The No. 1 Sunday Times and international bestseller | A Sunday Times Book of the Decade 'Many books have been written which claim to be “A New History of the World”. This one fully deserves the title' The Times A major reassessment of world history in light of the economic and political renaissance in the re-emerging east. For centuries, fame and fortune were to be found in the west – in the New World of the Americas. Today, it is the east which calls out to those in search of riches and adventure. Sweeping right across Central Asia and deep into China and India, a region that once took centre stage is again rising to dominate global politics, commerce and culture. The Silk Roads is a dazzling exploration of the forces that have driven the rise and fall of empires, determined the flow of ideas and goods and are now heralding a new dawn in international affairs.