I first read the Persian translation of this book many years ago before reading this original English version recently. This is one of the best books available on the civilization of ancient Persia (Iran). Unfortunately, the quality of (offset) (re-)printing does not match the quality of its content. However, given that it costs the price of a modest dinner, it is worth the purchase. I found it quite informative -- even though it was first published a few decades ago. Truly an authoritative work and fun to read if you are interested in the history of civilization.

This book is a work of very good scholarship and is well reasoned and supported spelling out an important history in Iranian and Islamic history. However, I would not recommend this for the casual historian but rather only to the dedicated student. The prose is quite dry and reading through it can become a chore rather than a delight. If you're looking for a general history stay clear if you need specific details at all costs than by all means buy this book.

Professor Frye dispell the myth perpetuated by the Islamists as well as europhiles that the classical period in Iranian history was one of meagre achievement. The small volume of extant sources showed a highly sophisticated culture and references to other works during the same period point to a highly literate society. Professor Frye reconstruct Sassanid Persia and identifies it as the source of the Islamic golden age that followed. Beautifully written, this is the book that can be used by any novice to start a soundly grounded historical odyssey as well as by the more experienced reader to correct many of her misconception.

Western 'Orientalists' have a rather poor grasp of certain aspects of Asian history and culture. These mainly pertain to the descriptions of the nature of Asiatic religions and their role in history. This is particularly true of the scholars from reputed institutions such as the Harvard University. This book also suffers from the same problem. The ARYAN invasion is of critical importance to the origin of the principle Asiatic cultures and Indo-European linguistics in general. It has been very poorly treated. The later parts on the Achaemenid and Islamic periods have been better dealt with. The kushans while poorly understood have not been particularly well described in this text.

With the publication of Dr. Richard Frye's The Heritage of Central Asia from Antiquity to the Turkish Expansion (Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996, hardcover (ISBN 1558761101 ) and softcover (ISBN 155876111X), 264 pages) at last we have for Central Asia an overview book worth reading by novice and veteran alike. As the title implies, topics in the book include geography, pre-history, Zoroastrianism and Achaemenid Persians, Alexander the Great and the Greeks, the Parthians, nomads, Kushans, Silk Road trade, Buddhism, Sogdians, Muslims, Turks and much more. There are several (somewhat small) maps and a fair number of illustrations and photographs. Appendix topics include sources, geographical names (always a challenge in Central Asia), rulers in Bukhara and Samarkand, Sogdian deities, languages and coinage. The book is fully-indexed. Professor Frye of Harvard University is one of the deans of the field, especially in the area of Persia and author of numerous books including the recently re-published Bukhara. The very real accomplishment of this book is its comprehensive form which for once does not concentrate solely on a single time or place, but instead successfully communicates a feel for what was happening in all the regions throughout these historical periods. Much is to be learned and many questions will be answered. In some areas of research, of course, due to insufficient sources, the jury is still out and Frye does what one wants him to: he sets up the parameters of the question and the possibilities such that when someday new finds are made, the reader can judge them in the proper context. When he speculates, he informs the reader that that is what he is doing and refrains from offering theories without evidence as if they were fact. The conjectures too, as well as the facts, are always interesting coming as they do from a researcher of this stature and experience. Dr. Frye, who met the famous Sir Aurel Stein, first of the Foreign Devils of the Silk Road, and by extension his work, is a link back to the earliest Silk Road research and forward to what may be revealed by future excavations of mummies in Xinjiang and in the newly-independent republics of Central Asia. This book will be a valuable and often-consulted volume in the library of anyone with a passion for the Silk Road.

Having visited Bukhara personally in 1999, I hoped to find a nice description of the grandeur of the city through the ages. What I found was a book full of details, with names dropping without going into much detail about the people mentioned. And the author takes far too many side steps (going into details which are not or less relevant for the main story) which make it hard to follow the main line. I am under the impression that the author wanted to create a scientific work with a documentation of every detail he has found during his studies, rather than thinking as an author about the history he wants to tell.

I read this book nearly 25 years ago and the longer I live, the more impressed I am with it. It gave me a deep appreciation for the Arab-Persian-Turkic fusion that took place in Central Asia in the years 900-1100 (approx). This Islam was the one that came to the Indian subcontinent, even if the Arabs landed there a couple centuries earlier. I thought of this book any number of times as I taught Indian studies over the years and feel that it was one of the influential books in molding how I think about India (& Pakistan). It can only be even more useful today, now that Uzbekistan and the whole Central Asian region have regained independence and will be making their cultural impact on the world and more specifically, on South Asia. If you are interested in Islam, in Central and South Asia, in Iran or Turkish history, read this book !