BookBrowse Reviews Shadow of the Silk Road: A journey along the greatest land route on earth, by one of the greatest travel writers of this or any other age

To compare Colin Thubron's writing to most travel books is to compare the beautifully crafted treasures inside the museum to the tawdry baubles offered for sale on the steps outside.

Entire sections in bookstores are devoted to travel books, and TV travel programs take the viewer to every corner of the globe. Well, actually, not every corner - usually it's the same tired old landmarks coming into view time and time again. So, it is with something of a shock that the reader opens The Shadow of the Silk Road to be reminded that travel writing used to be a high art and, in the right hands, still can be; and those hands don't get much better than travel veteran Colin Thubron, who travels light with no camera and just a change...