Part 1 is introduces the Silk Road, the world’s best known itinerary Part 3 (28 Aug) discusses Thubron’s journey through Afghanistan and Iran, ending in Turkey Colin Thubron’s travelogue, Shadow of the Silk Road, is pure joy. His descriptions are vivid. They are alive. His natural and spontaneous metaphors and similes have immediate impact. His prose runs effortlessly. Thubron leaves Xian bound for Kashgar via the Road’s southern route. He rides through fifteen hundred miles of desolation rimming the Taklamakan dessert and Tibetan […]

Categories: Tucker Cox, ZiR

Read part 2 (21 Aug) about the Road’s ethnic diversity ranging from Europe to Korea Part 3 (28 Aug) discusses Thubron’s journey through Afghanistan and Iran, ending in Turkey   Colin Thubron’s Shadow of the Silk Road records his 7,000 mile journey from Xi’an China to Antioch, Turkey (today Antaky). Thubron is a peerless author of travel books. The Times of London placed him 45th on their list of the 50 greatest writers since 1945. The New York Times says he is “the dean of […]

Categories: Tucker Cox, ZiR

After drifting on slabs of pack ice for five months, escaping in small open boats when the rising temperature at last did its job and finally, after 16 months of living on the ocean, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s crew landed on Elephant Island, Antarctica. “The accomplishment of another stage of the homeward journey” boosted morale, prompting an enthusiastic declaration, “Life was not so bad.” Sir Ernest narrates one of the most arduous itineraries in the annals of travel literature: South the […]

Categories: Tucker Cox, ZiR