Part graphic novel travelog, part tongue-in-cheek travel guide, here are the adventures of caustic cartoonist Rall in the wild and wooly central Asian countries, a powder keg sitting on tomorrow's oil... Combines articles with comics chapters relating his experiences retracing the old legendary Silk Road starting with the sublime history of China and ending in the absurdity of the petty dictatorships of the "The 'Stans" where Rall had the temerity to go back, including once with a group of listeners to his radio show, on a dare. It's exotic adventure, satire and a fun way to find out more about a part of the world that looms in importance with its immense reserves of oil.