Describes the history, geography, culture, and people of the legendary trade route that extended between China and the Mediterranean Sea.

Take an intrepid journey through the history of the Silk Roads with this visually stunning reference book. Traversing snowy mountain passes, vast, forbidding deserts and stormy seas, these ancient trade routes were about much more than the movement of goods, they paved the way for an unprecedented period of cultural exchange, diplomacy and conflict creating a legacy that continues to affect global geopolitics in the 21st century. Geordie Torr guides...

"Follow the trade route to the Middle Ages and witness the expansion of trade and commerce, made possible by the advancements in shipbuilding. Your Guide to Trade in the Middle Ages explores the effects of this expansion, including the growth of towns, the formation of guilds, the increasing demand for luxury items, and the famous travels to China of a merchant named Marco Polo"--

The Silk Road played a fundamental role in the transmission of art, religion, and goods, including luxury items such as jewelry, spices, textiles, and horses. The opening of trade between cultures as distant as ancient China and Rome also came with a big cost: disease. The Silk Road examines the establishment of this sweeping trade route, the explorers who opened trade, and the wide-ranging consequences of the more than 1,300 years of history on one...

The Northwest Passage has captured the imagination of nations and explorers for hundreds of years. And today, as global warming reshapes geography, trade along the passage is becoming a reality for the first time. The Northwest Passage provides a sweeping history of the route from the earliest attempts to navigate through its punishing landscape to breaking news about its economic viability in modern day.

How medieval Europe's infatuation with expensive, fragrant, and exotic spices led to an era of colonial expansion and the discovery of new worlds The demand for spices in medieval Europe was extravagant and was reflected in the pursuit of fashion, the formation of taste, and the growth of luxury trade. It inspired geographical and commercial exploration, as traders pursued such common spices as pepper and cinnamon and rarer aromatic products, including...

Spans five thousand years of the ocean's history to tell the stories of the courageous individuals who sailed the seas for trade, to conquer new lands, and to explore the unknown, from the early Polynesians to the first circumnavigations by the Portuguese and the British.

"In Everything Under the Heavens, 16-year old Johanna fled Cambaluc -- and her murderous stepmother-- joining her uncle's westbound caravan on the Silk Road. With her foster brother Jaufre and a few faithful companions, they made it to the rooftop of the world--Terak Pass-- separating Mongol China from the scattered sheikdoms of the Persian empire. Then, disaster struck. In a climactic skirmish, Johanna and her stallion, North Wind, were abducted...

"The United States has by far the most powerful naval fleet in the world. Other nations are not even trying to keep up. This has enabled America to stand sentinel over crucial waterways like the Strait of Malacca, ensuring safe passage of goods with little interruption. But we are entering a new era. What will happen if the US does not keep spending resources on improving trade between other nations? Will China's rising economic influence and regional...

Examines the opening and development of the silk route and the effects of trade between the East and the West.