Central Asia is where the histories of China, Persia, India and Russia meet, and its literature mixes archaeology, imperial history and some of the best travel writing in English. The Silk Road expeditions of the early twentieth century, the nineteenth-century rivalry between Britain and Russia, and the Mongol empire are the three subjects most readers start with.
Cold War-era studies of Afghanistan, Mongolia and Sino-Soviet relations, many from university presses, are now out of print and remain useful primary evidence for how the region was understood at the time.
Where to start
The Great Game — Peter Hopkirk, 1990. Britain and Russia's century-long contest for Central Asia.
Foreign Devils on the Silk Road — Peter Hopkirk, 1980. The explorers who removed the treasures of the Silk Road cities.
The Empire of the Steppes (in stock) — René Grousset, 1939. The classic history of the nomad empires of Central Asia (English translation 1970).
The Secret History of the Mongols — anonymous, trans. Igor de Rachewiltz, 2004. The thirteenth-century Mongol chronicle of Genghis Khan's rise.
The Silk Road: A New History — Valerie Hansen, 2012. What the excavated documents actually say about Silk Road trade.
The Road to Oxiana — Robert Byron, 1937. The travel classic of Persia and Afghanistan.
Books on Central Asia, Mongolia & the Silk Road in stock (107)
Geographical Review, Vol. 60, No. 3, July 1970 by The American Geographical Society of New York — $6.25 Geographical Review, Vol. 60, No. 3 (July 1970), a quarterly journal issue published by the American Geographical Society of New York.
Art of the Amur by Alexei Okladnikov — $12.90 Art of the Amur: Ancient Art of the Russian Far East is an illustrated study by the archaeologist Alexei Okladnikov, published in 1982 by Harry N. Abrams, New York, with Aurora Art Publishers, Leningrad.
Kurum, Kabul & Kandahar by Charles Gray Robertson — $27.20 Kurum, Kabul & Kandahar, Being a Brief Record of Impressions in Three Campaigns under General Roberts is a campaign narrative by Charles Gray Robertson, reprinted in paperback in 2002 under the Elibron Classics imprint…
Archaeologia Mvndi: Central Asia by Aleksandr Belenitsky — $35.17 Central Asia by Aleksandr Belenitsky, a volume in the Archaeologia Mundi series, translated from the Russian by James Hogarth and published by The World Publishing Company, Cleveland and New York, in 1968.
The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China by Thomas J. Barfield — $42.49 The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China is a history by Thomas J. Barfield, published by Basil Blackwell in 1989 in the Studies in Social Discontinuity series edited by Charles Tilly.
Every Rock, Every Hill by Victoria Schofield — $10.28 Every Rock, Every Hill: The Plain Tale of the North-West Frontier and Afghanistan is a history by Victoria Schofield, published in 1985 by Salem House (351 pages, illustrated).
The Stilwell Papers — $5.91 The Stilwell Papers is a 1948 collection of the diaries, letters and notes of General Joseph W. Stilwell, arranged and edited by Theodore H. White and published by William Sloane Associates, New York.
Genghis Khan: Emperor of All Men by Harold Lamb — $28.49 Genghis Khan: Emperor of All Men is Harold Lamb's biography of the Mongol conqueror, issued in 1945 as a Fighting Forces Penguin Special (no. 516) by Infantry Journal and Penguin Books.
Scythian Gold by Michael Treister, Ellen Reeder, Esther Jacobson — $20.07 Scythian Gold: Treasures from Ancient Ukraine is an exhibition catalogue edited by Ellen D. Reeder and published by Harry N. Abrams in 1999 in association with the Walters Art Gallery and the San Antonio Museum of Art.
Buddhism in Russia by John Snelling — $13.94 Biography and history by John Snelling, with a foreword by Stephen Batchelor, published by Element (1993; this printing 1994).
Shadowed by the Great Wall: The Story of Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Missions by A.K. and Gertrude Wiens — $96.40 Shadowed by the Great Wall: The Story of Krimmer Mennonite Brethren Missions in Inner Mongolia (1922-49) is a mission history by A.K. and Gertrude Wiens, published in 1979 by the Board of Christian Literature of the…
The Travels of Marco Polo by Manuel Komroff — $7.01 The Travels of Marco Polo, in the Modern Library edition published in New York in 1953.
