A fascinating travel book by one of the most magical writers of his generation.
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) and Shadow of the Silk Road (all available in Vintage). In 2010 Colin Thubron became President the Royal Society of Literature.
I have never made it as far as Siberia, but reading this book makes
me feel as if I have actually been there. Thubron weaves his own
observations beautifully with the history of this part of the
world
*Sunday Express*
Colin Thubron is in a class of his own in [having] a literary
talent for reportage which is both crisp and lyrical
*Scotsman*
Captivating: a passionately engaged portrait of one of the earth's
most mysterious regions...confirms Thubron's place in the pantheon
of the writing greats
*Sunday Times*
There are currently few writers and fewer books capable of
transporting a reader to another place as beautifully as Thubron
does in this work. It is simply superb
*Observer*
A profound meditation on how some of the great upheavals of this
century touched ordinary lives
*Observer, Books of the Year*
In this powerful, final volume of his trilogy on the Asian continent (Where Nights Are Longest, The Lost Heart of Asia), veteran travel writer Thubron traverses all points of the compass in Russia's vast, sparsely settled Wild East. Thubron journeys into what "seems less a country than a region in people's minds," encountering people in search of explanations for past atrocities and ways to live through current hardships--all the while finding solace in science or religion. In Novosibirsk, Thubron visits the scientific center of Russia, Akademgorodok, a place where funding has been severed and brilliant minds live isolated in laboratories without electricity. Several weeks and worlds away, Thubron reaches the far-eastern city of Khabarovsk. From there he flies to the eerie skeletal structures of Siberia's most famous gulag, Kolyma, where up to two million prisoners died. Thubron's well-researched, moving account is a testament to the hardships endured by Siberia's people and their ability to turn their backs on history, look to the future, and whistle a hopeful tune. Readers who enjoyed Jeffrey Taylor's Siberian Dawn (LJ 2/15/99) will appreciate Thubron's deeper, meditated exploration of Siberian life. Highly recommended for all libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/99.]--Mark Rotella, Brooklyn, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
I have never made it as far as Siberia, but reading this book makes
me feel as if I have actually been there. Thubron weaves his own
observations beautifully with the history of this part of the world
-- Lorraine Kelly * Sunday Express *
Colin Thubron is in a class of his own in [having] a literary
talent for reportage which is both crisp and lyrical * Scotsman
*
Captivating: a passionately engaged portrait of one of the earth's
most mysterious regions...confirms Thubron's place in the pantheon
of the writing greats * Sunday Times *
There are currently few writers and fewer books capable of
transporting a reader to another place as beautifully as Thubron
does in this work. It is simply superb * Observer *
A profound meditation on how some of the great upheavals of this
century touched ordinary lives -- Kazuo Ishiguro * Observer, Books
of the Year *
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
