The New Silk Roads: The New Asia and the Remaking of the World Order

I loved Frankopan's first book, The Silk Roads, and The New Silk Roads was a great followup. The first one is a very global view of history, each chapter covering whatever the influence was at the time, moving through to the present. Then the second book picks up. The first book doesn't have to be read in order to read the second.

The author is describing the rise of foreign economies and powers, particularly China and Russia but lesser states as well, who are benefitting greatly from the selfish, short-sighted nationalistic stance the US has taken throughout the world. As I’m neither a historian nor savvy about the minutia of international economics, I can’t speak to the veracity of everything the author says, but I do know, from living in Asia and Europe, that the US keeps “cooking its own goose,” as they say. We have abandoned our friends and the sane strategy of intelligent collaboration, so rising economies have forged other connections. One chilling line from the book has stayed with me. “A new world is emerging in Asia, but it is not a free one.”

I read this second Silk Roads book with the same fascination I gave the first one. wondering as I went along why the second one did not receive the raves of the first. Finally in the final chapter I realized the subject matter was current history and contained information the reader did not want to read about.

I bought this with the belief it would provide new strategic insights into what had changed in 3 years since Silk Roads. It may provide these however, you would need to be patient to ferret them out. What I read until quitting was a news catchup that I already knew from Economist and FT, wasn't worth continuing. This feels like a book in search of a market to sell a book. I can't comment on latter portions of the book because I didn't read them. Too much to read, too little time. I move on.

I could not put this down and will read it again. The clearly-stated informative political goals of the countries written about are certainly needed in this Europe/America-centric world of media news. Central Asia has always been a fascinating source of history, but not so much a vibrant source of contemporary news. The author gives us plenty of reasons to learn more. I read Frankopan's previous book and am eager to read more of his analysis of the political shifting of sands in these countries.

Easy read for a modern view of the Silk Road. But historic patterns in the author's prior book are easier to test by historical and or economic methods. Is W a great president ask me or more likely my offspring 15 years from now to get a good answer. The NSR is great book for a non-scholar.

Peter Frankopan is a brilliant historian, who has comprehensive understanding of the interactive nature of history. The New Silk Roads is well researched, full of interesting and important details. He recognizes the historical impact of China's contemporary restoration as a major world power and puts it in international context. I recommend it to every investor, scholar, politician or diplomat and everyone else, who needs to keep up with the changing realities of our times.However, this book, does not have the historical depth of his previous work "The Silk Roads, A new History of the World". It hink this must reflect the time press the author was under. When you travel fast you cannot always understand the significance of details or how they fit in the over-all picture. To name one example, Mr. Frankopan does not quite get the significance of remote satellite sensing for ensuring compliance of urban planning. It has nothing to do with "chimney pots or patio extensions" (p21). Its purpose is to stop the common practice of corrupt local officials to close their eyes for illegal property development, where agricultural land is converted to urban development and industrial parks and turned into luxurious villa districts sold a premium prices. Central authorities use computers for spotting anomalies and discrepancies between the rules and regulations on land use and realities on the ground. It is highly effective. The authorities have sent bulldozers to destroy luxurious villa districts and severly punished the officials involved. As for the patio extensions, the common practice is to close one eye and pretend not to notice, as long as it is not excessive or dangerous and does not disturb the local harmony.

Gives a historic perspective of the competition between East and West. Gives causal factors and possible routes for the future.