On Thin Ice: A Radio 4 Book of the Week - An Explorer's Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival

This almost insanely intrepid and dangerous trek in remotest Siberia is astonishing in itself. But it also brings invaluable experience of Russian reactions to the war against Ukraine. Altogether extraordinary' Colin Thubron, author of The Amur River

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In early 2022, Charlie Walker set out to hike 600 miles along the frozen rivers of Siberia. He hoped to cut through the myth of the gulag and the permafrost to understand who its people are and how they reckon with their haunted past, as well as what the future might hold for this remote corner of our world. But on 24 February, Russia invaded Ukraine, with devastating consequences. What had begun as an adventure swiftly descended into a paranoid nightmare, as Walker began to suspect he was being monitored by the Russian authorities. Shortly afterwards he was arrested and imprisoned.

On Thin Ice juxtaposes the harsh beauty of a Siberian winter with a thriller-like series of events that exposes the dark heart of Putin's propaganda machine. It is both the extraordinary record of one man’s walk through the most inhospitable place on earth and a powerful insight into a deeply troubled – and troubling – nation.

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PRAISE FOR ON THIN ICE

'Moments of beauty and horror punctuate this account of an ill-timed sub-zero camping trip... Walker evokes it all with a masterly touch ' Charlie Gilmour, Guardian

'The emotional heart of On Thin Ice lies in people’s reaction to the unfolding catastrophe of war... The book reads like a thriller. What a gripping film it would make' Spectator

' I was h\ooked from the very first, chilling words . On Thin Ice reads more like a Soviet-era spy thriller than travelogue , full of derring-do, panache, but also – importantly – insight. Imagine John Le Carré mixed with James Bond, add a dash of that master of travel writing, Colin Thubron , and you’ll have some idea of what’s in store' Benedict Allen, author of Explorer

'A powerful and haunting report from one of the world's most inaccessible places. Part quest, part fugitive drama , Walker navigates the ice roads and shattered towns of northeast Siberia to reveal the complex - and dangerous - politics of travel in Putin's Russia. On Thin Ice is a captivating book ' Clare Hammond, author of On the Shadow Tracks

'A remarkable book ... Walker is the best of guides: curious, honest, humble . I was gripped by the hardships of his journey, and his growing paranoia as the walls close in around him. It does what the best travel books should do, providing a unique and captivating insight into an utterly unknown world ' Adam Weymouth, author of Lone Wolf

'This is a rare kind of expedition – a vast solo journey through one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth, undertaken just as history shifts beneath his feet. Charlie Walker’s travels capture the deeper uncertainty of moving through a landscape where danger is shaped as much by geopolitics as by ice ' Alastair Humphreys, author of Microadventures

'Walker captures the Arctic’s unforgiving nature and exposes the importance of storytelling in places where truth is fragile . An absolutely gripping read' Levison Wood, author of The Great Tree Story