Lamaistische Tanzmasken by Werner Forman and Bjamba Rintschen — $21.16 Lamaistische Tanzmasken: Der Erlik-Tsam in der Mongolei is a German-language illustrated book by Werner Forman and Bjamba Rintschen, published by Koehler & Amelang in Leipzig in 1967.
A Mongolian living Buddha by Sechin Jagchid, Paul Hyer — $12.14 A Mongolian Living Buddha: Biography of the Kanjurwa Khutughtu by Sechin Jagchid and Paul Hyer (State University of New York Press, 1984, 203 pages).
Ancient Arts of Central Asia by Tamara Talbot Rice — $9.19 Ancient Arts of Central Asia by Tamara Talbot Rice, published by Thames and Hudson in 1965.
Monuments of Central Asia by Edgar Knobloch — $11.52 A guide to the archaeology, art and architecture of Turkestan by Edgar Knobloch (I. B. Tauris), Monuments of Central Asia.
Dschingis Khan Und Seine Erben: Das Weltreich der Mongolen by Gerhard Schröder — $142.49 A German-language exhibition catalogue, Dschingis Khan und seine Erben: Das Weltreich der Mongolen (Genghis Khan and His Heirs: The Mongol World Empire), issued in 2005 by the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der…
Soviet Dungan: The Chinese Language of Central Asia by Svetlana Rimsky-Korsakoff — $28.49 Soviet Dungan: The Chinese Language of Central Asia by Svetlana Rimsky-Korsakoff, published in 1967 by the Indiana University Asian Studies Research Institute.
Forbidden Journey: From Peking to Kashmir by Ella K. Maillart — $74.65 Forbidden Journey: From Peking to Kashmir by Ella K. Maillart, published by William Heinemann in 1937.
Outer Mongolia and Its International Position by Gerard M. Friters — $48.45 Outer Mongolia and Its International Position, by Gerard M. Friters, published by The Johns Hopkins Press (1949), 358 pages.
Outer Mongolia and its International Position by Gerard M. Friters — $12.82 Outer Mongolia and Its International Position, by Gerard M. Friters, published by George Allen & Unwin, London (1951), 358 pages.
Afghanistan and the Soviet Union by Henrys. Bradsher — $14.48 A study of Soviet-Afghan relations by Henry S. Bradsher (Duke University Press, 1983), Afghanistan and the Soviet Union.
The Mongol Empire: Its Rise and Legacy by Michael Prawdin — $28.45 The Mongol Empire: Its Rise and Legacy, by Michael Prawdin, published by George Allen and Unwin, London (1953), 581 pages.
The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan by M. Nazif Mohib Shahrani — $12.58 An ethnographic study by M. Nazif Mohib Shahrani (University of Washington Press, 1979), The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers.
Life of Hsuan Tsang by Ts'Ung Yen, Li Hui — $27.55 A translation of The Life of Hsüan-tsang by the monks Hui-li and Yen-ts'ung, the biography of the seventh-century Chinese Buddhist pilgrim to India.
Treasures of Asia: Painting of Central Asia by Mario Bussagli — $35.15 Treasures of Asia: Painting of Central Asia, by Mario Bussagli, published by Skira (1963), 135 pages.
Between the Black Desert and the Red by Robert Pinner — $18.05 A catalogue by Robert Pinner, Between the Black Desert and the Red: Turkmen Carpets from the Wiedersperg Collection, published by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Building a New Afghanistan by Robert I. Rotberg — $22.80 Building a New Afghanistan, edited by Robert I. Rotberg and published by Brookings Institution Press in 2007.
Imperial nomads by Luc Kwanten — $14.25 Imperial Nomads: A History of Central Asia, 500-1500 by Luc Kwanten, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 1979.
Gateway to Asia: Sinkiang by Martin R. Norins — $38.00 A 1944 study of Sinkiang (Xinjiang), China's far-western frontier province, by Martin R. Norins, published by The John Day Company in New York.
Chinese Legal Tradition under the Mongols by Paul Heng-chao Ch' en — $57.95 A scholarly study of law under Mongol rule in China by Paul Heng-chao Ch'en, published by Princeton University Press in 1979.
