About this item

Stretching across Asia and into eastern Europe and northern Africa, the Silk Road opened the world to new ideas, products, and cultures. Because the Mongols controlled so much of the territory across this network of pathways, trade between east and west flourished, spreading silk, spices, technology, and languages. In addition, the Mongols were known for their different religious traditions, including Buddhism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism, which were also transported along the established pathways of trade. While traveling throughout the network could be treacherous, its cross-cultural exchange paved the way for modern globalization. This vivid and lively account places sets readers on a wondrous journey of discovery along the Silk Road.



About the Author

Kathryn Harrison

Author Photo by Joyce Ravid.

Kathryn Harrison was born in 1961 in Los Angeles, California, where she was raised by her mother's parents. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the Iowa Writers Workshop, where, in 1986, she met her husband, the novelist Colin Harrison. They had a first date on Friday, April 25, and on Monday, April 28, they moved in together. The Harrisons married in 1988, and live in Brooklyn with their three children. Kathryn writes novels, memoirs, personal essays, biography, and true crime. She is a frequent reviewer for the New York Times Book Review, and teaches memoir at Hunter College's MFA program in Creative Writing, in New York City.



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