Central Asia

“A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the Islamic world” (San Francisco Chronicle) In Destiny Disrupted, Tamim Ansary tells the rich story of world history as it looks from a new perspective: with the evolution of the Muslim community at the center. His story...

The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the expert on the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of Bin Laden, and the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents...

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION The story of a hotel. The story of a nation. When the Inter-Continental Kabul opened in 1969, Afghanistan’s first luxury hotel symbolised a dream of a modernising country connected to...

This book shares the story of the men of Two Charlie and their fight for survival in the Arghandab River Valley, the Devil’s Playground.

The Great Game between Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia was fought across desolate terrain from the Caucasus to China, over the lonely passes of the Parmirs and Karakorams....

The story of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan is well known: the expansionist Communists overwhelmed a poor country as a means of reaching a warm-water port on the Persian Gulf. It is a great story—but it never happened....

As a regional direct response Quick Reaction Force in the northern Sangin river valley of Helmand Province, the Marines are immediately put to the test, narrowly avoiding one calamity after the next.

Charlie Wilson's War is the untold story behind the last battle of the Cold War and how it fueled the rise of militant Islam....

In gripping detail, Gregory Feifer vividly depicts the invasion of a volatile country that no power has ever successfully conquered....

With narration by Jim Lee, who tells the epic story of the rise and fall of the Silk Road empires....

Lost Enlightenment chronicles this forgotten age of achievement, seeks to explain its rise, and explores the competing theories about the cause of its eventual demise....

Frank McLynn brings vividly to life the strange world of the Mongols and describes Temujin's rise from boyhood outcast to becoming Genghis Khan....

“A heart-pounding, mind-bending adventure.” —Ilyon Woo A riveting biography of Alexander the Great’s final years, when the leader’s insatiable desire to conquer the world set him off on an exhilarating, harrowing journey that would define his legacy. By 330 B.C.E., Alexander the Great...

There's a Sheep in My Bathtub chronicles the adventures of the Hogan family as they try to follow God's leading into one of the world's most remote and mysterious enclaves....

Adeeb Khalid provides the first comprehensive history of Central Asia from the mid-18th century to today, shedding light on the historical forces that have shaped the region under imperial and Communist rule....

Afghanistan traces the historic struggles and the changing nature of political authority in this volatile region of the world, from the Mughal Empire in the 16th century to the Taliban resurgence today....

Today, most Westerners still see the war in Afghanistan as a contest between democracy and Islamist fanaticism.....

From the harsh steppes of Mongolia to the boardrooms of today, one leader's principles have stood the test of time. But this isn't just another business book rehashing ancient wisdom.

Favereau takes us inside one of the most powerful sources of cross-border integration in world history. The Horde was the central node in the Eurasian commercial boom of the 13th and 14th centuries and was a conduit for exchanges across thousands of miles....

This is a wild journey through nineteenth-century India and Afghanistan, with impeccably researched storytelling that shows us a world of espionage and dreamers, ne'er-do-wells and opportunists, extreme violence both personal and military, and boundless hope....

A stunning exploration of the Greater Middle East, where lasting stability has often seemed just out of reach but may hold the key to the shifting world order of the twenty-first century “Engaging . . . Even those who resist Kaplan’s tragic sensibility have much to learn from his look at the...

Colin Thubron undertakes a journey along the greatest land route on earth: the Silk Road....

In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, an American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan's Karakoram Himalaya....

Looking to the future of the region, Conquering the North canvasses the still fractious interplay of two rival cultures and the continuing struggle for Mongolian sovereignty as China continues to edge north.

While there are many books that explore China’s history, public knowledge is still lacking....