The Modern History of Soviet Central Asia by Geoffrey Wheeler — $95.00 A history of Soviet Central Asia by Geoffrey Wheeler, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 1964.
The World of the Huns by Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen — $11.40 A history of the Huns by Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen, published by the University of California Press in 1973.
Russian Central Asia 1867-1917: A Study in Colonial Rule by Richard A. Pierce — $80.75 A study of Russian colonial rule in Central Asia from 1867 to 1917, by Richard A. Pierce, published by the University of California Press in 1960.
Sino-Soviet Relations: 1945-1973 by O.B. Borisov, B.T. Koloskov — $28.50 A Soviet account of relations between the USSR and China from 1945 to 1973 by O. B. Borisov and B. T. Koloskov, published in English by Progress Publishers, Moscow, in 1975.
Return to the Silk Routes by Birgit N. Schlyter — $21.85 Return to the Silk Routes: Current Scandinavian Research on Central Asia, edited by Mirja Juntunen and Birgit N. Schlyter (Routledge, 1999).
The Bronze Age civilization of Central Asia by Philip L. Kohl — $95.00 The Bronze Age Civilization of Central Asia: Recent Soviet Discoveries, edited with an introduction by Philip L. Kohl, with an afterword by C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky (1981).
Labour and nationality in Soviet Central Asia by Nancy Lubin — $34.20 Labour and Nationality in Soviet Central Asia: An Uneasy Compromise by Nancy Lubin, published by Princeton University Press in 1985.
The Sinkiang Story by Chen — $9.30 The Sinkiang Story by Jack Chen, published by Macmillan in 1977.
Tatars of the Crimea: Their Struggle for Survival by Edward Allworth — $19.00 Tatars of the Crimea: Their Struggle for Survival, edited by Edward Allworth (Duke University Press, 1988, Central Asia Book Series).
Die Mongolen, Beiträge zu ihrer Geschichte und Kultur by Michael Weiers — $29.45 Die Mongolen: Beiträge zu ihrer Geschichte und Kultur, edited by Michael Weiers with Veronika Veit and Walther Heissig (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1986).
Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan by Adam T. Kessler, Ad Kessler — $18.95 Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan by Adam T. Kessler, published by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in 1994.
Afghan Craftsmen by Asta Olesen — $38.05 Afghan Craftsmen: The Cultures of Three Itinerant Communities by Asta Olesen (Thames & Hudson, 1994), with Ida Nicolaisen as editor-in-chief.
Conqueror of the World: The Life of Chingis-Khan by René Grousset — $16.15 A biography of Genghis Khan (Chingis-Khan) by René Grousset, published in English translation from the French by The Orion Press in 1966.
The World of the Scythians by Renate Rolle — $22.78 The World of the Scythians by Renate Rolle, translated by F. G. Walls from the German Die Welt der Skythen (University of California Press, 1989).
The ancient art of northern Asia by Edith M. Shimkin, Demitri B. Shimkin, Anatoly I. Martynov — $15.91 The Ancient Art of Northern Asia by Anatoly I. Martynov, translated and edited by Demitri B. Shimkin and Edith M. Shimkin (University of Illinois Press, 1991).
Cradle of Conquerors: Siberia by Erwin Lessner — $16.13 Cradle of Conquerors: Siberia is a history of Siberia by Erwin Lessner, published by Doubleday & Company in Garden City, New York, in 1955.
Buddhist Bronzes by Phoenix Art Museum — $71.70 Buddhist Bronzes (title page: A Collection of Buddhist Bronzes from Mongolia) is an exhibition catalogue published by the Phoenix Art Museum in 1969.
Central Asian Painting by Nobuo Kumagi — $28.49 Seiiki (Central Asian Painting), a volume in Heibonsha's Chūgoku no meiga (Famous Chinese Paintings) series, by Kumagai Nobuo (listed as Nobuo Kumagi), published in Tokyo in 1957.
The Jurchen in Twelfth-Century China, A Study of Sinicization by Jing-Shen Tao — $29.19 A scholarly history by Jing-shen Tao, published by the University of Washington Press in 1977, on the Jurchen people and the Jin dynasty in twelfth-century China.
The Kirghiz Pattern by Л. Дядюченко, Е. Сорокин and Б. Усубалиева — $28.95 The Kirghiz Pattern (Кыргыз оймолору / Киргизский узор) is an illustrated book on Kyrgyz ornament and decorative textile art, by L. Dyadyuchenko, E. Sorokin and B. Usubalieva, published in Kyrgyzstan in 1986.
