{"product_id":"9780954143244","title":"Driven Together: Historic First Crossing of Asia's New Highway to the West","description":"A ceremony at the Asian Commission of the United Nations in Bangkok opened the door to one of the most important journeys of modern motoring. British adventurer, charity fund-raiser and road safety campaigner Richard Meredith, was invited to become the first driver to 'road test' a full crossing of the new Asian Highway network that had been a dream of the nations of the East for 50 years.\u003cp\u003eThe trip of excitement and danger, achieved in an Aston Martin and with a touch of James Bond-style panache, is a first-hand account of a journey of the future that is sure to be followed by millions of travellers and traders in the years to come.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut this is more than just an adventure story. It raises many profound questions about the 'unintended consequences' of the new Silk Road, and adds greatly to the globalisation debate which is of such importance to us all.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFlashback to a 12th century monk painstakingly crafting the world's first illustrated road atlas, and fast-forward to the future when traders and tourists from the East are making their way to Europe and the West in a car journey of comfort and speed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt sounds like a time-traveller's tale of fantasy. But this is a real-life story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRichard Meredith and co-driver Phil Colley, two adventure-loving Brits, road-tested a record-setting journey from Tokyo to London when they made the first-ever car crossing of the new Asian Highway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd they did it in an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, personal transport of the company's CEO Dr Ulrich Bez.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir trailblazing trip on a route that follows many of the Silk Roads of old, takes them from Japan through the wilds of China and the volatile states of Central Asia, before joining Europe's motorway network at Istanbul.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Asian Highway, little-known as yet in the West, is one of the most important developments in road transportation for centuries. But while its purpose is to increase trade and eradicate poverty, there are serious warnings of modern-day hazards ahead.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill it make life easier for gangs in the drugs and sex trade, people traffickers and illegal migrants? A conduit for the spread of disease? Another source of congestion and pollution?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MercuryBooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47034619527408,"sku":"9780954143244","price":41.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780954143244_p0.jpg?v=1763875271","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780954143244","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}