It is hard to think of a better travel book written this century
The Times

A beautiful and profound travel book
Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday

A masterpiece of travel writing...a classic
Christina Lamb, Sunday Times

Impresses with its scholarship and literary craft
Ian Thomson, Observer

A poetic volume - interesting, shocking and deeply engaging, the work of a mature writer at the top of his game
Sara Wheeler, Daily Telegraph

Thubron is a very hardy traveller, and a very fine writer...[it is] a book of exceptional erudition, adventure and elegance
Robert Macfarlane, Spectator

Thubron makes his way with an appealing blend of self-doubt and erudition; he is willing, he is patient,; he knows he cannot resolve but he can attempt to decipher…. He is the reliable storyteller we needed in place of Marco Polo. His stock in trade makes him invaluable to us
Independent on Sunday

He effortlessly interweaves the present with the fast-disappearing past, and reminds even the well-travelled how much we still have to learn about our planet…Thubron takes us on a fascinating journey that shows that travel writing at its best can still approach literature and can still educate
Stephen Fidler, Financial Times

An exquisitely written work of great profundity
Herald

Shadow of the Silk Road is an astonishing achievement - both the journey and the book. Mr Thubron’s tenacity, endurance, stamina and erudition metamorphose into exquisite prose. This is harder to achieve than one might think and can only be the result of huge effort and skill
Economist

To those of us addicted to the thrill of travel, that unique and irresistible rush induced by journeying into the unknown, Colin Thubron is God….his socio-political savvy is impeccable, his local knowledge faultless…What a journey, what a book
Jeffrey Taylor, Sunday Express