Colin Thubron's six favorite books about Asia

Colin Thubron is an acknowledged master of travel writing. His first books were about the Middle East—Damascus, Lebanon, and Cyprus. In 1982 he traveled in the Soviet Union, pursued by the KGB. From these early experiences developed his great travel books on the landmass that makes up Russia and Asia: Among the Russians; Behind the Wall: A Journey through China; The Lost Heart of Asia; In Siberia; Shadow of the Silk Road; and most recently, To a Mountain in Tibet.

One of his six favorite books about Asia, as told to The Week magazine:

Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian

Part memoir and part novel, this haunting journey through inland China is at once a voyage into myth and history, and a journey into the author’s fragmented selves. In 2000, Gao became the first Chinese writer to win the Nobel Prize.

Read about the other books on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue