Silk, Slaves, and Stupas

One of the virtues of Whitfield's approach is that she is able to range far and wide among the various peoples, cultures, and polities of Eurasia and Africa. Though half of her ten chapters deal with objects that were excavated within the present-day boundaries of China--a reflection of the longstanding Sinocentric bias in the field of Silk Road studies--Whitfield goes to great lengths to contextualize these finds within broader Eurasian networks of exchange far outside of China. --The Silk Road Journal Whitfield certainly seems to have identified a theme worth pursuing: the objects of the Silk Road are fascinating and a single object can encompass within it huge swathes, geographical and chronological, of human history. --Asian Review of Books 'Whitfield's new book provides us with a brilliant example of how material history should be written.' --The Journal of Asian Studies In Silk, Slaves, and Stupas, Susan Whitfield reminds her readers once again why she so thoroughly deserves her reputation as one of the most accomplished of all Silk Road scholars. [The book] demonstrates the author's command of all facets of Silk Road studies, and also her ability to unfold the story of this important period and process in word history by moving seamlessly from the particular to the general, from a single object to an entire field of research. -- (01/01/2019)