Présentation de l'éditeur
An exotic saga with the tang of drama in every voyage, The Spice Route transports the reader from the dawn of history to the ends of the earth
The Spice Route is one of history's great anomalies. Shrouded in mystery, it existed long before anyone knew of its extent or alignment. Spices came from lands unseen, possibly uninhabitable, and almost by definition unattainable; that was what made them so desirable. Yet more livelihoods depended on this pungent traffic, more nations participated in it, more wars were fought over it, and more discoveries resulted from it than from any other global exchange.
In a bid to discover and exploit the spice route, mankind first passed beyond his known horizons to probe the limits of our planet. Epic was the quest, and in this major new study, epic is the treatment as John Keay pieces together a historical process that spans three millennia and a geographical progression that encircles the world.
Revue de presse
An enthralling and erudite history of the spice trade (Traveller)
A typically droll and beautifully wrought book (Literary Review)
A springy, fresh feel...The Spice Route is what happens when you match a writer at the top of his form with a fashionable subject...The result is tremendous. (Literary Review-Nick Smith)
Absorbing (Scotsman)
A delightful, scholarly and thoroughly readable account (Geographical)
Serves up a feast of detail on a fascinating and little-known subject (Sunday Telegraph)
Its digressiveness is also a boon, allowing Keay to touch on everything (FT MAgazine)
Keay more sharply than romantically points up the economic basis of historic trade wars over three millenia. (The Times)
Fascinating new history (Daily Telegraph)
'Keay's retelling of the tale is restrained yet powerful, his choice of facts compelling' (Guardian)
Keay has produced another scrupulously researched, persuasive book. (TLS)
'One of the clearest explanations of the oldest example of global trade and its cultural and political ramifications.' (South China Morning Post)
'Keay's history... begins with romance and wonder, before it gives way to the adventure and violence of the age of maritime exploration.' (Independent:Laurence Phelan)
'Keay crosses centuries as confidently as the great tea-clippers once coursed oceans. He writes elegant, exemplary prose, and this book is as full of bounty as any 18th-century privateer could pray for.' (The Times: Ross Leckie)
'Consistently interesting.' (Robert Colville, Observer/Review)
'A fascinating tale packed with eye-catching detail.' (Independent)
'Impressively researched' (Guardian)
'Fascinating... covering 3000 years of history in well-written, easy-to-read prose...The book is full of wonderful facts... Quite a lot to discuss. Exploitation, greed, values. All grist to a reading group's mill' (Margaret Burgess, NewBooksMag)
Biographie de l'auteur
John Keay`s recent books include Sowing the Wind: The Mismanagement of the Middle East 1900-1960 and Last Post: The End of Empire in the Far East. He lives in Scotland and is married to the author Julia Keay. Together they edited the Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland and are now revising the London Encyclopaedia. They have four children. John`s earlier books include standard histories of India and the English East India Company. His latest is Mad About the Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East Asia.
