Hugh Thomson

Hugh Thomson believes strongly that the world is not as explored as we like to suppose.   “Everywhere Thomson goes, he finds good stories to tell.” New York Times Book Review. He has written about the wilder corners of the planet, from the edges of Peru to the Himalayas, looking for Inca ruins and lost cultures. Geographical commented that 'he is a writer who explores and not an explorer who writes.' In 2012 Random House published 'The Green Road into the Trees: An Exploration of England', in which Hugh for the first time wrote about his own country, an account of a journey along prehistoric trackways. 'An immensely enjoyable book: curious, articulate, intellectually playful and savagely candid', The Spectator. This won the first Wainwright Prize for Travel Writing. He then proceeded to have 'a South American adventure in England' by taking a pack animal from one side of the country to the other for 'One Man and a Mule' in 2017. His previous books include 'The White Rock' and 'Cochineal Red', both acclaimed explorations of ancient Peru, along with 'Nanda Devi', a book about the Himalaya (all Weidenfeld & Nicolson) He has collected some of his favourite places in the lavishly illustrated '50 Wonders of the World'. He also edited and introduced what has become the standard edition of Hiram Bingham's 'Lost City of the Incas'. 'Tequila Oil', a memoir about getting lost in Mexico when he was eighteen and, in the words of the Alice Cooper song, 'didn't know what he wanted', was serialised by BBC R4 as 'Book of the Week'. "Delightful, celebratory and honest....In a way 'Tequila Oil' is the first installment of his now-complete trilogy, his 'Cochineal Red' and 'The White Rock' being two of the finest books on Latin America of recent years."  (Rory MacLean, The Guardian) His first Kindle Single, 'At The Captain's Table', a short and light-hearted account of travelling around the world by luxury liner, went to #2 in the USA non-fiction charts for Kindle Singles on release. 'Two Men and a Mule: The Last City of the Incas' followed and was accompanied by a BBC Radio 4 series. His first novel, Viva Byron!, was published in 2024 and imagines what might have happened if Byron had not died an early death in Greece – but instead had travelled to South America, as he always wanted to do.