Rating: 
Summary: a far away trip to a faraway land
Review: A terrific introduction to a part of the world that most people know little about. This is a book that compels you to read on...not because you expect a plot twist or some dangerous turn. No, you read on to find out more about the people and places Mr. Thubron meets during his most amazing journey. Your knowledge of this part of the world grows as you advance page by page, chapter by chapter. It's written in an easy to follow style. The only thing I would have added were more maps to highlight the specific areas we were visiting.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent piece of soul-searching
Review: British travel writer Colin Thubron is one of the most accomplished representatives of the trade. The trilogy about his exploits in the former Soviet Union: 'Among the Russians', 'Siberia', and 'The Lost Heart of Asia' are literary masterpieces.Thubron has that rare ability to find the strangest out-of-the way places, meet weird people, and then render his observations and encounters in beautiful prose. It is always dangerous - and somehow also unfair - to compare writers, for every writer deserves to judged on the basis of his own merits. However, perusing the oeuvre of Thubron, his descriptions often remind one of fellow travel-writer Norman Lewis (heralded by Graham Greene as the best of the twentieth-century), while his prose appears to betray Conradian influences. Thubron takes us on a simultaneous journey through the enormous landmass of Central Asia and history. Most of the lands he visits lie along the Silk Road. Throughout the centuries these steppes and mountain ranges were invaded by Scythians, Huns, Mongols, Turks, and Russians. Prosperous cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara saw the great Buddhist and Islamic civilizations come and go. Under the Communist Soviet Union they were reduced to squalid backwaters. Polution has destroyed the region's lakes and rivers, and disastrous agrarian reforms have depleted the soil, turning once fertile lands into desert. Along the route Thubron meets some amazing characters. Somehow he manages to find that curious balance between being an observer, not getting in the way of the narrative, and establishing a true rapport with the people he meets, so as to give us a rare insight into their lifes. In view of the current worldwide attention for Central-Asia, and the new 'Great Game' that is presently being played out there, everybody who is trying to understand this enigmatic area should read 'The Lost Heart of Asia'.
Rating:
Summary: A Work of Art
Review: Colin Thubron's work is a masterpiece, a little bit travelogue, a little bit history, most of all an eye-opening look at a part of world that always mattered but now more than ever.
Thubron weaves bits of history and personal encounters into a stunning look at a part of the world most Americans know little about and makes us see why that "lost heart" matters, if not now, then in the future.
Though the author's experiences may not have mattered to many of us back when he wrote this book about a decade ago, they should matter now because the many tribal conflicts, sense of loss, sense of discontent that he encounters may come home to hit us hard, the way the events of Sept.11 hit us.
This is not a gentle read, something to be nibbled on or used as a quick resource. Rather, it is a wonderfully literate account of the author's experiences and insights about a region as the Soviet Union loses its grip and the people wonder what is next.
More of the same hatred that brought us Sept.11? Or an opportunity for good diplomacy and honest dealings?
We don't know right now, but Thubron gives us a chance to taste life as people there are living it and as we may be see it, willingly or not, in the near future.
This book is a gem. Anyone interested in what may happen next in the encounters between Islamic cultures and the West should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Work of Art
Review: Colin Thubron's work is a masterpiece, a little bit travelogue, a little bit history, most of all an eye-opening look at a part of world that always mattered but now more than ever.
Thubron weaves bits of history and personal encounters into a stunning look at a part of the world most Americans know little about and makes us see why that "lost heart" matters, if not now, then in the future.
Though the author's experiences may not have mattered to many of us back when he wrote this book about a decade ago, they should matter now because the many tribal conflicts, sense of loss, sense of discontent that he encounters may come home to hit us hard, the way the events of Sept.11 hit us.
This is not a gentle read, something to be nibbled on or used as a quick resource. Rather, it is a wonderfully literate account of the author's experiences and insights about a region as the Soviet Union loses its grip and the people wonder what is next.
More of the same hatred that brought us Sept.11? Or an opportunity for good diplomacy and honest dealings?
We don't know right now, but Thubron gives us a chance to taste life as people there are living it and as we may be see it, willingly or not, in the near future.