Kazakhstan by Klara Serikbaeva — $22.44 Kazakhstan is an illustrated country portrait with text by Klara Serikbaeva and photographs by Dragoljub Zamurovic, published by Flint River Press in 1995.
In the footsteps of Genghis Khan by John Defrancis — $5.68 In the Footsteps of Genghis Khan is a travel account by the sinologist John DeFrancis, published by the University of Hawaii Press (a Kolowalu Book) in 1993.
Travels in Afghanistan: 1937-1938 by Ernest F. Fox — $16.05 Travels in Afghanistan, 1937-1938 is a travel account by Ernest F. Fox, published in New York by The Macmillan Company in 1943.
Peking Versus Delhi by George N. Patterson — $18.74 Peking Versus Delhi is a study of the Sino-Indian conflict by George N. Patterson, published by Faber and Faber in London in 1963.
Mongolian Colouring Book by Rolf Gilberg — $26.95 Mongolian Colouring Book is a children's colouring book of line drawings of Mongolian life, credited to Rolf Gilberg and published by the National Museum of Denmark in 1992.
Pre History of Western Siberia by V. N. Chernetsov and W. Moszyńska — $28.49 Prehistory of Western Siberia is an archaeological study by V. N. Chernetsov and W. Moszyńska, edited by Henry N. Michael and published in 1974 by McGill-Queen's University Press for the Arctic Institute of North…
The Call of China's Great North West: Kansu and Beyond by Mrs. Howard Taylor — $28.49 The Call of China's Great North-West, or Kansu and Beyond is an illustrated account of the China Inland Mission's work in Kansu (Gansu) province and the regions beyond, written by Mrs. Howard Taylor (Geraldine Taylor)…
The Central Asian Art of Avicenna Epoch by Irfon Publishing House — $50.52 The Central Asian Art of Avicenna Epoch (Iskusstvo Srednei Azii epokhi Avitsenny) is an illustrated art book published by Irfon Publishing House in Dushanbe in 1980.
The ancient art of northern Asia by Edith M. Shimkin, Demitri B. Shimkin, Anatoly I. Martynov — $13.75 The Ancient Art of Northern Asia is a study by the Russian archaeologist Anatoly I. Martynov, translated and edited by Demitri B. Shimkin and Edith M. Shimkin and published by the University of Illinois Press in 1991.
Baba Jan's Chronicles by M. Kabir Younoszai — $26.95 Baba Jan's Chronicles: The Life of a Twentieth Century Afghan, by Dr. M. Kabir Younoszai (American Book Publishing Group, 2002, 332 pages); this copy is an advance review copy.
The Golden Deer of Eurasia: Scythian and Sarmatian Treasures from the Russian St… by The Metropolitan Museum of Art — $32.51 An exhibition catalogue from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2000), The Golden Deer of Eurasia: Scythian and Sarmatian Treasures from the Russian Steppes, with objects lent by the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg and…
Something Happened by Mildred Cable and Francesca French — $25.08 An account by Mildred Cable and Francesca French, the missionary-travellers who worked in northwest China and crossed the Gobi, published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1934.
Central Asia: Turkmenia Before the Achaemenids by V. M. Masson and V. I. Sarianidi — $27.05 An archaeological study of Turkmenia before the Achaemenid period by V. M. Masson and V. I. Sarianidi, published by Praeger in 1972.
Dunhuang Tulufan wen wu = by Shanghai bo wu guan, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Art Gallery — $28.49 An exhibition catalogue, Dunhuang Tulufan wenwu (Cultural Relics from Dunhuang and Turfan), for the exhibition jointly presented by the Shanghai Museum and the Art Gallery of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, 24 June…
The Art of Afghanistan by Jeannine Auboyer — $18.74 A survey of the art of Afghanistan by Jeannine Auboyer, published by Paul Hamlyn in 1968.
Voyage en Mongolie by Etienne Dehau — $28.49 A French-language photographic travel book, Voyage en Mongolie, with text and photographs by Etienne Dehau (Herme, 2000).
