How long does it take to read Foreign Devils on the Silk Road?
the search for the lost cities and treasures of Chinese Central Asia
Foreign Devils on the Silk Road by Peter Hopkirk takes about 4 hours 50 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 4 hours 50 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1980. 264 pages, about 72,600 words.
10 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 8 hours 4 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 4 hours 50 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 3 hours 2 minutes |
The page count is the median across 8 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
"In the 1950's one of the most commonly-asked questions in America was, Who Lost China? Well, comfortable as it might have been to pin the blame upon 'fellow travelers' or suchlike, the real answer may involve such names as Sven Hedin, Aurel Stein, von Le Coq, and Langdon Warner. And who, pray, were they? Merely individuals who in the name of science plundered China as the generals and merchants never dreamed of doing. Gold and silk could be replaced; a nation's history could not. Peter Hopkirk has told a sad tale with remarkable compassion." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review).
Subjects: Antiquities, Archaeology, Art objects, Collectors and collecting, History, Expedities
