Questions About Central Asia in World History (New Oxford World History)

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Central Asia in World History, please sign up.

Answered Questions (1)

Is it a good introductory book to the subject of Central Asian history? Or is it a better read if you have some existing knowledge of the region (I have pretty much none).

Alastair Hi, I just read this book also with no knowledge of the subject, and I have come out of it still with very little knowledge of the subject. Some regio…moreHi, I just read this book also with no knowledge of the subject, and I have come out of it still with very little knowledge of the subject. Some regions can be condensed into a short history (I read a very small history of Latvia, for example, that was a perfect length) but Central Asia, it turns out, is WAY too complicated to be explained in 140 pages.

I got very confused by the many different peoples involved, and the lack of maps in the book is a particular irritant, because if you don't know the region there's no way you'll know where all these obscure, ancient cities are, or what the bounds of such-and-such khanate is. In short, find a different book (I'm going to try Peter Frankopan's The Silk Roads book, which I think will be much more informative, though it is 500-odd pages).(less)

flag

Unanswered Questions

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more