Painted Buddhas of Xinjiang by Jacques Gies — $6.39 Painted Buddhas of Xinjiang: Hidden Treasures from the Silk Road by Jacques Gies (Art Media Resources, 2003, 144 pages), a book on the Buddhist paintings of Xinjiang in the Silk Road oases of western China.
Asian Music: Afghanistan Issue by Mark Slobin — $28.49 Asian Music: Afghanistan Issue, published by the Society for Asian Music in 1976 and credited to Mark Slobin, an ethnomusicologist of Afghan music.
Die Mongolen by Walther Heissig and Claudius C. Müller — $20.69 Die Mongolen by Walther Heissig and Claudius C. Müller, Pinguin, 1989, in German.
Die Mongolen by Walther Heissig and Claudius C. Müller — $20.69 Die Mongolen by Walther Heissig and Claudius C. Müller, Pinguin, 1989, in German.
P. Genden: To the Memory of My Father by G. Tserendulam — $28.49 P. Genden: To the Memory of My Father by G. Tserendulam (Admon, 2000), a memoir by his daughter of Peljidiin Genden, Prime Minister of Mongolia, who was executed in the Soviet Union in 1937.
La Route de la Soie by Grand Palais — $119.49 A French-language exhibition catalogue, La Route de la Soie, from the Grand Palais, Paris (1976).
Musée Des Beaux-Arts: Fine Arts Museum by D. Dashbaldan — $26.95 A museum guide to the Fine Arts Museum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with D. Dashbaldan as director, published in 1993.
The Road to the Ggrey Pamir by Anna Louise Strong — $28.49 The Road to the Grey Pamir by Anna Louise Strong, published by Little, Brown and Company in 1931.
Ancient Art from Afghanistan by Benjamin Rowland, Jr. — $30.61 An exhibition catalogue by Benjamin Rowland, Jr., published by the Asia Society in 1966, on ancient art from Afghanistan.
Resa Till Lop by Nils Hörner — $28.49 A Swedish-language travel account, Resa till Lop (Journey to Lop), by Nils Hörner, published by P.A.
The Mongolian Horde by Roland Strasser — $37.05 The Mongolian Horde, by Roland Strasser, published by Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith (1930), 347 pages.
Area Handbook for Mongolia, March 1970 by Trevor N. Dupuy, Wendell Blanchard — $38.95 Area Handbook for Mongolia (March 1970), by Trevor N. Dupuy and Wendell Blanchard, 500 pages.
Afghanistan, Vol. XVIII by Angus Hamilton — $38.00 Afghanistan, by Angus Hamilton, published by J.B.
Herat: A Pictorial Guide by Nancy Hatch Wolfe — $28.50 Herat: A Pictorial Guide, by Nancy Hatch Wolfe, published by The Afghan Tourist Organization (1966).
Bismillah! by Wilhelm Filchner — $19.95 Bismillah!, by Wilhelm Filchner, published by F. A. Brockhaus (1938), 347 pages, in German.
Central Asian Art by Julian DePaulis — $12.75 A large-format book of Central Asian art by Julian DePaulis (Confidential Concepts, 2003), illustrated with photographs.
The Tartar Khan's Englishman by Gabriel Ronay — $10.45 The Tartar Khan's Englishman is a biography by Gabriel Ronay, published in paperback by Phoenix Press in 2001.
Amidst ice and nomads in high Asia by Edward F. Noack — $27.55 Amidst Ice and Nomads in High Asia by Edward F. Noack (National Literary Guild, 1984), a signed edition.
Arts of the Eurasian Steppelands by Philip Denwood, ed. — $20.42 Arts of the Eurasian Steppelands, edited by Philip Denwood and published by the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art in 1978.
Art of the Steppes by K. Jettmar — $9.40 A study of the art of the Eurasian steppe by Karl Jettmar, published by Methuen in 1967.
Mongolia: The Land of Blue Skies by Shankar Gauri Gupta — $12.92 Mongolia: The Land of Blue Skies by Gauri Shankar Gupta, published by Roli Books in 2008, a pictorial work with photographs by Thomas L. Kelly.
Contributions to the Anthropology of the Soviet Union by Henry 1902- Field, Henry Field — $22.80 Contributions to the Anthropology of the Soviet Union by Henry Field, a 262-page study first published in 1948 and here in a later reprint edition.