(Palgrave Press, 2001) a collection of essays on the custom across Asia and into Europe, and Robes of Honor: Khjil'at in Pre-Colonial and Colonial India(Oxford University Press, 2003) on robing in South Asia. World history More recently he has been interested in the historical movement along the routes of pilgrims, armies, plants, ideas, religions, marriage partners, and staple commodities. This focus is reflected in a recent book, When Asia was the World (Da Capo, 2008), which uses indigenous travel memoirs to elucidate the Asian world, 500–1500. This book has been translated into Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Arabic, and Italian. Recent articles include the ecological impact of pre-colonial war in South Asia and a broad survey of the major rivers that come off the plateau of Tibet. In 2015 University Press of New England published Gordon's "A History of the World in Sixteen Shipwrecks." It was shortlisted for the Mountbatten Prize, sponsored by the Maritime Society (England)for the best maritime-themed book of the year. A Turkish translation will appear in 2015. Current interests are the mental constructs and physical aspects of historical routes, which has resulted in a book entitled Routes: How the Pathways of Ideas and Goods Shaped Our World (University of California Press, 2012). This volume widens the comparative focus to include, for example, the Mississippi River, the Erie Canal, the Inca road system, and the Nile. He also has recently written a book on comparative slavery outside the Atlantic World entitled Shackles of Iron: Slavery in World History (Hackett, 2016). Cognitive geography is a strong interest, that is, the mental maps people carry about places near and far. Other interests and activities In addition to scholarly articles, Gordon has written for popular audiences, including a book on the classic American ocean liners SS Independence and SS Constitution, Sunlight & Steel (Prow Press, 2000) and articles for Saudi Aramco World magazine. He has served as a specialist historical adviser for the History Channel, the Walt Disney Company, the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, and more than 30 history-themed hotels and restaurants in the United States and Europe. References External links Living people 21st-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 1945 births University of Michigan alumni Earhart Foundation Fellows 21st-century American male writers Fulbright alumni