Anyone read any of Peter Hopkirk's books?
Some of his titles include:
The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia
Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia
On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Great Game and the Great War
Quest for Kim: in Search of Kipling's Great Game
Trespassers on the Roof of the World: The Secret Exploration of Tibet
Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia
He recently died, Aug 2014, and he appears to have been quite well regarded.
Here's a
Wiki link