Historian’s book tops bestseller charts in China

Dr Peter Frankopan's book, The Silk Roads: A New History of the World , shows the importance of the east and the role it had in shaping modern Europe. UK-based academics regularly feature in The Sunday Times bestseller lists and the shelves of booksellers like Waterstones, but the enormous market in China is harder to break. But Dr Frankopan's book was translated into Chinese and it seems to have struck a chord with readers in the country. 'For it to go to No 1 - and not only in Non-Fiction but across all genres - is slightly mind-boggling,' he says. 'I was in Beijing last week and at the airport looked up and saw a wall of my books staring back at me.' The book has been a bestseller in many countries around the world, and Dr Frankopan thinks recent developments in global politics have encouraged people to turn to history. 'I think it appeals to China for many of the same reasons it appears in the UK, in India and South Asia, the Gulf and other parts of the world,' he says. 'The world feels like it is changing rapidly around us and that prompts many to question why.  'As a historian, I think that understanding the past is the key to making sense of the present day.