Thubron, Colin (1939-…), a British travel writer and novelist, won critical acclaim for his travel books about Russia, China, and central Asia. Thubron gave up a job in publishing in 1965 to devote himself to travel and to writing. His first travel books dealt with the Middle East, notably Damascus and Jerusalem. They included Mirror to Damascus (1967) and Journey into Cyprus (1975). These books established his reputation. His writings have been praised for their skill in capturing the character of the lands he visited.
In the early 1980’s, he traveled 10,000 miles (6,250 kilometers) by automobile through western Russia, gathering material for Among the Russians (published in the United States as Where Nights Are Longest, 1983). He then visited some of the most isolated regions of China for Behind the Wall: A Journey Through China (1987). He followed this with The Lost Heart of Asia (1994), a book about the republics of central Asia. Thubron also wrote several novels, including A Cruel Madness (1984), Falling (1989), Turning Back (1991), and Distance (1996). He won a number of awards for his writing, including the Hawthornden Prize and the Thomas Cook Award, both in 1988.
Colin Gerald Dryden Thubron was born on June 14, 1939, in London.
