Colin Thubron
Author of Shadow of the Silk Road
About the Author
Colin Thubron is the prizewinning, bestselling author of several travel books.
Series
Works by Colin Thubron
??? 1 copy
Redescoperind Drumul mătăsii 1 copy
Associated Works
The Broken Road: From the Iron Gates to Mount Athos (2013) — Editor; Introduction, some editions — 684 copies, 19 reviews
Arabia Felix: The Danish Expedition of 1761-1767 (1962) — Introduction, some editions — 352 copies, 8 reviews
The Company They Kept, Volume Two: Writers on Unforgettable Friendships (2011) — Contributor — 22 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Thubron, Colin Gerald Dryden
- Birthdate
- 1939-06-14
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- England
UK - Country (for map)
- England, UK
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Places of residence
- London, England, UK
- Education
- Eton College
- Occupations
- novelist
travel writer
documentary filmmaker - Relationships
- Grazia, Margreta de (wife)
- Organizations
- Royal Society of Literature (President, 2010- )
- Awards and honors
- Order of the British Empire (Commander, 2006)
Royal Scottish Geographical Society Mungo Park Medal (2000)
Royal Society for Asian Affairs Lawrence of Arabia Medal (2001)
Fellow, Royal Society of Literature (1969) - Short biography
- Colin Thubron was born in London on 14 June 1939. Educated at Eton College, he worked briefly for the publishers Hutchinson and as a freelance television film-maker in Turkey, Japan and Morocco. His first book, Mirror to Damascus, was published in 1967. He continued to write about the Middle East in The Hills of Adonis: A Quest in Lebanon (1968) and Jerusalem (1969).
Among the Russians (1983) describes a journey he made by car through western Russia during the Brezhnev era. Behind the Wall: A Journey through China (1987) won both the Hawthornden Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. The Lost Heart of Asia (1994) narrates his travels through the newly-independent central Asian republics, exploring the effects of the collapse of the Soviet Union on the region. He returned to Russia for his most recent travel narrative, In Siberia (1999).
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature since 1969, Colin Thubron is a regular contributor and reviewer for magazines and newspapers including The Times, the Times Literary Supplement and The Spectator. He lives in London. His latest travel books are Shadows of the Silk Road (2006), an account of his 7,000-mile journey along the route of the Silk Road; and To a Mountain in Tibet (2011), about his pilgrimage to sacred Mount Kailas.
Members
Reviews
The Amur River: Between Russia and China by Colin Thubron
Another great book from the well-known travel and geography writer, Colin Thubron. He takes us down the Amur river, from its origins in remote western Mongolia, through its lower reaches in the borderland between China and Russia. The special feature of Thubron's writings is his direct approach to the small people on the ground, laying himself open to all the hazards of a traveller without any impressive institutional backing or diplomatic protection. As such he is able to present an unvarnished picture of things on the ground, as they appear to the ordinary person, in all their starkness and bleakness. He has thus given us a contemporary account of his experiences in an area of the world that few of us would even imagine visiting, and perhaps even most citizens of the countries involved would themselves have something to be surprised about.… (more)
I read this in preparation for a possible trip on the Trans-Mongolian railway. The trip has had to be abandoned at the moment for a variety of reasons, but reading this has made me think we had a narrow escape. Siberia's history, perilous economic and social conditions, even quite a lot of its landscapes and townscapes, seem unspeakably depressing. I was fascinated by many of the personal encounters Thubron had, and admired his resilience in getting close to the conditions in which many live. I was glad to discover more about this immense and in many ways varied region. But second hand discoveries will do for me at present.… (more)
Jerusalem is one of twenty-five volumes from the Time-Life book series The Great Cities. Published in the 1970s this series looks at the history, culture, and character of various cities throughout the world. This volume portrays the tumult of cultures, nations, and religions which comprise the narrative of the city of Jerusalem in both the past and the present. Topics covered include King David, King Solomon and the Temple, the Wailing Wall, the influence of Greece and Rome, the destruction of the temple by the Romans, landmarks involving the life of Jesus Christ, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Via Dolorosa, the various religious sects present in the city, the Dome of the Rock, the Crusades, the British Mandate period, the Six Day War, and the status of Jerusalem as of the 1970s. Author Colin Thubron seeks to explain the history of Jerusalem by walking the streets and meeting men; much of the narrative consists of conversations the author had with Jews, Muslims, and Christians. The photographs by Jay Maisel go a long way in enhancing the narrative.… (more)
An interesting trip written by someone with a deep knowledge of the history they are travelling. Lots of great tidbits and personal observations but in the end, maybe a temple or ruin too many.
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 32
- Also by
- 13
- Members
- 6,376
- Popularity
- #3,862
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 109
- ISBNs
- 311
- Languages
- 13
- Favorited
- 15
