This was a really well done historical nonfiction book, it had everything that I wanted from this type of book. The research was there and thought it was interesting about horses and how they worked with the empire. David Chaffetz does a great job in writing this.

The history between humans and dogs has been documented for a very long time. The relationship between man and horse has been captured in small snapshots. A whole history like this one is refreshing to see and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Absolutely fascinating overview of steppe history (mostly Central Asia and vicinity) focusing on the horse and the ways in which its domestication and breeding affected the history of the region, particularly as regards war and trade. Full of interesting details on horses (I was not a horse girl in childhood so it was all new to me) and history alike. It covers a broad range of history - from 40,000 BCE to the present day - and I will say I found the older segments considerably more interesting; as technology developed and changed, the basic thesis - that possession of horses, and cavalry, was the defining factor in warfare and trade in the steppe regions - felt a little more tenuous. That said, finding a good overview of the history of Central Asia that does not approach it entirely as "a clash of [non Central Asian] empires" when it hits the nineteenth century is difficult so I still found this incredibly readable and informative. Well-written and informative and excellent - this was a great read and I breezed right through it.

Raiders, Rulers, and Traders is an in depth look into how trade, attacks, and royalty shaped the known world. It looks at the connections forged and differences between nations through the affects of trade.

I loved the idea of focusing on a smaller niche subject and tracking it's impact on history, but overall I found the writing to be a bit dry which made it easy to zone out in places. I also would have liked more insight into what was going on with the horses being taken to the West and the Americas across this time frame.