• 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. We agree with the NY Times, which said that this was "one of those rare guides that is a joy to read whether or not you are planning a trip." It covers in detail Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent. With 90 color photographs and 22 regional and town maps. Fifth edition.
(CAS23, $27.95) |
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Setting the East Ablaze, Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia
• Peter Hopkirk
HISTORY •
1995 •
PAPER
• 268 PAGES
Another volume in the grand Hopkirk tradition of intrigue, treachery, murder, escape, executions and skullduggery. In this book he portrays Lenin's attempt between the two World Wars to spread Marxism east. A very readable escapade, this is the story of British Indian Intelligence officers against armed Communist revolutionaries, enlivened by a cast of real characters including White Russians versus Bolsheviks, a murderous, mad baron, Chinese warlords, Islamic visionaries, agents provocateurs, and a vanishing lady.
(CAS25, $15.95) |
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The Silk Road in World History
• Xinru Liu
HISTORY •
2010 •
PAPER
• 176 PAGES
Historian Xinru Liu looks at the ancient trade routes across Asia and interplay between religion and economics in this brief overview.
(CAS181, $19.95) |
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A Splendid Exchange, How Trade Shaped the World
• William J. Bernstein
HISTORY •
2009 •
PAPER
• 496 PAGES
A history of the world through trade from ancient Mesopotamia to today's global marketplace. Bernstein explores the influence of commerce on agriculture, technology, politics, and civilization.
(WLD141, $16.95) |
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A Woman's Asia
• Marybeth Bond
ANTHOLOGY •
2005 •
PAPER
• 310 PAGES
These thirty-five personal, often hilarious accounts of women's adventures from China to Sri Lanka to Turkey to Bhutan, not only illuminating the everyday, oft-overlooked cultural practices of Asia, but also giving a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of the female traveller. Featuring selections from Jan Morris, Pamela Logan and Alison Wright.
(ASA49, $17.95) |
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