Our Built World (An Architectural Journey Along the Silk Road)

Brilliantly curated by an expert in preservation architecture, this immersive journey layers rich science and enthralling history to showcase ten architectural wonders built along the Silk Road.

Fans of David Macaulay and readers of all ages intrigued by engineering and architecture—past and present—will clamor for this innovative tour of ten magnificent structures along the storied Silk Road. Poised at the intersection of history, science, and narrative, impeccably researched, and packed with sweeping illustrations, maps, and diagrams, the book details how and when these phenomenal buildings were raised as well as modern efforts to preserve them. Between these pages, you’ll relax inside a Turkish bath in Istanbul, study the sky from a bustling observatory in Samarkand, dine with the shah in his lush pavilion in Isfahan, and marvel at the Maijishan Grottoes, a series of nearly two hundred caves carved by hand into a cliff. Featuring intricate, jewel-bright art and ample end matter—including a timeline, a glossary, an author’s note, and resources for further reading—Our Built World is a treasury of insight into how we build connection, to each other and to the past, and an eloquent plea to preserve cultural wealth for future generations.