The Amur River

Follow our greatest travel writer (and rusty Mandarin speaker) along the far eastern river that separates Russia from China, the two great ex-Communist giants, taking in Mongolia, Siberia, and the Sea of Japan.

The Amur River is described as "Thubron on top form. Richly detailed, immaculately written and full of insights and encounters that bring a complex corner of the world to life" by Michael Palin.

"A masterpiece," says William Dalrymple, while Antony Beevor calls it "unforgettable."

As read on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week

A dramatic and ambitious new journey from our greatest travel writer.

Rising in the Mongolian mountains and flowing through Siberia to the Pacific, the Amur River forms the tense border between Russia and China. This is the most densely fortified frontier on Earth.

In his eightieth year, Colin Thubron takes a dramatic and often treacherous journey from the Amur's secret source to its giant mouth, covering almost 3,000 miles. Harassed by injury and arrest from the local police, he makes his way along both the Russian and Chinese shores. By the time he reaches the river's desolate end, a whole, pivotal world has come alive.

"An epic journey along a frozen, fraught frontier... Fascinating," says The Times.

"This book is a triumph," claims the Daily Telegraph.

A Financial Times, Sunday Telegraph, and Spectator Book of the Year.

Winner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award 2022