This book is an interesting and excellent book on the Silk and Spice route. The details in the book are utterly compelling. This book is well equipped with concise maps (almost every 2 pages or so, there is a map, Examples are maps showing the extent of the Chinese Han empire, the Roman empire, the Eurasian Steepe Route), pictures, photographs and captions, diagrams and detailed explanations, etc.

Before I started reading, I thought that the Silk Routes was only in China, but to my amazement, the Silk Routes stretched for over 80900 kilometres through the heart of Asia, from the Mediterranean to the China Sea. They also crossed some of the most dangerous and spectacular terrain on Earth. For example, the Pamir Mountains (also called the Roof of the World), the Hindu Kush and the notorious Taklamakan desert whose shifting sands have been known to swallow up great, big cities.

To my astonishment, for the past twenty centuries, people are tempted to travel these routes just to look for the trade or treasure or even just to satisfy their curiosity. This book also tells of the adventures these travellers had, the finds and the contacts they made, exploring the silk routes.

The main contents of this book are:

1. Introduction of the Silk route

2. The Opening of the Silk Route

Zhang Qian’s Expedition, the relationship between Silk and the Han Dynasty, The Roman Empire, the Kushan Empire and the Parthian Empire

3. Controlling the Silk Route

The rise and fall of empires

4. The Paths of New Beliefs

The Spread of Religions, the Pilgrim Explores, the Tang Dynasty and the rise of Islam

5. The Silk Route of the Mongols

Coming of Ghengis Khan, Marco Polo’s Journey, Pope Innocentiv’s Emissary to the East

6. The End of the Silk Route

Some special features of this book include the Silk Route time chart, the Glossary, the index. "Did you know?"

I strongly recommend this book to those who want to know more about the Silk Route, the history of the Silk Route and the geographical location of the Silk Route as you can discover many exciting, interesting facts. For example, the Silk route was not only a "bridge" linking the East and West trade but also linking the cultures. Now, let me ask you a question, "Who was the German Explorer who named the "Silk Route" (die Seiden StraBe in German) If you want to know the answer, read the book!