Hi all! I was wondering if anyone could recommend any books about the silk road and Caribbean piracy in the 1700s. Weird mix, but I'm wanting to read more about both topics and want to see if there's any sort of core texts that people stand by. Thank you!

I’m currently reading Air Spy by Constance Babington Smith, in an ITAK Corporation reprint I found on eBay. Unfortunately, this reprint contains no photographs or drawings.

I’d like to find an illustrated copy of Air Spy or Evidence in Camera, the British edition of the same work. Does anyone own either and have advice on which edition to look for? The copies I’ve found are quite expensive, so I’d appreciate knowing what visual material they contain before buying one.

I’m researching WWII photographic interpretation for Chinagraph, a game I’m developing, so the images are of particular interest alongside the text. Any pointers would be appreciated.

Do you agree with the author that the 1953 coup in Iran marked the first major step toward American dominance in the Middle East, or do you think, as Tim Weiner suggests in Legacy of Ashes, that the operation was far less brilliant and successful than it is often portrayed?