Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present First Edition (1st printing) Edition

Using a wide variety of sources, the author paints a history of the interconnectedness of the peoples and empires along the Silk Road. Parallels are found in creation myths, in the establishment of royal retinues, in languages, and lifestyles. It is a book that is rich in references from European and Asian sources, adding unusual tones to many of the discussions.

A great book. It really teaches you new things and opens up your mind. A long screed against modernism at the end may be a bit off-putting to some, but like everything else about this book, it is worth a read and thought-provoking.
Must read.

I bought this book expecting a narrative history of the “Silk Road,” portions of which I have visited. I found instead a scholarly work impressive for documentation and cited linguistic details. The latter are tough going for us non-specialists. Most impressive however were the detailed arguments for transforming the peoples of the Central Eurasian States from generic “barbarians,” the description most of us grew up with, to a detailed collection of identifiable ethnic, tribal, national or regional groups. Not an easy read, but fascinating.
R. P. Farrow

My interest in the book was the economic history -- how did the Road develop, what were the products, business methods, forces affecting, it, how did it affect the traders at both ends and the societies in the middle. Beckwith defines the Road as the entire economy of the Central Eurasia region. His work gave me a new perspective on the societies of the region. There is more than I needed on Indo-European and languages, and I needed maps, often did not know where events were occurring. Maybe the print version has the maps, I got the Kindle version. A lot of recent archaeology is baked in here and is very interesting to the novice reader on this region.
The details I was interested in did occasionally crop up, but the economics of the Road were not the theme. A lot of my past views, from other reading , got hit in the face with new perspectives which for me was the best thing about the book. I've travelled in China, visited the Wall, and read the standard histories. Seeing it from the perspective of the "nomads" was great. And his argument that the steppe societies were not more cruel or destructive than Romans or Chinese rings true. The Huns or Mongols just did not get to write the books. Still, many readers will feel that things get glossed over. I have read elsewhere that the Mongol invasions put an end to the glittering Central Asian civilization. Is this true?

I started in High School with Harold Lamb's biographies of Ghengis Kahn and Tamerlane. The field has come a long way...

LCI

A book about the cultures of the silk road and it's importance. Must read

Surprisingly interesting survey through the sweep of history.

First and foremost, Christopher Beckwith is a eminent scholar of Central Eurasian Studies and more importantly, this is a rigorous academic book meant as a brief but comprehensive outline of Eurasian history for scholars and students, so a general reader will struggle to read this. Because of the rather neglected field Central Eurasian studies is, this is one of the very few resources available for a general overview of Central Eurasian history. I'm a student of Central Eurasian, Iranian, and Syriac Studies but I will give my review by first detailing it's strengths.

1. A excellent overview and somewhat comprehensive treatment of Eurasian history from prehistory to modern times.
2. The book demystifies and sets the record straight of myths and misconceptions about Central Eurasia and its inhabitants while detailing how Central Eurasia has profoundly influenced not just its own region but also world history.
3. Has a extensive bibliography for further study.
4. Has many footnotes for extra vital or enlightening information.
5. In the end of the book, there is a few maps, appendixes, and endnotes that can be helpful and informative.
6.The author's writing is clear and somewhat easy to follow.
7. The book is very affordable especially for being a academic and 500+ page book.

Now for the drawbacks.
1. Mostly focuses on the political and economic history of Central Eurasia. (If you were expecting a cultural and/or religious history, then this is not the book for you).
2. The book covers a very vast region so sometimes the names, locations, peoples, religions, etc. could get overwhelming. ( As a student with a focus on mentioned above studies, I have little familiarity with Russian, Korean, Siberian, and Tibetan history, so I found the sections dealing with them somewhat difficult).
3. This book would of benefitted from illustrations, pictures, and much more maps.
4. Book loses focus when it reaches the early modern age and beyond. The book for some reason takes up many pages on the economic history of Southeast Asia and a odd rant about modern art and music. This and other detours make the book difficult to read at times.
5. He has a obsessive hatred for Modernism and Post-Modernism, so prepare for many long-winded rants. The author blames every evil in the world and critiques anything he doesn't like by claiming it's because of Post-Modernism without ever explaining what it is and why it's bad. A example is Endnote 88 on page 417-8: "... Edward Said accussed Western scholars of having stolen Asian peoples' culture by studying them. This extreme anti-intellectualism has been well criticized." then he references Right-Wing pundit Bernard Lewis. The author is clearly wrong here. What Edward Said was actually talking about is that Western scholars put their western and Christian prejudices and bias into the history, religion, and culture of non-western civilizations so creating a possibly false view of a certain topic that doesn’t mirror reality.
6. Seems like the author and therefore the book has a Right-Wing bias. (Like referencing Bernard Lewis, a historian and political pundit that thinks calling people Orientals is not racist, approved of the Iraq War, and gave actual consultations to idiotic politicians. Lewis also helped popularize the phrase 'Clash of Civilizations' when referring to the the West and the Islamic World. He must be proud that Far-Right idiots and American conservatives chant that while discriminating and being bigots to Muslims living the West.)
7. Chapter 9 might be by far the worst and most bias chapter of them all. The author goes out of his way to make excuses and apologia for the brutal European dominance of the Middle East and Asia during the early modern age to the present. Gives borderline racist excuses like saying that Europeans came and solved the crime or some other rubbish and that Europeans had laws better than that of the Middle Easterners and Asians. He also makes it sound like only Europeans had a sense of wonder and curiosity so that's why they dominated and explored. The only good thing about the chapter is correctly criticizing Western Christian missionaries and their consequences on both European trade and Asian societies.
8. The author's insistent views that Indo-European culture penetrated almost every culture we have today. (Along with rants on how scholars in their respected fields are ignorant or dogmatic for disagreeing with him).

Ok. I'm finished. While some of the author's points seem valid, much of his points regarding Modernism and politics are just wasting space on this book. Some of the detours and loss of focus on the topic at hand can be a problem as well. Since this is one of a very few books devoted to a general history of Central Eurasia, it suffices for now but I hope another scholar tackles this topic with more scholarly objectivism. Well, I hope my review helped whether you are a scholar, student, or lay reader.

A flawed but great book.
Great because it is the first I have read that puts Central Asia and its wealth-generating trade at the centre of the human story rather than the edge. Viewed from this centre, Central Asia deserves to be better understood and its pivotal role discussed. A book like this with its grand sweep of history is all the more needed given Societ/Chinese attempts to smother Central Asian culture. It shines light on numerous eras and empires and peoples absent from most 'histories of the silk road', a concept so limited it does not do the region justice. The road's 'intra-regional' role is well demonstrated.
Flawed because there is too much too superficially discussed in this book, and a few wild ideas thrown in which only distract from the central idea.