Shadow of the Silk Road
Exploring a largely unknown part of the world (the silk route between China and Turkey) with Thubron is quite an adventure. You will come away from this book with a better understanding of the people, religions, and cultures that are of great importance in our world today. To be able to discuss the complexities with others only enhances the trip. I had a great time!
Description
To travel the Silk Road, the greatest land route on earth, is to trace the passage not only of trade and armies but also of ideas, religions, and inventions. Making his way by local bus, truck, car, donkey cart, and camel, Colin Thubron covered some seven thousand miles in eight months—out of the heart of China into the mountains of Central Asia, across northern Afghanistan and the plains of Iran into Kurdish Turkey—and explored an ancient world in modern ferment.
Praise for Shadow of the Silk Road
“Moving in a way that’s rare in travel literature...Thubron goes to places most other sojourners can’t.” — Lorraine Adams, New York Times Book Review
“[Thubron is] intrepid, resourceful . . . and immensely talented . . . a splendid book.” — Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World
“Thubron has done it all, with sparkling grace . . . He is a brilliant brooder, artful in his melancholy.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“An exhausting journey and a marvelous book.” — Harper's Magazine
“A fantastically descriptive writer, Thubron digs through the history of Central Asia...Perfect for vicarious travelers.” — New York magazine
“An illuminating account of a breathtaking journey.” — Booklist
“[An] absorbing travel epic…Thubron’s poetic eye still teases out gorgeous subtleties in the panorama.”” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[Thubron] augments his trenchant narrative with impressive historical background and evocative, lyrical prose…An impressive, rewarding...trek.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Splendid…Sumptuously detailed, elegantly written and riveting...Thubron misses nothing.” — Providence Journal