The title and cover of Great Game On tell us that a struggle is underway between Russia and China for supremacy in Central Asia. But by the time the reader has reached the book’s end, they are persuaded that China has already won and that there is more than just Central Asia at stake.

The strength of Geoff Raby’s book lies in its deep historical perspective. The first Great Game was the shadow contest for Central Asia between tsarist Russia and the British Empire. Today there are different players, but the idea is the same: the course of world history is strongly determined by geography, and dominion in Central Asia – the core of the Eurasian landmass – is the key to global supremacy.