Colin Thubron biography

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Colin Thubron
Photo: Page Bertelsen Photography

Colin Thubron

How to pronounce Colin Thubron: THOO-brahn

Colin Thubron Biography

Colin Thubron is an acclaimed travel writer and novelist. His first books were about the Middle East – Damascus, Lebanon and Cyprus. In 1982 he travelled by car into the Soviet Union, a journey he described in Among the Russians. From these early experiences developed his classic travel books: Behind the Wall: A Journey through China (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.

Among other honors, Colin Thubron has received the Ness Award of the Royal Geographical Society and the Livingstone Memorial Medal of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. In 2007 he was made CBE. He was elected President of the Royal Society of Literature from 2010 to 2017, and named an RSL Companion of Literature in 2020.



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Books by this Author

Books by Colin Thubron at BookBrowse
The Amur River jacket Night of Fire jacket To a Mountain in Tibet jacket Shadow of the Silk Road jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Colin Thubron but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Tracy Dahlby

    Tracy Dahlby

    Tracy Dahlby, a former managing editor of Newsweek International, is an expert in the affairs of Asia, where he lived for thirteen years, and served as Tokyo bureau chief for the Washington Post and Newsweek. As a regular ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Shadow of the Silk Road

    Try:
    Allah's Torch
    by Tracy Dahlby

  • Wade Davis

    Wade Davis

    A native of British Columbia, Wade Davis has worked as park ranger, forestry engineer, and conducted ethnographic fieldwork among several indigenous societies of northern Canada. He is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Amur River

    Try:
    Magdalena
    by Wade Davis

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