The Golden Road

How Ancient India Transformed the World

De: William Dalrymple

Narrado por: William Dalrymple

Bloomsbury presents The Golden Road, written and read by William Dalrymple.

The internationally bestselling author of The Anarchy returns with a sparkling, soaring history of ideas, tracing South Asia’s under-recognized role in producing the world as we know it.

For a millennium and a half, India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilization, creating around it a vast empire of ideas. Indian art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics and mythology blazed a trail across the world, along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific.

In The Golden Road, William Dalrymple draws from a lifetime of scholarship to highlight India's oft-forgotten position as the heart of ancient Eurasia. For the first time, he gives a name to this spread of Indian ideas that transformed the world. From the largest Hindu temple in the world at Angkor Wat to the Buddhism of China, from the trade that helped fund the Roman Empire to the creation of the numerals we use today (including zero), India transformed the culture and technology of its ancient world – and our world today as we know it.©2025 William Dalrymple (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

fascinating history but why did he not learn to pronounce the Chinese names?

Great book, I learned tons. Highly recommend for those looking to expand their knowledge of Asian history or even world history in general.
At first it bothered me that he was pronouncing the Chinese names wrong (you-ay-zee instead of Yuezhi, for example), but I could get through, but now I'm in Chapter 4 and the story begins with the life of a Chinese monk, and I'm going to pull my hair out. Did he really not know a single Chinese speaker who could tell him how to say these names? If that's going to bother you I recommend reading the book yourself instead of getting the audio.

Dalrymple is a masterful story teller

Dalrymple is a masterful story teller. He weaves a beautiful tapestry of ancient connections the resonance which can be seen all around us

Vital insights into the sources of culture and the philosophy of knowledge.

Too much praise might set unrealistic expectations, but failing to add this work to your studies of the ancient world would be a mistake. I enjoyed the accessible style and knack for laying out important insights with just enough detail to spark further investigation. Let's all read this book and bring the Indosphere back into the story of intellectual and spiritual progress where it deserves a place of honor.

I learned new information about Indian history apart from British influence.

Excellent history written and narrated engagingly. I recommend this book to anyone interested in India and general cultural history.

BEST BOOK EVER

Just finished this outstanding book.
Having a good background of Indian history, I can definitely say this is among the best books on the subject I have read.

India is fascinating, and I agree with the author that someday in the not so far future, they will be on top of the world economy.
The narration by the author is unsurpassed.
My thanks to all involved, JK.

Golden Road

if you would like to learn about the history of India, look no further. This book is truly enlightening.

Terrific book! More than I ever dreamed of about India.

Hugely informative, and fascinatingly told. Read by the author, his enthusiasm for the subject comes through every part. Other than the British tendency to put r's where they don't belong, the narration is terrific. More than I ever dreamed of about the history of India and its enormous and pivotal contributions to civilization world wide.

Completely unknown until now

The Silk Route was not the whole story. The Roman Empire had another trading partner one that eventually broke the bank. No one knew this story until now.

Great Book with Excellent Narration

This book ranges over a fascinating set of periods and regions, ranging from Southeast Asia to Muslim Spain. The author also turns out to be a wonderful speaker with a very lively narration style. One of the best audible books I have listened to.