This book is a gem. Anyone interested in what may happen next in the encounters between Islamic cultures and the West should read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Cultural confusion from a traveler's perspective
Review: Colin Thubron, in this extremely interesting and well-written travelogue, has shed a common (or, owing to his previous experiences, uncommon) traveler's light on this amazing region of the world. Set amid the turmoil and confusion of the year following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Thubron portrays the incredible diversity of sentiment displayed by the area's inhabitants. From fatalistic apathy to alcohol-driven nationalism, he finds it all as he makes his way between crumbling ancient cities and Soviet-era apartment blocks. Chronicling the tentative resurfacing of Islam and hesitant steps toward fumbling democracies, the author has described the birth of these fledgling nations, offering a wonderful snapshot of the dynamic countries. Although clearly re-released to ride the wave of the post-9/11 world's interest in Central Asia, this book has as much to do with the current conflict as Persian poetry has with a Steven King novel. If anything, Thubron demonstrates the differences between the many ethnic groups in the area. Interspersing his experiences with variously specific tidbits and sweeping portraits of Central Asian history, he manages to contrast the immense historical role of the area and its current, virtually unknown part. All in all, Thubron's work makes for a wonderfully interesting read. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone; most people could use a more in depth look at this remarkable area of the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a Fan
Review: I bought this book on the recommendations posted on this page but found it disappointing. Uninteresting ancedotes, hard to get into, didnt even finish it. Its a fascinating part of the world but this book doesnt do justice to it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Fan
Review: I ordered this book after having been blown away by his later book --the third book in his Soviet Union trilogy --IN SIBERIA, which I thought was absolutely amazing and incredibly involving and one of the best travel essays I ahve ever encountered--this book was good, but not quite up to my expectations which may have been too high based on the earlier read--in any event Thurbon is truly my hero, my soul -mate and I admit I have lived vicariously through these two books -- he is, if half of his adventures are true, an amazingly persistent and daring traveler. He has obviously done extensive research in anticipation of his travels to these remote and apparently soemwhat dangerous spots and I look forward to spending more time this Summer sharing more of his adventures --though many iof his earlier books are, unfortunately, currently out-of-print.
Rating:
Summary: Thurbon does it again!!
Review: I ordered this book after having been blown away by his later book --the third book in his Soviet Union trilogy --IN SIBERIA, which I thought was absolutely amazing and incredibly involving and one of the best travel essays I ahve ever encountered--this book was good, but not quite up to my expectations which may have been too high based on the earlier read--in any event Thurbon is truly my hero, my soul -mate and I admit I have lived vicariously through these two books -- he is, if half of his adventures are true, an amazingly persistent and daring traveler. He has obviously done extensive research in anticipation of his travels to these remote and apparently soemwhat dangerous spots and I look forward to spending more time this Summer sharing more of his adventures --though many iof his earlier books are, unfortunately, currently out-of-print.
Rating:
Summary: Reporting to You from the Edge of Nowhere
Review: In this intriguing book Colin Thubron travels throughout the mysterious lands of Central Asia, the five "Stans" which had just emerged from the yoke of the Soviet Union. Thubron's travels took place in the early 90's just after these new nations were formed from the disintegrating USSR, and were emerging in a confused state toward the "independence" they couldn't manage, after the colonialism they didn't want. Central Asia has been shrouded in mystery since the dawn of time - surrounded either by impenetrable mountains or never-ending deserts, and spawning obscure peoples who periodically burst out in waves of conquest before settling back into obscurity again. These mostly Moslem peoples (with some imported Caucasians mixed in) obviously never meshed well with the rest of the Soviet empire, with their cultures, languages and histories being suppressed for the past 70 years; and Thubron now reveals their confused state. Here you will meet many sadly interesting people in dreary locations, who are ignorant of their own histories (after Soviet revisionism and flat out lies) and have no idea what the future holds. You will find that Thubron's basic writing style is rather depressing, as he tends to focus on the negative aspects of the locations he visits, usually describing them as dreary and soulless, and he concludes that most of the people he meets have hopeless futures in store. However, his attitudes are not that different from the interviewees themselves. In the end, Thubron proves that this region and its myriad peoples will continue to be shrouded in mystery and obscurity, but in the meantime he provides an enjoyable travelogue of an area and people that few outsiders have or ever will see.
Rating:
Summary: Reporting to You from the Edge of Nowhere
Review: In this intriguing book Colin Thubron travels throughout the mysterious lands of Central Asia, the five "Stans" which had just emerged from the yoke of the Soviet Union. Thubron's travels took place in the early 90's just after these new nations were formed from the disintegrating USSR, and were emerging in a confused state toward the "independence" they couldn't manage, after the colonialism they didn't want. Central Asia has been shrouded in mystery since the dawn of time - surrounded either by impenetrable mountains or never-ending deserts, and spawning obscure peoples who periodically burst out in waves of conquest before settling back into obscurity again. These mostly Moslem peoples (with some imported Caucasians mixed in) obviously never meshed well with the rest of the Soviet empire, with their cultures, languages and histories being suppressed for the past 70 years; and Thubron now reveals their confused state. Here you will meet many sadly interesting people in dreary locations, who are ignorant of their own histories (after Soviet revisionism and flat out lies) and have no idea what the future holds. You will find that Thubron's basic writing style is rather depressing, as he tends to focus on the negative aspects of the locations he visits, usually describing them as dreary and soulless, and he concludes that most of the people he meets have hopeless futures in store. However, his attitudes are not that different from the interviewees themselves. In the end, Thubron proves that this region and its myriad peoples will continue to be shrouded in mystery and obscurity, but in the meantime he provides an enjoyable travelogue of an area and people that few outsiders have or ever will see.
|
