The authors took a unique perspective by presenting the history surrounding the silk roads - old and new, and the power grabs among different countries. It really helps to see how the world has come to be and how the mainstream history has always been written and shaped by the powers that be… definitely an eye-opener. The only criticism is that is that it has been a bit overly ambitious with the storytelling, meaning I found myself from time to time got lost in the details, especially with reference of unfamiliar geographic names.