本书讲述的是"茶叶之路"的故事，主题是经济史和文化史：茶叶之路是如何将欧亚大陆链接成一个整体的。这个故事的载体是茶叶，它在不同民族的人们生活中意义深远重大，又可以用来追踪一个大路上人们生活的轨迹。茶叶本身已成为历史的一个标本，然而，文化交流依然引导和塑造者人们日常生活决定性的羊毛。本书提供了一个解读过去的方法，同样地，希望它也能昭示解读未来的方法。（Martha Avery Was born in New York City and raised in Boulder,Colorado,USA.After attending boarding school and beginning college,she moved to Asia at the age of 19.She pursued studies at New Asia Collgeg in Hong Kong,Sophia University in Tokyo,and the Taipei Language Institute in Taiwan,setting the course for a lifetime of involvement with Asia.She has an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance and works in the field of publishing and media.）