The Silk Roads A New History of the World

The history of „the East“, or the history of non-western countries respectively, tends to get omitted from “our” historiography. Countries outside the western culture group are usually only mentioned if they’re in some way relevant to our own history. This euro-centric way of thinking is wearisome, as countless fascinating developments and entanglements get lost through it, and those are the most fun in my opinion. This book tells of one of, if not THE biggest connective network in global history: The Silk Roads. You can imagine how much fun this book was to me. The narrative style is charming, as it reads more like a story than a history book. It’s not just information after information. Connections are interwoven, the writing reads fluidly and the author prioritises explaining how things came to progress the way they did, rather than overloading the text with too much year dates or details. The book also focuses less on war or military history and more on trade and intercultural connections. A welcome alternation, as war generally never changes. If you have an interest in global history, and you love grasping connections and discovering how one thing influenced another, “The Silk Roads” will delight you. I am, at least. The book is thick (even though it is probably middle-range by the standard of history books), but it captures you from the very first page, due to both the fascinating topic as well as the writing style of the author. All in all a pleasure to read!