I started reading about the Silk Roads, a book called The Silk Roads, by Peter Frankopan, and in the beginning it was great. Really interesting to see how the wealth flowing from the trade roads kickstarted so many empires. About half way through the book though I'd just lost a bit of interest. Really interesting stuff, but he's only concerned about the history of economy. There's a lot of weird moments where major empires or people show up out of no where, he talks about them for a paragraph, then they disappear again. The Ottomans for example just kind of show up, conquer Constantinople, and are never mentioned again. Prior history knowledge aside, that seems like something that would effect trade.
So from there I've moved onto another really interesting book called Ghost On The Throne by James Romm. It's the history of Alexander the Great's empire, starting a week before he died. Everyone generally knows Alexander and what he did, but this book is all about AFTER him what everyone else did. His empire collapses incredibly fast as all his generals start fighting with each other and claiming his land.
It's a lot of stuff I only vaguely knew, so it's real interesting to finally get some names and places sorted. Just about all his greatest generals turn on each other, there's betrayal left right and center, and the empire disintegrates.
it's a really good book. It stays pretty informative but does a good job keeping the story interesting.
