The Road to Oxiana Paperback – May 18, 2007

It is presumed that the reader is interested in the areas and countries that Byron visited. Byron's main interest was architecture, and if that does not interest you, then this is not a book you would enjoy. Much of the book is a kind of pre-quel to "Eastern Approaches" and "The Great Game". It heads a list of works about Russia's designs on India and all the lands in between. The maps are very clear. I don't understand what another reviewer complains about. I found them easy to read and follow on them the author's journey. The language is not dated nor quaint. It is standard English of its time, the 1930s. This is not the only book to read about Central Asia but it is part of a library for those interested in the region and its history.Reviewer MLW gave two stars claiming that this edition's maps are unclear. The Penguin Travel Library he recommends has no maps nor photographs, nor any introduction. The latest edition, with a photo of a bridge and camels on the cover, has maps, photos, the original intro by Paul Fussell and a new preface by Rory Stewart, himself a Central Asian traveler.

This book written in the 30's is a window to times lost, a beautifully written travelogue and a historical narrative of the areas visited. Much of the architecture as described, does not exist today and so it is a A Window into a time that has past and likely will never return. This book is an opportunity to immerse yourself in a different space and time socially and politically. Many consider the middle east to be backward in recent development history, this book gives you a glimpse of what once was a significantly developing country and the social, religious, historical and political periods that shaped it into what it is today. It is always worth the time to read and immerse yourself in a time that has past and correlate that period with where we are today. As art and architecture were destroyed when political change swept the country historically , are we seeing a significant comparison to social changes taking place today.?

Robert Byron’s descriptions are so vivid that he got me interested in architecture in general and Persian and Afghan architecture in particular. Unbelievable. His insights into the interactions of different cultures and world views were thoughtful, humorous and on the mark. This book will always have relevance.

There are long passages about architecture that I found boring and had to slog through. You may feel differently if you have a thing for architecture. The best parts are Byron's observations of people but unfortunately the book is only lightly peppered with them. He writes well and the writing has a very distinct and consistent mood, from the perspective of a genteel, detached Englishman--a kind of wandering Lawrence of Arabia.

Byron's travelogue through the Near East early in the twentieth century provides the serious scholar with a flawless insight of the region's cultures, art, architecture, religions, commerce, and politics. Byron's book is considered, by those who are tasked with serious and sensitive work in that region, as being a seminal work. His unique education coupled with his extraordinary capability as an observer has provided for a remarkable view of the Near East in a manner literally unequaled by the majority of Western scholars over the past almost one hundred years. As a person who lived and worked in Iran, I found his book indispensible.

A fair amount of religious intolerance in here - interwoven with a good travel narrative.The names of so many areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan have changed - so it's hard to track down what the cities which Byron chronicled in the 1930's are NOW.His time in Iran (then Persia) is illuminating though he has to disguise the name of the Shah in conversations and writing because late Shah Reza Pahlavi's father was MORE of a tyrant on the lines of Hitler + Stalin.The back story of his sometime traveling companion as a British spy is cool.And you learn from this book - so much more about Russia's attempts for control in Afghanistan in the 1930's!Byron is a Byzantine art and architectural expert with other previous books about his travels in Greece and Russia.Byron was also gay and his "gaydar" on reading people - some times adds to the narrative.The book was cited by Brit traveler writer Sara Wheeler in another book. She has cranked out some of fave travel books.Buy a USED Copy through Amazon - I did.

This a very special book where text, substitutes photographs and comunicates , for us readers, the atmosphere of Old Persia and Afghanistan.The style of the prose is sensational. Lots of fun reading. Not beeing politically correct the book pass the real idea of how an educated is challenged by different cultures.Byron is a kind of cocktail of Burton, plus Paddy, plus Anna Commena with a very sharp tongue .

This is so readable it puts modern travelogues to shame. Byron (distantly related to Lord B.) is erudite, funny, episodic, and he is just a great writer. I am recommending this to everyone I can pin down. wish it were possible to travel in those areas today but it is not. Byron's knowledge of Islamic architecture is astounding. Had to look up 'squinch'. It's keeping me up nights.