Marie-Paule's Reviews > Silk Roads

A broad and comprehensive overview of the history of the world, starting with the Persians in the 6th century BC, and ending with the contempory challenges in Central Asia. For me, this book had three merits.
First of all, I admired the way the author explains the connections between and the interdependency of historical events in completely different parts of the world. After reading this book, I realized that globalisation is not new, but existed throughout the history of the world. One great example: the description of the Chinese economy in the 16th Century : a copy/paste of the current situation with mass production and a keen monetary policy.
East and West have influenced each other throughout history, and Central Assia - home of the Silk Roads - played an active role therein, because it literally tied both worlds together. This is the second strong point of the book. It doesn't describe world history from the point of view of Europe (or later, the USA and/or USSR), but it looks to the world from within Central Asia. I never realized the great importance of Persia/Iran untill I read this book. And Irak, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. And what about the Central-Asean republics of the former USSR? Due to their geographical situation, they seem a little bit 'forgotten' by us Westerners, but it didn't prevent these regions from influencing history in a great many ways. What will the future bring, knowing that these regions are literally sitting on piles of natural resources (both energy and minerals).
'Follow the money' is the leitmotiv of this book. Money - and thus, political power - moved from Ancient Greece to Rome, to Constantinopel, to Spain and Portugal, to Northwest Europe, to the British Empire, to the USA, to the Middle-East, and next, to where?
One thing is for sure: we can't ignore Central Asia in the coming decades.