Shadow of the Silk Road

Colin Thubron has been described as 'one of the two or three best living travel writers, in some ways probably the best' - IndependentA journey along the greatest land route on earth, from the master of travel writing Colin ThubronOn buses, donkey carts, trains, jeeps and camels, Colin Thubron traces the drifts of the first great trade route out of the heart of China into the mountains of Central Asia, across northern Afghanistan and the plains of Iran into Kurdish Turkey. Covering over 7000 miles in eight months Thubron recounts extraordinary adventures - a near-miss with a drunk-driver, incarceration in a Chinese cell during the SARS epidemic, undergoing root canal treatment without anaesthetic in Iran - in inimitable prose. Shadow of the Silk Road is about Asia today; a magnificent account of an ancient world in modern ferment.'It is hard to think of a better travel book written this century' Times'Thubron is the pre-eminent travel writer of his generation' Sunday Telegraph

“"A beautiful and profound travel book" -Mail on Sunday "A masterpiece of travel writing ... a classic" -New Statesman From the Hardcover edition.”

It is hard to think of a better travel book written this century The Times
Shadow of the Silk Road is a work of boundless riches. Every paragraph carries a captivating phrase...offering up an understanding of our world today that is as immediate as tomorrow's news, yet infinitely profound -- Craig Brown Mail on Sunday
One of Thubron's great strengths is his compassion...his shimmering prose creates a wonderful book, so multilayered that, when I reached the end, I wanted to read it all over again Sunday Times
Rich in humour, compassion and history, another confirmation, if any more were needed, that Thubron is the pre-eminent travel writer of his generation Sunday Telegraph
A poetic volume - interesting, shocking and deeply engaging, the work of a mature writer at the top of his game -- Sara Wheeler Daily Telegraph
Thubron is a very hardy traveller, and a very fine writer...[it is] a book of exceptional erudition, adventure and elegance -- Robert Macfarlane Spectator
Thubron makes his way with an appealing blend of self-doubt and erudition; he is willing, he is patient,; he knows he cannot resolve but he can attempt to decipher.... He is the reliable storyteller we needed in place of Marco Polo. His stock in trade makes him invaluable to us Independent on Sunday
Haunting, elegiac, melancholy, magical Financial Times
An exquisitely written work of great profundity Herald
Shadow of the Silk Road is an astonishing achievement - both the journey and the book. Mr Thubron's tenacity, endurance, stamina and erudition metamorphose into exquisite prose. This is harder to achieve than one might think and can only be the result of huge effort and skill Economist

Colin Thubron is an acknowledged master of travel writing, and the winner of many prizes and awards. His first writing was about the Middle East - Damascus, Lebanon and Cyprus. In 1982 he travelled into the Soviet Union in an ancient Morris Marina, pursued by the KGB, a journey he recorded in Among the Russians. From these early experiences developed his classic travel books- Behind the Wall (winner of the Hawthornden Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Award), The Lost Heart of Asia, In Siberia (Prix Bouvier), Shadow of the Silk Road and To a Mountain in Tibet (all available in Vintage). In 2010 Colin Thubron became President the Royal Society of Literature.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.