10 Books We’ve Read Recently and Highly Recommend
A Holiday Reading List, from CSIS’s Reconnecting Asia Project.
Learn more about the ambitious plan to reconnect a region that contains over a third of the world’s landmass and more than half of global GDP.
- The Dragon’s Gift, by Deborah Brautigam
A nuanced look at China’s development work and infrastructure investment in Africa. Brautigam’s perspective, drawn from over 30 years of experience on the topic, offers a useful comparator for events unfolding in Eurasia.
2. Why Geography Matters More than Ever, by Harm de Blij
From climate change to terrorism, de Blij demonstrates how greater knowledge of physical and human geography can help policymakers tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
3. The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, by Peter Frankopan
In this vivid Silk Road narrative, Frankopan weaves unexpected connections between modern civilization and the deep social and economic impacts of the silk and slave trade.
4. The Silk Road: A New History, by Valerie Hansen
In this historical journey, Hansen argues that the Silk Road wasn’t a road at all, but a networked series of small nodes brought together by diverse and shifting interests.
5. The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia, by Peter Hopkirk
This epic story charts the struggle between Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia for control over the heart of Asia.
6. Roads and Rivals: Politics of Access in the Borderlands of Asia, by Mahnaz Ispahani
Blending history, geography, and political science, this book examines how great powers continually vie for dominance over land routes to the sea.
7. Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization, by Parag Khanna
A visually stimulating read, Khanna uses maps and images to depict infrastructure’s role in shaping tomorrow’s economic and geopolitical environment.
8. The Power of Projections: How Maps Reflect Global Politics and History, by Arthur Jay Klinghoffer
Why do traditional maps place Europe at the center and Africa and Latin America at the bottom? Klinghoffer’s fascinating inquiry sheds light on the psychology and political motivations inherent in cartography.
9. China Goes Global: The Partial Power, by David Shambaugh
With astute analysis, Shambaugh underscores the dynamism of Chinese hard and soft power and delivers an authoritative account of China’s rise over the past thirty years.
10. Train: Riding the Rails That Created the Modern World — from the Trans-Siberian to the Southwest Chief, by Tom Zoellner
Take a ride on some of the world’s most important railways, from Spain to Siberia, Tibet to Tokyo. While organized around a type of technology, this is really a book about people and societies.
